In the space of four days, Tottenham Hotspur have now bowed out of two competitions, this time at the hands of Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
Ange Postecoglou fielded a relatively strong starting eleven for Tottenham, boosted by the recent arrivals of Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel.
However, the bench available to the Spurs manager still told the story of the injury crisis that continues in N17.
Of course, the game itself started in the worst possible fashion – Tottenham didn’t even have a chance to settle and show a reaction to a seriously poor performance against Liverpool.
Thereafter, Spurs were briefly better after half-time but never really looked like beating Unai Emery’s side, even with Tel’s late goal.
Alan Shearer praises Archie Gray for ‘standing up’ for Tottenham
That being said, Alan Shearer did find one reason to be positive when speaking about Archie Gray whilst covering the game for BBC Sport.
Shearer was speaking in the eighth minute of the game, when Spurs were already 1-0 down.
Gray was playing at left centre-back for Tottenham alongside Danso, one of the many makeshift briefs he’s been handed by Postecoglou this season.
And when reflecting on his recent efforts, Shearer pointed out that the £30m midfielder ‘never hides’, a youngster who can be proud of his contributions.
Speaking alongside Steve Bower, Shearer said: “He’s been one of the positive players though, hasn’t he, if there’s any players that can come out with credit, he’s certainly one of those in really tough times.”
Bower replied: “32 games for Spurs, he’s still not played one in his favoured midfield role.”
“Never shied away though, he’s always wanting the ball, standing up, which is a great sign to come out of this as a better player, no doubt about that.
“If you can take a leaf out of his book actually with him being so young and still standing up to the pressure that they’re under, never ever hiding away.”
Ange Postecoglou needs Archie Gray in midfield
As is often the case, the majority of Tottenham’s struggles against Villa were caused by their huge gaps in midfield.
In an ideal world, Gray would already be forging his future in the heart of Postecoglou’s midfield, but that’s simply not been possible.
Jamie Redknapp felt sorry for Gray against Liverpool, and the same message could be echoed after defeat to Villa too.
Spurs will now need to simply focus on getting their key players fit, and attempting to win the Europa League whilst repairing the damage domestically.
Of course, the question will now be whether Postecoglou remains in charge to oversee that attempted revival.