Tottenham Hotspur were beaten at Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon as defensive problems continue under Ange Postecoglou.
After opening the season with a draw and a victory, Tottenham Hotspur headed to St James’ Park on Sunday.
This has not been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham having 6-1 there in April 2023 and 4-0 there in April 2024.
Tottenham’s fate this time around wasn’t quite as embarrassing but still painful.
Spurs dominated the game; 66% of possession, 20 shots, nearly twice the number of passes as Newcastle.
It’s all about putting the ball in the net though and Tottenham ended up losing 2-1 as the Magpies took their chances.
Former Romania star on Tottenham Hotspur’s Radu Dragusin
The winning goal was a major source of frustration for Tottenham.
Joelinton’s pass was able to take the Tottenham defence out of the game with Jacob Murphy racing clear to pick out Alexander Isak for a tap-in.
Tottenham had no way back into the game and Ange Postecoglou is now facing questions over his defensive approach once again.
The Spurs back line were stationed virtually on the half-way line as Joelinton played his pass in behind for Murphy.
Micky van de Ven was ruled out through injury so, without his blazing speed, Tottenham were left a little exposed.
Radu Dragusin came into the side and he did impress despite not being able to prevent that winning goal.
One moment saw Dragusin close down Isak in real Van de Ven fashion before executing a perfect sliding challenge.
Tottenham fans and even Postecoglou have been impressed with Dragusin, but the Australian doesn’t seem to be too popular in Romania.
Former Romania defender Florin Gardos – a one-time Premier League defender with Southampton – has offered stinging criticism for the Spurs boss.
As noted by Digispor, Gardos admitted that he is ‘not a fan’ of Postecoglou as he pushes his defence so high.
Gardos thinks that fellow Romanian Dragusin will continue to have problems in that high line, suggesting that even being as fast as Usain Bolt wouldn’t help.
“That’s why I’m not a fan of Postecoglou and I don’t think he’ll have any notable performances,” said Gardos. “Joelinton has the ball a few meters from the centre circle and Tottenham’s back line is in midfield.
“You can have Usain Bolt on defence, he still doesn’t get to those kind of balls. It’s a pity for Dragusin, he played well, but if something doesn’t change he will be exposed in every match,” he added.
Defensive frailty could be Postecoglou’s Tottenham downfall
We love watching ‘Angeball’; at its best, it is fast, incisive and brilliant to watch.
Tottenham fans have certainly had fun watching Postecoglou’s style of play, especially after the likes of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
Those Spurs supporters won’t just want fun though – they will want success to go along with a more entertaining approach amid a strong defence from Chris Sutton.
The first year was almost a free hit for Postecoglou but the pressure will increase now he is into his second campaign at Tottenham.
Money has been spent, the squad has been moulded and Postecoglou needs to show that Tottenham are going in the right direction.
Losing games like Sunday, where Tottenham are on top and get caught out by one ball through the high line, will become increasingly frustrating.
Dragusin has shown his talent but there really wasn’t much that he could do about Newcastle’s winner on Sunday and Postecoglou may need to have a think about his defensive approach if he is to truly take Spurs to the next level.