Every Tottenham Hotspur fan watching their team miss chance after chance to take the lead against Newcastle United knew what was coming.
Such impotent dominance made defeat practically inevitable. No Premier League team does self-sabotage quite as consistently and spectacularly as Tottenham do, except for maybe Everton.
St James’ Park has been a cursed ground for Spurs in recent years, a haunted house of humiliation. They lost 5-1 there in May 2016 to an already relegated team and were demolished 6-1 and 4-0 in their previous two visits before Sunday.
Those beatings were painful for Tottenham supporters but there comes a point during a thrashing when amusement at the level of incompetence kicks in, once the anger and apathy have subsided. Losses are harder to absorb when they are undeserved.
Spurs were largely excellent in defeat on Sunday. Other than the first 15 minutes, Tottenham outplayed their opponents and top four rivals for sustained periods.
Both of Newcastle’s goals came completely against the run of play: from the 20th minute until half-time, Spurs had eight shots to Newcastle’s one but conceded the opening goal to Harvey Barnes; from the 69th minute until the 79th, Spurs had six shots to Newcastle’s two but conceded the winning goal to Alexander Isak.
Despite their dominance, they ended up with nothing. It felt like a Groundhog Day repeat of their first away game of the season against Leicester City when they failed to take advantage of their opportunities and were punished for it.
From the first minute until the 56th at the King Power, Tottenham had 13 attempts to Leicester’s one and led 1-0. Jamie Vardy equalised with the Foxes’ second shot and it ended in a draw that felt like a defeat given Leicester’s much-publicised problems post-promotion.
Across those two away fixtures, Spurs had 35 shots, allowed 16 attempts on Guglielmo Vicario’s goal, and enjoyed a 68 per cent average possession share. They scored just twice (including a Dan Burn own goal), conceded three times and took just one point.
Ange Postecoglou described the result as a “sore one” in which Tottenham didn’t get the “rewards for our play”. It was a fair assessment but given it was by no means the first time that Spurs have lost in such a manner, there is a danger of Postecoglou’s words sounding hollow with his side again undone by familiar failings.
There is no doubt that Postecoglou has made Spurs more progressive in their style of play and better to watch compared to his predecessors. Their attacking intent was notable in the North-east, especially in the context of their recent history there. Over 40 per cent of the game was played in Newcastle’s own defensive third, but for the most part it was sterile supremacy.
Wayward finishing, rushed decision-making and static movement in the penalty area cost Spurs. The lack of a natural striker didn’t help with Dominic Solanke and Richarlison both missing. Even Son Heung-min was caught on his heels when Brennan Johnson flashed a low ball across the six-yard box.
A criticism of Postecoglou is that his team is too one-dimensional in the attacking phase. Spurs aim to create one vs one situations out wide and load the box for cutbacks and crosses from the byline. That ploy worked pretty well at Newcastle, particularly after Johnson came on at half-time, with his pace and surging runs causing plenty of problems and leading to the equaliser.
However, when low block defences shut down those avenues out wide, Spurs can look ponderous and pedestrian as they knock the ball around outside the penalty area, hoping a magical gap appears before one of James Maddison or Pedro Porro launches an ambitious shot into a row of bodies.
Tottenham can make it look incredibly difficult to score and incredibly easy to concede. Often it takes just one direct ball through midfield for their defence to get caught out.
Barnes almost scored from a Nick Pope punt upfield before finding the net later on in the first-half, while Isak should have squared to Barnes to score his second after breaching the high line, before benefiting from a mirror-image chance after Jacob Murphy had made the exact same run.
Although most fans remain behind Postecoglou, discontent is growing as the same deficiencies play out on repeat.
Angeball is underpinned by a risk vs reward philosophy, but if the rewards are too infrequent and the risks exposed too regularly inevitably there will be a discussion over whether the payoff is worth it.
At what point does the overall strategy become a problem rather than a solution? Spurs have won just two of their last 12 away games, one of which was against Sheffield United and kept only three clean sheets in their last 24.
The Postecoglou project requires patience, but that is a trait that has long worn thin among a fanbase desperate to see their team win a trophy. The style of play has improved but not by enough to make a marked change in outcome. Since New Year’s Day, Tottenham have only won one more league game than they have lost.
Fingers have been pointed in Daniel Levy’s direction once more over a summer transfer window in which Spurs prioritised up-and-coming potential to ready-made difference-makers, Solanke aside.
There is a sense that Postecoglou hasn’t been given all the tools he needs to succeed. The failure to sign a left-back to compete with Destiny Udogie was negligent. An energetic ball-winner could have helped plug the gaping gaps in midfield and a goalscoring wide forward could have made the difference in the first two away games.
The season has only just begun but doubts over Spurs’ direction of travel have already crept in. More pain could follow soon: Tottenham play Arsenal in their first game after the international break.