It was an entertaining game between Tottenham and Chelsea, which saw Chelsea come from 2-0 down to win 4-3. In terms of entertainment, Ange Postecoglou could not complain as he often mentions entertainment as being important, however, again, there is no result to match and some fans will be running out of patience at the fact we only have 1 win in our last 7 matches. Ange Postecoglou is not solely to blame, and the lack of investment in ready made players which led Cristian Romero to speak out, and the injury issues will be covered in this article.
Starting with Postecoglou though, he keeps setting out the team to play the same way – this do or die attitude – that sometimes is considered bold and brave when it works, but it can also be very naive and force players into making rash decisions if they lose the ball and are exposed at the back. In the final seconds of the first half, with the scoreline showing 2-1 to Tottenham, we were still passing the ball around the back and into the midfield, causing potentially dangerous situations for ourselves. I feel the game management could be better in these situations, ensuring we get to half time being ahead. Also, Ange Postecoglou needs to give players like Djed Spence some gametime whilst Pedro Porro isn’t playing at the desired level. There isn’t much for me to say about Postecoglou as I still believe in his football being capable of getting results in any game when it’s up to scratch – that just isn’t often enough at the moment, whether that be down to the injuries or the player mentality not quite being there.
In terms of the players, Pedro Porro’s and Yves Bissouma’s recent performances have been constantly poor and sloppy, whether that is down to tiredness or a bad run of form we don’t fully know, but either way they need to come out of the team. Heung-Min Son has been a shadow of his usual self in recent weeks, and there hasn’t really been other options to deputise for him in the starting 11. Djed Spence should be given a shot at right back, and Archie Gray in the no. 6 role in the absence of the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur. Reckless decisions in the penalty box giving Chelsea two penalties cost us the game yesterday – a reckless sliding challenge from Bissouma, and a dumb shirt pull from Pape Matar Sarr. That is not on Ange Postecoglou in the extent of it being a player mistake, although I have addressed the fact that another player could have been picked. It is a tricky one due to the injuries and lack of squad depth we currently have.
And that brings me onto Daniel Levy and the board. The transfer window wasn’t good enough, only signing one player over the age of 19 permanently in Dominic Solanke. Solanke has shown plenty of promise, and I’m sure Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and the January arrival Yang Min Hyeok can show their worth in the future, but it leaves us vulnerable for now. One injury to the injury prone Richarlison and youngster Will Lankshear is on the bench, and Ange has only trusted him to play 2 Premier League minutes during this rough period. 16 year old Luca Williams-Barnett has been on the bench, as has 16 year old Malachi Hardy and 17 year old Callum Olusesi. Sergio Reguilon has even been on the bench, and he hadn’t been in a Premier League matchday squad for Tottenham in over 2 years before recently. It is unfortunate to have Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore unavailable in the same period, but it shouldn’t be the case where an injury-prone striker, and 2 teenage wingers are injured and it just leaves us with 3 wingers to play 3 games a week in Son, Johnson and Werner. More is needed, and we need to hope Levy and the club properly back Ange in the January transfer market. Cristian Romero talks about Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool always strengthening to see results, and suggests the Tottenham board are not doing likewise. I can’t imagine Daniel Levy will be too happy to see those comments.
Regardless of what you think the problem is – Ange Postecoglou, the players or the board, or a mix of the three – we have a huge few weeks coming up with Rangers in the Europa League, Southampton in the Premier League, Manchester United in the Carabao Cup Quarter Final and Liverpool in the Premier League. Up the Spurs!