Irish Independent

A look at Tottenham's 2024, which started with hope and ended with questions about Ange Postecoglou's tenure.

Tottenham were outplayed at the Vitality Stadium fell to 10th in the table - with the 4-0 victory at Manchester City their only win in the last six games in all competitions.

Postecoglou went to applaud the away end at full-time but was then involved in an exchange with Spurs supporters. The Australian nodded his head and pointed to his chest, appearing to say “me?” before raising his thumb. Postecoglou said he received some “pretty direct feedback”, which he said he could not repeat.

When asked about what happened at full-time, the manager said: “I wasn’t having a word. They were disappointed and rightly so. I got some pretty direct feedback on how we’re going and it’s fair enough.”

Ange Postecoglou 'determined to get it right' after Spurs lose at Bournemouth

He continued: “I’ve got no issue with it. I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being but you’ve got to cop it. I’ve been around long enough to know that if things don’t go well, you’ve got to understand the frustration and disappointment. They’re right to be disappointed tonight because again we’ve let a game of football get away from us. That’s ok, I’m ok with all of that.”

Tottenham go to high-flying Chelsea on Sunday and also play Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and host Premier League leaders Liverpool before Christmas. Spurs have been hampered by injuries, particularly in defence, with Postecoglou also losing Ben Davies to a hamstring injury during the defeat at Bournemouth.

Spurs conceded another goal from a set-piece as Dean Huijsen was left unmarked at the back post to score the only goal of the game. Bournemouth had enough chances to increase their lead as Postecoglou criticised his team for continuing to “make things difficult for ourselves” and “shoot ourselves in the foot”.

"It is not good enough,” Postecoglou said. “We again fell into the trap of starting the game really well, we were in control and then we conceded a really poor goal.

"Then we kind of lost our way a little bit and allowed Bournemouth to play the game that they wanted to. We had our moments in the second half but we could not get a goal.

"I don’t know if they had more urgency but we have this sort of propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot when we should be controlling games. They are hard to beat here and what you should not do is give them a goal that gives them the momentum they need.

"We started to play with a bit more conviction at the beginning of the second half and made some good chances. Again we made things difficult for ourselves by allowing the opposition to take the game in the direction that they want.

"They are all big games coming up. We have to get ourselves out of the space we are in at the minute where we can’t get a real grip on the season."

On Davies’ injury, which could leave Tottenham with one fit centre-back for the trip to Chelsea, Postecoglou said: “It looks like he's done his hamstring. Him and Radu [Dragusin] have played every game. It's the one position we can't rotate. He'll obviously be out for a period of time now, we'll just have to wait and see how long it is. It's a consequence of having the squad we have at the moment.”

Ange Postecoglou had been forced to stew on a humbling 3-2 loss away to Brighton for two weeks during the international break where they conceded three times in quick succession after half-time.

When Mohammed Kudus put West Ham ahead in the 18th minute after slack home defending, the Spurs boss could have been forgiven for fearing the worst but Dejan Kulusevski levelled before the break and the hosts were at their scintillating best afterwards.

Yves Bissouma slotted home to make it 2-1 in the 52nd-minute and Jean-Clair Todibo put through his own net four minutes later before Son Heung-min wrapped up the scoring on the hour mark with a trademark left-footed finish.

There was still time for Julen Lopetegui to watch Kudus be sent off late on for violent conduct to compound another poor afternoon for the new West Ham boss.

Spurs were boosted by the return of fit-again captain Son and the in-form Brennan Johnson fizzed an early effort wide.

West Ham had headed into the international break after a 4-1 victory over Ipswich and almost went ahead in the 11th minute.

Jarrod Bowen skipped past Micky van de Ven and cut back for Kudus, but his powerful strike was tipped over by Guglielmo Vicario.

It was a warning sign that Tottenham would not heed as not long after Son curled just past the post, Lopetegui watched his team go ahead.

Destiny Udogie was at fault for Spurs after he failed to initially clear his line, which allowed Bowen the opportunity to race beyond him and tee up Kudus, who scuffed an effort into the bottom corner in the 18th-minute.

Postecoglou could only shake his head on the touchline, but his team responded impressively with another Son effort deflected wide before Lucas Paqueta almost turned Udogie’s cross into his own net.

Pedro Porro was next to go close with a low effort well saved by Alphonse Areola, who quickly got up to claim the rebound and deny Johnson a tap-in.

The momentum had firmly shifted now and Tottenham did duly level after 36 minutes as James Maddison carried the ball before he found Kulusevski, who cut inside and rifled a left-footed strike in off the post from 16-yards.

Pape Sarr was sent on for Maddison at half-time and with Postecoglou’s words still ringing in the ears of his players, they started with a bang.

Moments after Udogie had a shot deflected over, the left-back received Son’s pass and checked back inside before he teed up Bissouma to roll home for Spurs’ second in the 52nd-minute.

It was 3-1 four minutes later when Kulusevski laid back for Son, who had a low effort saved by Areola, which unfortunately deflected off West Ham defender Todibo and went across the line.

Spurs were not finished there and Son grabbed his ninth goal against the Hammers on the hour mark to cap a three-goal spell in eight minutes.

Sarr passed out to Son, who dribbled into the penalty area and worked a yard of space against Todibo before he drilled home.

Son hit the post seconds later as Tottenham scented blood, but Udogie had to block a Kudus effort on the line before normal service was resumed as Kulusevski curled wide and Johnson was denied by Areola.

Areola also thwarted Timo Werner before West Ham ended with 10-men as Kudus was sent off in the 86th-minute by referee Andrew Madley, following a VAR review, for violent conduct after he shoved Sarr in the face.

Spurs legend Gascoigne this week claimed the club asked for “£400 each” when he requested tickets for a match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Gascoigne revealed he would be supporting Rangers when Spurs travel to Ibrox in the Europa League in December, saying: “At Rangers, I'm welcomed in every way and at Tottenham, I asked for a couple of tickets and they said ‘that'll be 400 pounds each.’

“I was like, wow, with all I did for that club, you know? When they play Spurs, I think I'll be a Rangers fan.”

Gascoigne’s comments sparked anger among supporters over the treatment of a player who spent four years at Spurs from 1988 to 1992 and scored a famous free kick in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Wembley.

But Gascoigne’s manager Katie Davies told Standard Sport: “We should like to clarify that Paul’s comments are not an accurate reflection of his relationship with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, which has provided a huge amount of support to him over the years and always looks after its former players.

“In relation to the tickets, these were intended for associates of Paul and not for himself - Paul has never been charged by the club for a ticket to come to a match.

“We hope this draws a line under any misunderstanding on this matter and a positive dialogue is maintained moving forward.”

Appearing on a Uruguayan television show in June, Bentancur was asked for a Tottenham player’s jersey and replied, “Sonny’s?” He added it could be Son’s cousin, too, because “more or less they are all the same.”

Bentancur apologised to Son on Instagram, saying it was a “very bad joke” and he would “never disrespect you or hurt you”.

The FA said it is alleged Bentancur has “acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.”

The FA said it constituted an aggravated breach because it included “reference to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin".

Bentancur has until September 19 to respond, but remains available to play in the north London derby this weekend.

In a short clip posted on social media this week from Uruguayan Television programme Por La Camiseta, host Rafa Cotelo asks the Uruguay international for a Spurs player's shirt, to which Bentancur replies, "Sonny's?", adding: "It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

Bentancur apologised after his comments were met with disapproval.

"Sonny brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke," the 26-year-old wrote on his Instagram stories on Friday.

"You know I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you, brother!"

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