The Guardian

If Ange Postecoglou refuses to change his style, and Tottenham simply cannot change their culture, where does that leave both parties? Spurs are still some way off a crisis, but it’s an impasse that could cause combustion. “I didn’t get here by doing what everyone else is doing,” Postecoglou told Australian media this week, admitting that “sitting” on the Brighton loss – in which Spurs completely collapsed in the second half – has made for an agonising international break. Despite winning five on the bounce before the trip to the south coast, anything less than victory against West Ham will put further strain on the relationship between Tottenham’s manager and their supporters, which can increasingly lurch from one extreme to the other. Dominic Booth

Not many wingers can make Kyle Walker eat dust. Then again, not many wingers are as quick or strong as Adama Traoré. However, the 28-year-old is still searching for an end product to match his coruscating speed. Getting into goalscoring positions is not the problem. Traoré had three clear opportunities during Fulham’s defeat by Manchester City earlier this month but was unable to produce a clinical finish on each occasion. It was frustrating to watch and Fulham will hope to see an improvement from the Spain international when they host Aston Villa. Traoré, who has one goal this season, has so much going for him. He would be devastating if he could find more composure. Jacob Steinberg

Eight games in and it’s already relegation six-pointer time. Ipswich in 17th are one of the Premier League’s four winless wonders. In beating Crystal Palace on 28 September Everton, 16th, exited that select club, and next held Newcastle to a draw thanks to Jordan Pickford saving a penalty from Anthony Gordon. Evertonians will hope for more of the same, rather than the chaotic performance Pickford delivered against Greece for England last week. Ipswich will seek to bounce back from their first poor performance of the season at West Ham, who drove a bus through Kieran McKenna’s adventurous tactics in winning 4-1, particularly during a ruinous second half full of poor defending. Axel Tuanzebe’s continued absence after cutting his hand in the depths of a washing-up bowl is a significant blow to Ipswich’s defence. Similarly, Everton have missed Jarrad Branthwaite, whose comeback in that Palace game visibly improved the team before he then tweaked a thigh muscle. He is back in training. John Brewin

All eyes on the executive box at Old Trafford to see if Sir Alex Ferguson, his lucrative ambassador stipend chopped by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, takes his seat. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag fights on, his employment prospects probably improved by Thomas Tuchel becoming England manager. United’s dour, forgettable draw at Aston Villa also becalmed the whirl of speculation if not the run of injuries that have plagued the Dutchman’s reign. The loss of Harry Maguire has added to selection issues, as have Noussair Mazraoui’s heart palpitations requiring minor corrective surgery. Manuel Ugarte is also reported to have a suffered a muscle problem while on Uruguay duty. The midfielder is an expensive signing supposed to anchor the midfield but has completed 90 minutes for United only once, his new manager seemingly reluctant to use him. Has something similar occurred with Matthijs de Ligt, who was dropped for the game against Villa? JB

Yankuba Minteh makes his first return to Newcastle since joining Brighton for £33m in late June. In reality the 20-year-old Gambia right winger was very rarely on Tyneside after signing from Odense for just under £6m in the summer of 2023. Almost immediately after arriving at Newcastle, a purchase driven by the club’s former sporting director Dan Ashworth, Minteh went out on a season-long loan to Feyenoord. After starring under Arne Slot last term, Eddie Howe harboured high hopes for Minteh but, instead, PSR concerns prompted a rushed sale that some at St James’ Park fear will prove a huge mistake. So far this season Minteh has started five of Brighton’s seven league games, scoring his first goal for Fabian Hürzeler’s side in the 3-2 comeback win against Tottenham. The winger is said to have been extremely reluctant to leave Newcastle but now he threatens to show his former public, manager and teammates precisely what they are missing. Louise Taylor

Southampton seek to break their Premier League duck after a pair of very different 3-1 defeats. After losing at Bournemouth, Russell Martin laid into his players, “hurt by the lack of spirit and fight” while after Arsenal he had “taken a lot of heart, encouragement and belief from the performance”. Despite Saints’ results, a significant proportion of fans are supportive of Martin’s commitment to his style of football. The same may not be true of Leicester’s supporters for their manager. Perhaps it’s the Nottingham Forest connection, perhaps it’s that Steve Cooper’s pragmatism means Leicester no longer play in the adventurous fashion they did under Enzo Maresca. The win over Bournemouth last time out was Leicester’s first victory in the league. Cooper’s star man has been Facundo Buonanotte, the Brighton loanee. It is hoped his passage back from Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers is comfortable enough for him to be included. JB

The break was both a blessing and a curse for Mikel Arteta. He will have been buoyed by the sight of Mikel Merino turning out for Spain in their Nations League victories over Denmark and Serbia, the summer signing playing 90 minutes across the two fixtures. It will surely give Merino’s club manager the green light to unleash him alongside Declan Rice at Bournemouth in his preferred midfield pairing. Yet the break also brought pain for Arsenal as Bukayo Saka hobbled off in England’s Nations League nightmare against Greece. The winger’s injury may provide another hurdle for Arteta to clear in his quest to topple Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. The Gunners have been largely fortunate with injuries in the past two seasons as they’ve challenged for the title, but the modern schedule means that was unlikely to last for ever. DB

Few players had a more bittersweet international break than James McAtee. The 21-year-old Manchester City midfielder scored three times for England Under-21s, including twice against Ukraine, the first of which was a rasping free-kick. After the game McAtee dedicated his double to George Baldock, whom he spent two years alongside while on loan at Sheffield United. “When I was there he welcomed me with open arms, he looked after me,” said McAtee, who celebrated by lifting his shirt to reveal a message which read: “GB 2 REST EASY BROTHER X.” McAtee, a fixture in City’s squads this season, is unlikely to start at Wolves on Sunday but, having scored on his last club appearance, in a 4-0 Champions League win against Slovan Bratislava at the start of this month, if required Pep Guardiola knows he can turn to a man in form. Ben Fisher

Arne Slot and Enzo Maresca have benefited from relatively settled defences throughout their impressive starts to life at Liverpool and Chelsea, with the former boasting the best defensive record in the Premier League at present, but both face disruption to their backlines for what should be a revealing contest at Anfield. The visitors will be without the suspended Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella after each collected a fifth booking of the season in the feisty draw with Nottingham Forest before the international break. Mohamed Salah’s duel with Renato Veiga, Cucurella’s potential replacement at left-back, could be intriguing. Liverpool’s loss is limited to one, but a hugely influential one nonetheless, with Alisson sidelined until after November’s international break with his second hamstring injury of the campaign. Caoimhín Kelleher proved an able deputy in the wins over Bournemouth and West Ham, as the Republic of Ireland international usually does, and possesses the temperament to put Sunday’s mistake against Greece immediately behind him. Andy Hunter

Performing heroics against a local rival is a surefire way in sport to guarantee a place in the hearts of your team’s supporters. In football there are numerous examples of players enjoying 90 minutes to remember in derby matches: Gary Rowell, Alan Sunderland, Ian Rush, Craig Bryson, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland – object lessons in how to win friends and influence people.

Another example of this could be found on the evening of 2 September 1981. The newly promoted West Ham went to White Hart Lane knowing the clash would be a significant examination of their ability to compete in the top flight. What followed was the stuff of dreams. A memorable night for the club and their No 9.

The early-80s were an exciting time for West Ham supporters. Despite starting the decade in Division Two, the club won the 1980 FA Cup, and the 1980-81 season brought more success. Losing just four matches in topping the second tier, John Lyall’s team also reached the League Cup final and the last eight of the Cup Winners’ Cup.

Promoted in April, Lyall’s record-breakers were confirmed as champions with a 5-1 win at Grimsby. The centre-forward David Cross scored four goals at Blundell Park taking his league tally to 22 goals and his season total to 33 in all competitions. For the much-travelled Cross, promotion and the golden boot gave him a season to be cheerful.

If Cross wanted to confirm his cult status at the club then he chose the ideal fixture on West Ham’s return to Division One. Without a goal since his four goals at Grimsby, Cross ended his drought by repeating this feat at the home of one of West Ham’s biggest rivals.

Prior to the opening match of the season, Lyall was positive about the campaign ahead: “We have nothing to worry about. There are seven internationals plus proven men like Paul Goddard, David Cross and Geoff Pike. That can’t be bad.” Denied three points after conceding a late penalty against Brighton at Upton Park, West Ham’s made the short trip to FA Cup holders Tottenham five days later.

Tottenham had been mentioned in some season previews as potential title contenders. Bringing in Ray Clemence from Liverpool, Keith Burkinshaw’s side shared the Charity Shield with Aston Villa before winning their opening league match 3-1 at Middlesbrough. But in what would be a marathon 66-match season, injuries were already taking their toll.

Missing Chris Hughton, Ossie Ardiles, Steve Archibald and Garth Crooks for the visit of West Ham, Tottenham were further hampered when the defender Paul Price was forced off at half-time. Although they were missing the experience of Trevor Brooking, West Ham took full advantage in front of a crowd of 41,200.

West Ham’s night to remember started in the 10th minute when a Jimmy Neighbour cross from the right found its way to Cross at the far post. From six yards out, Cross – known as “Psycho” to West Ham supporters – swept a right-footed shot past Clemence. It was the start of a torrid night for the new Spurs keeper.

In fairness, Clemence could do little to prevent Cross’s next two goals. Five minutes into the second half, a Ray Stewart cross found Steve Perryman and Paul Miller wanting, allowing Cross to instinctively poke a right-footed effort past Clemence before he could react. If that goal had been a little scrappy, there could be no doubting the quality of West Ham’s third.

Cross would later describe his hat-trick goal as “possibly the best I’ve ever scored”, and although a closer inspection shows that he may have shinned his volley past Clemence, it was still a spectacular strike. A pass from Frank Lampard Sr found Paul Goddard who volleyed first time to Pike on West Ham’s left. Pike’s cross with his first touch found Cross who volleyed past Clemence from just inside the box.

The watching England manager, Ron Greenwood, enjoyed Cross’ third, describing it as a possible goal of the season contender, and West Ham and their fans packed behind Clemence’s goal were in the mood for more. Pike and Goddard both wasted chances to add a fourth, but it was fitting that Cross would have the final say.

After Clemence fumbled when contesting with Goddard, Pike crossed to the same man who then saw his shot blocked. Inevitably the ball dropped perfectly for Cross who bundled home to put the cherry on top of the cake. Tottenham 0-4 Psycho.

Cross was delighted to have got off the mark early on in the campaign, with him and his club hoping to establish themselves back at the top table of football. “I think a start like I got against Tottenham will give me the confidence I will need for the rest of the season because it’s given me that foothold with four goals straight away to build from there.”

The newspaper headlines were naturally dominated by the man of the moment: “Spurs fall in Cross fire”, “Spurs go crashing to Cross”, “Four-goal Cross gives Spurs home hammering”, “Crossed out”. The four-goal hero described the occasion as “a special night for me, for the team and the fans”. Cross would also prove to be as charitable as the Tottenham defence.

“I was given the match ball,” Cross said. “But I have made a present of it to our keeper Phil Parkes. He is never in a position to score a hat-trick and the last time I scored three I promised I would give him the next ball I earned.” Three days later, Cross scored against Sunderland to put West Ham top of the early season table. It could not last but these were heady times for West Ham fans.

West Ham remained undefeated until a loss at champions Aston Villa on 17 October, but Lyall would lead the club to a respectable ninth place finish come the end of the season. Cross scored 16 league goals in what would be his one and only season playing for West Ham in the top flight, including a goal in his last match for the club against Wolves.

The 30-year-old had already played a key part in the revival of West Ham in the early-80s. Yet his four goals at Tottenham in September 1981 cemented his standing at the club. Cross “left Tottenham staring at their boots in embarrassment” in the words of the Guardian’s David Lacey. For anyone associated with West Ham, heads could be held high after Psycho’s night.

A 49-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault on the Tottenham season ticket holder Eve De Haan.

Writing in the Guardian, De Haan described how a travelling Brentford fan had elbowed her in the face, sexually assaulted and verbally abused her on an overground train after Spurs’ 3-1 defeat of Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. De Haan wrote that she reported her claims to staff at Seven Sisters station.

A spokesperson for the British Transport Police said: “I can confirm a 49-year-old man from Staines-upon-Thames was arrested and has been released on bail.”

A spokesperson for Brentford said the club “understand that a suspect has been arrested in connection with this incident and is now under police investigation. The club will provide full support to the authorities throughout this process and will consider the findings before taking any action in line with our club sanctions policy”.

Tottenham said in a statement: “The club stands firmly against misogyny and all forms of violence towards women and girls. We became the first club to sign up to the Mayor of London’s women’s night safety charter and have spoken directly with Eve to offer our full support, as well as that of our dedicated supporters’ group for women and non-binary fans of the men’s team, Women of the Lane.

“The club also offers its full support to what remains a live police investigation and we shall be contacting transport providers to discuss more frequent trains on match days.”

North London was orange (and a bit blue) as the Chicago Bears rekindled their relationship with British fans and treated a partisan crowd to a blowout victory against a limp Jacksonville Jaguars side for good measure.

In the battle of two No 1 overall draft picks, the Bears’ rookie quarterback Caleb Williams had the edge over his opponent Trevor Lawrence, who the Jags selected first in 2021. Williams threw four touchdown passes and rushed for 58 yards, the decisive contribution in the game. But his performance passed the entertainment test too, the 23-year-old’s adaptability and the pinpoint power of his arm showing the 60,000 crowd why he has been marked out as a prospect of some talent.

For Lawrence there were two touchdown passes and 234 passing yards. But with many of his 23 completed passes unambitious, the Tennessee native with the shoulder length hair looked very much a franchise player, but of a franchise that is currently flailing and dipping dangerously low on confidence. Defeat takes the Jaguars to 1-5, and keeps them rock bottom of the AFC South.

The Jaguars remain committed to playing in London each year, though talk of a London franchise has died down. Meanwhile the Bears were playing their first fixture in the UK in five years. Yet the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium felt a bit like Soldier Field on the day, such was the preponderance of Bears support. With the programme running a lengthy feature on William ‘the Refrigerator’ Perry and his spell at the London Monarchs, perhaps some of the affiliation was sentimental. There was certainly a substantial travelling contingent too. But either way, the support was ubiquitous, gaudy and noisy. As for Jaguars fandom, there was little, if any. The quirks of international expansion.

The Jags had arrived late in London, their travel delayed by the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Milton. The Bears, meanwhile, have been holed up in Hertfordshire for a week. There is debate as to the best way for an NFL team to deal with the schlep to London, but Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said the week in the UK had allowed the team to effectively have a mid-season training camp. It showed on the field, with a number of complex plays coming off on the day as Williams continued to build relationships with his new teammates.

The key moments came before half time, after Williams blotted his copybook with a sloppy interception. It felt like a play that could send the game in a different direction and Williams admitted it had infuriated him. But the Bears defense proved its worth, as it so often does, immediately springing back to recover possession, and the ball was immediately driven back down the field where the game-breaking third touchdown was scored. It was Williams who clinched the play with a rocket of a 25 yard pass down the seam, into the arms of Keenan Allen, the man he calls his “older brother”. It was the wide receiver’s first touchdown for the Bears and he celebrated by holding a tea party with his teammates, pinky out as they supped.

“We feel we took a step in the right direction today,” said Eberflus of Williams’ performance and engagement with his teammates. “You want progress to be linear but it’s not always that way. But his ability to learn, to want to get better, is what sets him apart. He knows this year is a big year for him, to learn the game. He’s always been good enough in terms of talent but he’s learning our game and learning our skill sets. Our guys have wide skill sets, we have to utilise that and he’s doing a good job.”

Back in the rather colder confines of Leigh, we’re approaching kick-off time. What’s your prediction for this one? I’m going for a narrow United victory, 2-1 perhaps.

A win for the hosts would ensure they join Chelsea as the only WSL side with a perfect record this season so far. Can they go three from three?

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Tottenham’s head coach Robert Vilahamn is speaking to Sky Sports before the game.

He says his team must find the balance between scoring goals and keeping them out. “We need to make sure we don’t give away set-pieces to score from.”

He adds that Beth England “deserves to start” after the impact she’s made off the bench in the past few matches.

“These games are the ones we’ve got to compete [in] to see if we can break into the Champions League, to challenge Man United. We’re aiming for the Champions League in the long run.”

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Marc Skinner has been delighted with United’s fast start to the league season but says his team are still in transition, integrating new players after a busy summer.

We’re in a good space. We’re still learning. I can tell that there are parts of our game that are not smooth but I’ve been happy with our clean sheets. I think that’s huge for us. We’re embedding a new goalkeeper into a starting position. We’re embedding new defenders, new midfielders, new forwards.

We’re playing some really exciting stuff and, even in training, I’m starting to see little connections in players that haven’t played together before. I think that is really important for us. It’s still our style, but I just think you’ll see individuals do things differently.”

And what of the challenge posed by Spurs?

It’s going to be an intriguing game. I won’t take Tottenham ever lightly. I pay every team the respect they deserve and this is a team that can score goals, create chances, has great counter-attacking ability. We’ve just got to try to control it as much as possible. It’ll be a good game. It will be tight.

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Updated at 13.07 CEST

A reminder that Melvine Malard is injured for United and it looks like she’s been joined on the sidelines by Brazilian forward Geyse. The hosts still look pretty strong through, with Leah Galton continuing in her left back role and Celin Bizet coming into the forward line.

For Spurs, it will be all about that link-up between Martha Thomas, Beth England and Jessica Naz up top. We’re about 45 minutes from kick-off at Leigh.

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Preamble

Hello and welcome to today’s live Women’s Super League offering. And it comes from Leigh Sports Village, where unbeaten Manchester United host Tottenham. OK, United have only played twice in the league so far this season, but with two wins from two confidence is high. Spurs have been a mixed bag with a win, a draw and a defeat from their three encounters so far.

Grace Clinton is most certainly the player to watch today. The 21-year-old England prodigy is aiming become the first ever United player to score in each of their first three WSL appearances for the club. She showed huge promise on loan at Tottenham last season – so there’s narrative for you. United boss Marc Skinner boasts a super record against Spurs, too, going seven games against them unbeaten.

The game kicks off at 12.30pm (BST) and we’ll bring you team news in the next post, so let’s get stuck into this, shall we? Yes, let’s.

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Last month I took the overground to sit in my season ticket seat at the best football club in the country, in my home of north London. I sat with the middle-aged men I’ve learnt to love over the past three seasons, watching a team I’ve loved since I was a child and celebrated a buoyant 3-1 win over Brentford under the sunshine.

So how come 30 minutes after the final whistle, I was surrounded by police officers, sobbing my eyes out in a Transport for London (TfL) office at Seven Sisters?

I’d say there’s always a sense of nervousness getting on the packed overground after a game, no matter if we win or lose. The trains come only every 15 minutes, the crowd gets frequently kettled into the small station, and being only five foot three and packed into a crowd of men who have spent the last 90 minutes submitting to their territorial football mentality, I often have to meditatively breathe myself into being OK. But until now, I had been OK. Despite appearances, most fans in these situations still seem to have a generally altruistic and empathetic attitude to those less able, less comfortable, or just generally … small.

When an away fan elbowed me in the face getting on the carriage that weekend I put it down to the intense crush as everyone pushed each other to get on in time. It’s never nice, it’s never comfortable, but it happens. It was just as the train was setting off that I realised I was actually being assaulted. The same fan was pushing into me, not in a packed-like-sardines way, but in a I’m-pushing-my-pelvis-directly-into-your-ass-on-purpose kind of way. Meanwhile, the man in front of me was grinning and licking his lips as my front was pushed into him from behind. Like being a slice of cheese in a horrendous assault sandwich.

To exacerbate things, the away fan had two teenage sons with him who started laughing about their dad being able to “penetrate” a girl on a train and when I told him to stop, all hell broke loose. I won’t go into everything they said, but it was cruel and misogynistic. They then started filming me as I was still being assaulted, while someone in the carriage yelled at me to “enjoy it”.

After I pointed out the assaulter to a young member of the TfL staff at Seven Sisters, he shrugged, obviously unaware of procedure. Shaken up while the fans were still shouting abuse at me, I waited for the entire crowd to leave before then seeing five police officers further down the station. After I explained what had happened between frenzied sobs, they ran down the escalator and held the Victoria Line train to try to find him. Too late – he and his sons had managed to get an earlier tube.

After my statement had been taken, football shirt sodden with sweat, and comforted by very kind and empathetic officers, my boyfriend picked me up and I made my final trip home. It was only over the rest of the weekend my rage against this man amplified into the familiar anger at the systemic inequality I have to endure every week I go to the football. Why, despite being a lifelong fan just like these men, do I have to grit my teeth every time I attend a game?

My mind flitted from “why were away fans allowed on the platform”, to “why did the male TfL attendant just shrug”, as if this is just part and parcel of going to football matches. Why does it have to be? By protecting the traditional, and at times brilliant, football culture in this country, why does that mean maintaining and even applauding views and behaviour towards women that are not just out-dated but openly predatory?

Furthermore, whose responsibility does it fall on to tackle these issues? I would imagine Tottenham have nothing to do with fans the second they leave the stadium. Is it clubs that should be working harder to tackle misogynistic behaviour? Is it the responsibility of the away team that sells their allocation to aggressive fans? Is it Transport for London, who could be working harder to ensure women are safer on their carriages after football games by putting on more trains to ease crowding, or explore policies such as women-only carriages as seen in Japan and Brazil? Or is it the British Transport Police who should be investing further into campaigns against sexual violence and post-match disorder?

In 2019, only 14% of men thought sexism was a prevalent issue at football games, yet just last month, a study from Kick It Out has shown that 52% of female fans have experienced sexist behaviour on matchday. Compounding that with a 36% growth in matchday disorder since the pandemic, it feels like harassment and assault is a bomb about to explode in a room of silent witnesses. A long as we view women as secondary in the space of men’s football, this issue will never be addressed. And with a disparate collective of clubs, transport companies and the police unable to form a coalition at dealing with misogyny and disorder together, it feels like everyone is putting their hands up and deciding it’s someone else’s problem to deal with.

When contacted by the Guardian, TfL said it was shocked to hear about my experience. “We are very sorry that the woman concerned did not receive the help that she needed. We are supporting the police with their investigation and are also looking into how this was handled by staff.” BTP, meanwhile, said there has been a rise in reports of sexual harassment and that “our officers are on patrol 24/7 and can meet trains at the next station. If it happens on the tube and you don’t have signal, you can speak to staff or text us at the next station.”

While their intentions are genuine, I am sure, I’m still fatigued and resent the need of entering protection mode every time I want to go see the club I love, support, and pay to watch. My whole body fills with dread when I now think of the journey there and back for the next match.

This is a public call for clubs, BTP and TfL to please do better. At the very least, invest in campaigns that address this behaviour. Explore policies that make these spaces safe for women. Take us seriously and stop viewing us as secondary in the male space. The fact that two teenage boys were encouraging what was happening shows how vital it is to shift these behaviours before they’re picked up by the next generation.

And if any women coming to Spurs v West Ham on the 19 October want to buddy up and travel together, hit me up. We shouldn’t have to, but here we are.

Eve De Haan is a Spurs season ticket holder

The Tottenham first-team coach Ryan Mason is in talks with Anderlecht to take his first managerial role.

Mason has held a variety of positions at Spurs, including two spells as interim manager, since he returned to the club in 2018. The once-capped England midfielder was forced to retire from playing at the age of 26 following a fracture to his skull in a game for Hull at Chelsea in 2017.

He started his coaching career at his boyhood club, Tottenham, months after his retirement before he was asked to take charge of the first team in 2021 after the departure of José Mourinho. Mason subsequently led Spurs in their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

Antonio Conte promoted Mason to his coaching staff upon his appointment and the 33-year-old had another interim spell in charge towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Having worked under the current Tottenham manager, Ange Postecoglou, for the past 16 months, Mason has held talks with Anderlecht over the Belgian club’s vacant head coach position and could now be set for his first permanent managerial role.

If only there were a word for that sort of performance from Tottenham. At half-time, they were 2-0 up and seemed utterly in control, Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson ripping Brighton apart down the right.

They were so dominant that the instinct was to start recalling great Spurs collapses of the past – 3-0 up against Manchester United in 2001, 3-0 up against 10-man Manchester City in 2004, the leads lost in the two 5-2 defeats by Arsenal in 2012, 2-0 up against Chelsea in the Battle of the Bridge in 2016, 3-0 up after 82 minutes against West Ham in 2020 – if only because it seemed so unlikely something similar could happen again. But the Spursiness of Spurs is never to be underestimated.

This was the 10th time Spurs have lost a Premier League game having been two goals up. No other side have done it on more than seven occasions. As Giorgio Chiellini observed after Juventus had scored twice in three second-half minutes to transform a Champions League tie Spurs had seemed to be dominating in 2018, “this is the history of the Tottenham”.

Perhaps in retrospect, there were just a couple of warning signs in the first half, the sense that Brighton had the capacity to slice Spurs open. But the story at the break seemed to be of Brighton’s fragility, the remarkable vulnerability of their high line. There was the unusual sensation of watching a dogmatic approach being undone in a Spurs game and Ange Postecoglou being on the right side of it.

The tone was set within 16 seconds as Dominic Solanke released Timo Werner behind Joël Veltman; again and again the away side hit the space Chelsea had exploited last week. Fabian Hürzeler has insisted the issue is not the height of the line but a lack of pressure on the ball, but playing a line that high with players as slow on the turn as Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster means there is no failsafe such as, for instance, Spurs enjoy with the pace of Micky van de Ven. The loss of Webster to what appeared a hamstring injury after nine minutes only complicated matters further. Igor Julio came on, but Jan Paul van Hecke is badly missed.

Even allowing for the fact that Werner is not, it’s fair to say, as lethal as Cole Palmer, the surprise was that it took 23 minutes for Spurs to take the lead. The method, though, was entirely predictable, as Georginio Rutter was dispossessed and Solanke fed Johnson to score his sixth in six games. The second, similarly, resulted from a simple transition, Solanke holding off Igor to play in Werner, who teed up James Maddison.

Spurs could have got more before the break. As Postecoglou said, Spurs should have “put the game to bed”. He seemed almost shell-shocked afterwards, standing on the pitch for a lengthy period and then acknowledging that his side hadn’t done the basics, that they hadn’t competed after half-time. It wasn’t just that they were open in the second half, it was that the life went out of them. Had more than three of this side played away to Ferencvaros on Thursday, it might have been tempting to blame fatigue, but there were no obvious explanations and, from Postecoglou’s point of view, no excuses.

After a promising start to the season, Brighton had run into a slightly sticky spell, failing to win any of their previous four league games. There have now been 20 goals in their past four games in all competitions; that might not be sustainable, but it is fun. Pervis Estupiñán’s arrival for Ferdi Kalioglu at left-back helped shore up that side and, with a more solid platform, Kauro Mitoma suddenly was able to impose himself.

Still, though, for all that Brighton improved, for all that they became more compact, for all the determined running of Rutter and the aerial threat of Danny Welbeck, it was hard to avoid the feeling that Tottenham gave this up. The first Brighton goal came after an air shot by Van de Van and a miskick by Destiny Udogie. The second came after Mitoma was allowed a run and Udogie’s shove almost seemed to give Rutter the momentum to get past Van de Ven. And the third resulted from Rutter beating Udogie far too easily and Rodrigo Bentancur then being indecisive, allowing Rutter to cross.

Ange Postecoglou tore into his Tottenham players after seeing them throw away a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton, branding the performance “unacceptable” and accusing them of a lack of fight. The head coach has not been this angry after a defeat during his season-and-a-bit at the club, his outspoken criticism feeling like his Antonio Conte moment.

Conte, the previous permanent Spurs head coach, went into meltdown after his team surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Southampton in March 2023, furiously questioning his players’ mentality. It should be said that Postecoglou’s delivery was rather more measured.

“We didn’t do what you need to do at this level – it’s kind of non-negotiable,” Postecoglou said. “We just weren’t competitive. We didn’t win our duels, we lacked intensity, we didn’t deliver the things you need to at this level – the basics of the game, and we paid the price for it.

“It’s unacceptable. You can kind of understand that you’re not going to win every game. But there’s the manner you lose games. And that’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve lost the game in that manner. Like I said, unacceptable. It’s probably the most disappointing loss I’ve had since I’ve been here, in terms of the way we went about it and it’s something I need to assess.

“It’s a real stark reminder of what elite sport is about. The core of it is competitive. If you’re not competitive, it doesn’t matter how good you are or how good you think you are … you’re going to trip up.”

Danny Welbeck put Brighton in front in the 66th minute and Postecoglou left it until the 79th minute to make his first substitutions. “Substitutions and all those kind of things … they are totally irrelevant to me,” he said. “If you’re not competitive, it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re not going to get rewards.

“We didn’t deserve, on our second-half performance, irrespective of subs or anything else, to get something out of the game. If you do get something out of the game, you’re falsely rewarded and I don’t want to get falsely rewarded.

“We should have put the game to bed in the first half. But if that just masks what I saw in the second half, then it doesn’t … I mean, certain things will always reveal themselves over the course of time. I’ve got to deal with what happened in the second half.”

Postecoglou was asked whether he had said all of this to the players in the dressing room. “Yeah, feedback is always what I believe [in],” he replied. “I don’t hide things. I’m sure the players are disappointed but I don’t really care about that. They should be disappointed. Our supporters are disappointed, I’m disappointed.

“I want them to understand football is not about losing a game of football, that happens. The disappointment comes from us not doing the very basics of what’s expected at the highest level from a competitive standpoint.”

Ange Postecoglou wore the thousand-yard stare. The game had felt over at half-time, his Tottenham team two goals to the good, their control almost total, en route surely to a sixth straight win in all competitions.

Now the head coach stood motionless on the touchline, hands buried deep into coat pockets, struggling to process what had happened. Which was an astonishing Brighton comeback, one that involved them bouncing up from the canvas and surging into the lead just after the hour. They would not relinquish it, the home support celebrating wildly at full-time.

There was an uncomfortable spotlight on the Spurs defending, with Destiny Udogie enduring a personal nightmare, culpable to varying degrees on all three goals. Yet he was not alone. Micky van de Ven, for example, will not enjoy the inquest into his role on the first two goals, which were scored by Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter. Ditto Rodrigo Bentancur on what proved to be the winner, which was headed home by Danny Welbeck.

More broadly, as Postecoglou would make clear in searing style, this was an abdication of responsibility from his players; their failure to do the very basics – beginning with carrying some kind of fight – cutting him to the core. He has not been this frustrated after a game, this outspoken about the shortcomings of his team.

Credit to Fabian Hürzeler, the Brighton head coach, who made a key substitution at the interval, replacing Ferdi Kadioglu, who endured a torrid time at left-back, with Pervis Estupiñán. And to every player in the blue and white. They refused to believe that defeat was their destiny, even if they surely could not have envisaged the extent of the Spurs capitulation.

Brighton located the necessary levels of intensity, of ruthlessness, with Kaoru Mitoma the spark; a blur of quick feet and direct movement. He was virtually unplayable.

Earlier in the year, when Hürzeler was in charge at St Pauli, Postecoglou had invited him into Spurs to share some of his knowledge. “If someone knocks on your door and wants a cuppa, let them in your house,” Postecoglou said. “He’s not going to take your furniture or steal your cutlery.” Here, Hürzeler plundered extensively, Brighton jumping above Spurs and up into sixth place in the table. Their £150m summer squad rebuild has its latest dividend.

It was almost impossible to reconcile the first-half performance with what followed from a Spurs point of view. Their start had been blistering and the story looked set to be about a sixth goal in as many games for Brennan Johnson, about James Maddison making light of his continued omission from the England squad with another influential display. Dejan Kulusevski revelled in his inside forward role, surging up and down; more up than down.

Spurs pressed high and aggressively, forcing turnovers in dangerous areas. Timo Werner’s pace was too much for Joël Veltman, even if his end product was typically frustrating. Dominic Solanke impressed.

Maddison had a goal ruled out by the VAR, who spotted that Pedro Porro was offside before he crossed, and the breakthrough was all about Spurs’ hustle, Udogie and Maddison combining to rob Rutter. From there, it was Solanke to Johnson and Johnson with the low first-time finish. The biggest compliment to pay the in-form winger was that the outcome was never in doubt.

Spurs had created a clutch of decent openings in the first 10 minutes alone, Kulusevski and Maddison central to everything, and when the former sent Johnson through in the 43rd minute after a neat Solanke lay-off, a Brighton fan next to the press box summed things up. “It’s too easy,” he yelled. Johnson banged the shot over the crossbar.

Brighton, who lost Adam Webster to a muscle injury in the early running, barely contributed to the first half, save for a couple of Welbeck moments. He prodded wide from a Mitoma cross when he ought to have done better and flashed a header wide. The second-half turnaround was remarkable.

Hürzeler’s introduction of Estupiñán revived his team on the left, with Mitoma coming alive. By the 58th minute the winger had set up two goals and the game was level. Van de Ven and Udogie each miskicked before Minteh spun to score and the Spurs pair were brushed aside on the equaliser, with Rutter swerving away from them and picking out the bottom corner.

There was an element of inevitability about the Brighton goal for 3-2, Spurs all at sea, Udogie yet again at fault. Rutter got around him too easily but Bentancur had moved across to deal with the forward as the ball ran along the byline. Except he did not. Rutter slid for it, showing the desire, and his tackle became the perfect cross, Welbeck rising to nod past Guglielmo Vicario.

Spurs disappeared without trace. Their only real chance for the equaliser came when Udogie cut inside and unloaded a low shot. Verbruggen got down to his right to save.