The Telegraph

Tottenham Hotspur will not embark on another money-spinning post-season tour next summer amid chairman Daniel Levy’s declaration that he and the club would like to see less games.

Levy, together with head coach Ange Postecoglou and captain Son Heung-min, addressed the issue at a Tottenham fans’ forum, claiming the club “would like to see less games, but higher-quality games”.

That was seemingly at odds with Tottenham’s post-season trip to Australia at the end of the last campaign, when Postecoglou’s team played Newcastle United in a friendly in Melbourne.

Postecoglou and Son have added their their voices to the growing number of coaches and players who believe the fixture calendar needs to be reduced, and the pair will be relieved that there will be no repeat of the Australia trip at the end of this season.

The decision not to embark on another post-season tour is consistent with Postecoglou’s claim that the club would not have travelled to Australia in May had they competed in Europe last term.

Tottenham are in the Europa League this season, which means the squad face a much busier schedule than last term. The final of the Europa League is scheduled to take place on May 21, four days before the last Premier League game of the season.

Speaking in May about Tottenham’s post-season tour, Postecoglou said: “Our situation is a bit different from Newcastle’s. They’ve had a European season, Champions League, it’s been a big season. We haven’t. It’s no secret part of this is exposure but also revenue for us.

“I certainly wouldn’t have allowed it to happen if we were in Europe this year and had a bigger game schedule. I probably would have said no to it.

“And I don’t think the club would have expected us to go. If we’re in Europe next year, I don’t think you’ll be seeing this happen.

“I don’t think it’s ideal. But I think each situation is unique. For us, on the back of our season, to play one more game two days after the end of the season, there is substance to it for us.”

The giant Shah Alam Stadium in Malaysia – which has hosted Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur – has been demolished in spectacular fashion.

The stadium held a capacity of 80,372 people and was one of the most famous in the region but was found to be structurally unsafe in 2020.

A new state-of-the-art sports complex will be built on the site with a reduced capacity of between 35,000 and 45,000 people.

Since its opening in 1994, the venue was the home of Malaysian football team Selangor and regularly hosted the national side and live music shows, including Bon Jovi in 1995.

In the first event held at the stadium, on July 19, 1994, Dundee United drew 1-1 with a Selangor XI in an invitational tournament which also included Bayern Munich, Leeds United, Flamengo and the Australian Olympic football team.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar played for the Malaysian side on the day, but could not prevent the Scottish team’s Billy McKinlay from becoming the first player to score at the ground.

The venue staged live music shows including by bands Maroon 5, Deep Purple and Bon Jovi – the stadium playing host to the latter’s debut in Malaysia.

The new stadium will include a retractable pitch, indoor humidity control and an ‘event mode’ to host live music.

The dismantling of the previous stadium is set to be finished next year, with the new ground expected to be completed by 2029.

After last week’s ignominious home defeat in the north London derby, things had become so fraught in the online world of Spurs fans that the club’s manager Ange Postecoglou suggested supporters should do a bit of yoga to calm down.

And here, just 24 hours after his wellbeing prescription, was the Tottenham Stadium rocking in delight, the fans chanting out loud and proud the very names of players whose characters had been traduced so recently. Though in truth it was less a mass downward dog that had eased the collective blood pressure. It was more the three goals and three points.

Mind, the visiting manager Thomas Frank may be rethinking his bold game plan of taking the lead before the opposition have woken up. For the second week running his Brentford team scored in the first minute, only to find themselves on the losing side. And just as against Manchester City last weekend, all that early onslaught did was apparently anger his opponents.

Infuriated by the speed, ease and efficiency of Bryan Mbeumo’s lovely volley almost from the kick-off, Tottenham responded with real aggression and resolve. Though Postecoglou, never willing to take the obvious line, suggested the early goal offered no spur to his team.

“To be honest, it was like it never happened,” he claimed afterwards of Brentford’s lightning strike. “The boys went at it as we thought we should. We knew if we put our own intensity in we could cause them a lot of problems.”

Maddison the epitome of intensity

And intensity was the word. Led by James Maddison, who epitomised the spirit of the side in the pace and aggression of his interceptions and the manner in which he always sought to play the ball forwards at pace, Spurs excised much of the memory of their tame surrender to Arsenal. For the majority of this game, they played exactly as their manager has always said they can.

Even more delightfully for Postecoglou, Dominic Solanke scored his first goal for the club, poking home the rebound after Mark Flekken had saved Maddison’s shot, while Brennan Johnson got his second goal in four days to suppress the tiresome online complaints about his commitment to the cause.

“He had a tough week last week,” said his manager of Johnson. “But that gives you perspective. He’s a much-loved member of the squad. Anyone who watches Brennan play, if they think he doesn’t work as hard as he does, I’d be very surprised.”

What made the win all the more satisfying for those of a Tottenham persuasion was that it came against a side who are no pushovers.

True, Ethan Pinnock’s woeful attempt to play out from the back led to the Spurs equaliser. But the visitors never stopped trying, creating plenty of opportunities, Mbeumo in particular seemed infuriated by his failure to accept a couple of gilt-edged invitations. And for all Spurs’ combative spirit, they were indebted to Guglielmo Vicario, who made two world-class saves to deny Mbeumo and the substitute Kevin Schade.

Lucky escape for Vicario

The irony of the keeper’s interventions is that they came after he may, in other circumstances, have been sent off. He appeared to handle the ball outside his area, but the referee John Brooks missed his juggling act and, as it did not involve a goal-scoring opportunity, VAR did not intervene.

“There is no doubt, he handballed it outside the box. But that situation didn’t define the game. It could have been a free-kick for us. But the probability of scoring from a direct free-kick is about 0.01%. And I think overall the referee had a very good game,” said Frank, who is becoming rapidly used to the role of the gallant loser.

But he was right. Ultimately, the incident was not significant. What was significant was Maddison’s performance, one which, you imagine, will have been noted by Lee Carsley ahead of the next round of England’s Nations League fixtures.

When the Spurs No 10 scored the third goal here, executing an audacious chip following a move that swept the length of the pitch, he tore off his shirt in sheer delight. It was a finish of such touch, delicacy and precision it really ought to be memorialised in a yoga move. The Maddison Winner: it is a posture that would relax many an overwrought football fan.

Speaking after his team’s draw against Leicester, Everton boss Sean Dyche said: “Very positive display. We had chances that went begging again unfortunately, which we have done too many times in games where we should be killing them off. We didn’t manage to do that today but a lot of positives to take.

“James Garner was ill and got thrown in last minute and played excellently, Youngy and Illiman produced some superb play for the goal, lots more positives.

“Unfortunately you come away from a game where you probably should win with just a point. Normally you would be pleased with a point but at the moment we would have loved that win obviously.”

Ezri Konza said his team showed “character and togetherness” after Aston Villa completed a second-half comeback to beat Wolves 3-1 at Villa Park.

He had high praise for Jhon Duran and said: “He’s a big talent. We see it every day in training. It’s important for him to stay humble and we’ll help him do that. He’s still young.”

And on the tribute to Gary Shaw, he said: “It’s been an emotional week for us with the passing of Gary Shaw. On Tuesday we wanted to dedicate the win to him. And we wanted to do it today in front of our fans and in front of his family.”

Harvey Barnes told BBC MOTD that his team were not “solid” or “aggressive” in their 3-1 loss against Fulham this afternoon.

He said: “It wasn’t clicking for us. On the ball we weren’t good enough and off the ball, you can see with their goals, we weren’t at our level.

“It was disappointing to go in at half time and we needed a reaction. We got one - to a degree, anyway, because we didn’t get the result - but there were more promising signs in the second half.

“The basics weren’t there for us. Off the ball we were not as solid as we normally are and not as aggressive as we usually are on the ball. Our levels weren’t there.”

Speaking to BBC MOTD after Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Brentford, Ange Postecoglou praised his side’s performance, but said they should have won by more goals: “It was a good win, a good performance. Our performances have been good all year but today we got the result as well which is the most pleasing but. We should have won by a fair bit more but we still got the job done.”

He said Dominic Solanke “worked his socks off” and that his goal would have been “a great moment for him, especially at home”.

On Brennan Johnson, Postecoglou said: “He’s had a top week, he’s scored two goals, he’s won us a game to get through in the [League] Cup. Life’s good. Sometimes going through tough moments gives you perspective of what’s important.”

Speaking to BBC Sport after Fulham’s 3-1 win over Newcastle, Emile Smith-Rowe said his team is “really happy” and he feels “really confident” at Craven Cottage.

On the key to his side’s win, he said: “Sticking together and staying patient at times, we know Newcastle are a really strong team so we had to sit at times and be patient, get the ball and score. We’re really happy.

“Happy we took our chances, first few games we struggled to take our chances, so we’re happy with our three goals.

“It starts off the pitch, it’s like a family in there and we know we want to do everything for each other and want to work and want to win.”

Southampton 1 Ipswich 1

Late drama at St Mary’s as Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy fires in a stoppage-time screamer as Ipswich break Southampton hearts in the 94th minute.

After Aaron Ramsdale looked to have sealed a first win for the Saints with a superb save to deny George Hirst from a Jack Clark cross, Ipswich equalised from the subsequent corner after Ross Stewart’s headed clearance found the midfielder who brings the ball under control and finds the top left corner via a big deflection off Joe Aribo.

A hugely entertaining encounter looked to be going the way of the Saints, who had lost their first four games, thanks to 18-year-old Tyler Dibling’s fifth-minute strike. But the home side were left to rue missed chances through Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton-Diaz and are left with just one point instead of a much-needed three. Ipswich are also still seeking a first win of the season but will return home to East Anglia feeling like they have won.

Tottenham 3 Brentford 1

Thomas Frank may be rethinking his bold game plan of taking the lead before the opposition have woken up. For the second week running his Brentford scored in the first minute, only to find themselves ultimately on the losing side.

And just as against Manchester City last weekend, all that early onslaught did was apparently anger their opponents. For Tottenham, though, this was the most welcome of results.

Not only did they respond to that early setback with real aggression and resolve, quickly equalising, then taking the lead before James Maddison’s third secured the points late on. But there were also goals for a couple of their players who had been suffering online abuse from so called fans.

Dominic Solanke scored his first for the club, while Brennan Johnson scored his second in a week. Both were created by the irrepressible Maddison, who epitomised Ange Postecoglou’s approach with his speed of thought and application, forever looking to play the ball forward as quickly as possible. With him on this sort of form, all that suggestion that Tottenham and Ange-ballo were in decline really was a touch premature.

Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0

Liverpool enjoyed a South American carnival as Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez led a first half blitz against Bournemouth.

Either Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola missed the blueprint to trouble Arne Slot’s side provided by Nottingham Forest last weekend, or he is so wedded to his beliefs he didn’t care.

It’s a fine line between commending a visiting side for their ambition and condemning their naivety. Bournemouth played exactly the game Liverpool wanted at Anfield and Diaz and Nunez cashed in.

Diaz was mesmerising from the start and continued the theme of the season wherein he has added an end product to his scintillating build-up play. For all Liverpool’s intent to dominate possession, the opening goal on 26 minutes was pure route one, Ibrahima Konate’s 60 yard pass controlled and finished by Diaz.

The second two minutes later was more cultured. Diaz fed by Trent Alexander-Arnold and beating Kepa Arrizablaga at his near post.

Nunez scored with a typically audacious individual strike before half-time, cutting inside and swerving into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Liverpool dropped into first gear in the second half, Nunez and Diaz subbed to standing ovations after 71 minutes to enable Federico Chiesa to make his Anfield debut as the host eased to victory.

What a cracker of a first half that was. For the second Saturday on the bounce, Brentford took the lead within the first minute. And just like last weekend at Manchester City, they headed into the break 2-1 down, the cheek of their opening salvo merely serving to wake up their opponents.

Tottenham, infuriated by Bryan Mbeumo’s superb finish within 25 seconds, tore into their visitors, their press furious and relentless. Led by James Maddison on sparkling form, they tore back into contention.

Dominic Solanke hit the equaliser after Maddison’s shot was saved, then the midfielder set off a warp-speed counter attack, which was finished by Brennan Johnson.

His finger to lips celebration a telling response to those Spurs fans who have been querying his value to the side. Not that Brentford were out of it: they should have scored when Fabio Carvalho robbed Vicario and laid the ball off toe Mbeumo. But his shot was weak. If the second half is as good as the first, we are in for a treat.

If Newcastle beat Fulham at Craven Cottage this afternoon, they will move to the top of the Premier League for the first time since the opening weekend of the 2023-24 season.

They have won in each of their last five Premier League meetings against the home side and have had an impressive start to the season with three wins and one loss.

Form is certainly on their side.

However, if they do win, their time on top of the table could be short-lived with both Man City and Arsenal able to overtake them in tomorrow’s heavyweight clash.

Tottenham have suffered a frustrating start to the season, with two losses, a draw and one win in their opening four fixtures.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou’s advice? Do some yoga.

As Jon West reports, the coach has told angry fans to “take a breath and do some yoga” instead of criticising his players.

Last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal stoked up a barrage of social media disapproval that might have turned into an avalanche had not two late goals secured a 2-1 Carabao Cup win at Coventry in midweek.

The signing of striker Dominic Solanke, who cost £65 million from Bournemouth, has also been questioned after three games without a goal, which saw manager Postecoglou reply with some angry words of his own.

“People are just so quick to judge,” he said. “It’s a small sample. If he had gone 15 games without a goal or 15 games where he hasn’t contributed but I just think take a breath, do a bit of yoga.

“Think about the world for a second and make an assessment after that. We don’t have to rush to make judgment all the time.”

Spurs host Brentford this afternoon in the unfamiliar position of 13th in the Premier League table. Despite Postecoglou’s advice, fans will head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon with just one thought on their minds: victory.

Read more from Jon here.

Despite Arne Slot currently preferring Diogo Jota to Darwin Nunez, the Uruguayan has been granted an unprecedented spot in Liverpool’s starting XI this afternoon.

As Chris Bascombe explains, Nunez’s maverick reputation has been more of a curse than blessing since his arrival. He has enjoyed wonderful moments, but they are in danger of being packaged as memorable cameos rather than sustained periods of excellence.

The modern game is far more about adding the finishing touches to choreographed training ground drills than free spirits relying on their instinct in the heat of battle.

Whenever he has been summoned off the bench this season, whether Liverpool have been comfortably ahead as they were against AC Milan in the San Siro in midweek or desperately seeking an equaliser against Nottingham Forest three days earlier, Nunez has still looked like the raw number nine of his first two years, drawing the same crazy patterns as his eagerness to impress with extraordinary attempts is in sharp contrast to the poise and purpose of Liverpool’s other attackers.

Jota, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah possess game intelligence as much as incredible skill, intuitively understanding where they should be operating in all zones. The signing of Federico Chiesa means Slot has six forwards to choose from, the Italian having already shown during his career that a football brain accompanies his rapid pace. When he is picked, as with the other four, there is an expectation he will carry out his attacking and defensive duties with equal vigour. With Nunez, there is a feeling that there is more hope he will do so.

Today presents a golden opportunity for Nunez to prove himself a worthy selection among Liverpool’s talented and wide-ranging pool of attacking options.

Read more from Chris here.

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the six matches kicking off at 3pm in the Premier League.

In today’s 12:30pm kick-off, West Ham are trailing Chelsea 3-0 after an early brace from Nicolas Jackson shocked the London Stadium crowd.

Cole Palmer added to Chelsea’s goal tally – and to West Ham’s misery – with a tidy finish just two minutes into the second half.

Across the capital, Tottenham host West London rivals Brentford and will hope to bounce back after a flat start to the season. They have lost two of their opening four games and were most recently beaten 1-0 in the home North London Derby fixture. It has not been a smooth start to the season for Brentford either who are without key players including Yoane Wissa and Josh Dasilva.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth head to Anfield, where they have suffered nine defeats in 10 visits. Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is a doubt as he deals with a muscle strain and Harvey Elliott remains sidelined as he continues recovery from an ankle injury. The home side will be looking for a strong response after a shock 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest last weekend marked new manager Arne Slot’s first loss at the club.

Wolves make the short trip to Villa Park, with the home side in excellent form after starting the season with three wins in four games. Their visitors have struggled to make a similar impact, with three losses and a draw. Jhon Duran has scored the winning goal in all three of Villa’s Premier League victories this season, while Ollie Watkins has been involved in seven goals in his last six home fixtures for the club.

Fulham prepare to host Newcastle as the visitors seek to preserve their unbeaten start to the Premier League season. It has been a difficult week for the hosts after they dropped two points from winning positions in the league and suffered a penalty shootout defeat in a midweek Carabao Cup clash. Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and Sven Botman remain sidelined with injuries and manager Eddie Howe confirmed a late call will be made on the availability of striker Alexander Isak who was forced off at half-time in their last game.

Ipswich travel to Southampton as both sides look to build on recent results after a tough start to the season. Kieran McKenna’s side held both Brighton and Fulham to a draw in their last two Premier League fixtures, while Southampton were victorious in their Carabao Cup tie against Everton on Tuesday night.

Leicester and Everton are both still on the hunt for their first Premier League win of the season as the two clash at the King Power Stadium. The hosts were two goals up against Crystal Palace in last week’s league fixture however they collapsed in the second half and were held to a two-all draw after a Jean-Philippe Mateta brace. Meanwhile, Everton were dumped out of the Carabao Cup after suffering penalty shootout heartbreak against Southampton.

Ange Postecoglou has told angry Tottenham fans to “take a breath and do some yoga” instead of criticising his players. Spurs host Brentford on Saturday in the unfamiliar position of 13th in the Premier League following one win, one draw and two defeats in their first four fixtures.

Last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal stoked up a barrage of social media disapproval that might have turned into an avalanche had not two late goals secured a 2-1 Carabao Cup win at Coventry in midweek.

The signing of striker Dominic Solanke, who cost £65 million from Bournemouth, has also been questioned after three games without a goal, which saw manager Postecoglou reply with some angry words of his own.

“People are just so quick to judge,” he said. “It’s a small sample. If he had gone 15 games without a goal or 15 games where he hasn’t contributed but I just think take a breath, do a bit of yoga.

“Think about the world for a second and make an assessment after that. We don’t have to rush to make judgment all the time.”

‘I don’t have the patience for yoga’

Did the yoga advice apply to himself? Not literally, it seemed. “No mate, I don’t have the patience for it,” he explained before adding “nothing wrong with yoga, by the way”.

But the call for consideration rather than criticism applied to the whole of his squad, not just Solanke. “That is the way we live our lives these days,” he said. “There is far more judgment than real reasoned, opinionated analysis.”

The Coventry win was secured by a stoppage-time goal from Brennan Johnson, who had deactivated his Instagram account hours previously after being abused for missing a chance in the north London derby.

Postecoglou reminded his detractors that a change of underwear would have been more likely than a goal celebration had they been in the Wales international’s boots.

“He won a game of football for us the other night with a really good finish - and at the critical moment,” he said.

“I reckon you put any of his critics in that situation and they would be looking for a change of pants pretty quickly but they don’t think about that in that moment.

“Brennan has had a dream of being a professional footballer his whole life from a little kid and now he’s living that dream.

“I’d hate to think he’s not enjoying it. I keep saying to him we’re all pretty blessed to do what we do, even in the worst of times we’re still pretty lucky to be able to do what we wanted to when we were 10 years old, not many people can say that.”

Postecoglou insisted he had no problem personally with ignoring simple criticism. Was he stubbornly swimming against the tide though? “No. I ignore the tide and just keep swimming,” he said.

‘Stop asking about Richarlison until I have an update’

The former Celtic manager conceded that modern managers do not tend to last long in the current climate of snap judgments. “The tenure of managers and the patience with anything has exponentially shortened with the expansion of so many platforms of people in one way or another trying to rush to judgment and make calls on things,” he admitted.

Does it therefore follow that ‘Angeball’ requires owners who are less quick to judge than the supporters?

“Who knows how it ends?” Postecoglou admitted. “I don’t know, no one knows. For me, it is about doing what is the right thing in my eyes to get success and hopefully change the fortunes of this fantastic football club.”

One man who will not be helping him to do that for the foreseeable future is Richarlison. The Brazil striker has been sidelined since late August with an unspecified injury concern – and Postecoglou was reluctant to discuss it.

“I think you should stop asking me about him until I give you a bit of an update,” he replied a tad tetchily to a routine team news question. “He has still not trained with the first team so he is still a bit off.”

Ange Postecoglou may have cut a calm and down-to-earth figure after the game, but deep down he will have been relieved to have left Coventry with one of his routes to silverware still intact.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager praised his side’s “character and spirit − that hasn’t been there this season” – against a Sky Blues side that deserved better than this.

But the truth is that the Australian coach got away with one here. Pre-match comments that he always wins a trophy in his second year at at a club looked, for 88 minutes, as though they would come back to haunt him. His decision to make eight changes from the weekend, after speaking of the importance of bringing silverware to the club, also raised eyebrows.

When Brandon Thomas-Asante, a £2 million summer signing from West Bromwich Albion, swept in Norman Bassette’s 63rd-minute cross to give the Championship side a richly deserved lead, Tottenham were looking at being on the wrong end of a cup shock. It would have been no surprise if Coventry had extended that lead as well. The performance had shades of their FA Cup run from last season, when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers and were a wafer-thin VAR decision away from beating Manchester United in the semi-finals.

But the real positive for Postecoglou was that Spurs did not fade in the closing stages. Goals from two of his substiutes, Djed Spence − his first for Tottenham – and Brennan Johnson’s stoppage-time strike spared the manager’s blushes. For Johnson, it was the ideal response after he had been forced to delete his social media accounts following online abuse after Sunday.

But the Coventry manager, Mark Robins, called it correctly, the arrival of James Maddison as a second-half substitute allowed Tottenham to finally look like a Premier League side. Sections of the club’s travelling support also showed signs of turning on Postecoglou. There were jeers at half-time, and boos rang out when midfielder Lucas Bergvall was taken off. Postecoglou admitted that his side “‘hung in there”.

“We wanted to stay in the game, and at the end we showed some spirit and character which is probably what’s been missing over the first four games,” he said. “In the last ten minutes, we got some real belief in that moving forwards. It wasn’t an easy night, credit to Coventry who were outstanding. But we gave players some significant game time.”

Postecoglou also had encouraging words for Johnson, who scored his first goal of the season after collecting a Rodrigo Bentancur pass after coming on as an 18th-minute substitute for the injured Wilson Odobert.

“With Brennan, he comes in and works hard at this game, attackers always get measured against certain things, I told him that if he can come through this spell he can make a significant contribution.”

When asked about the fans’ reaction to taking Bergvall off, Postecoglou added: “I don’t make substitutions by poll, mate. I’m sure the fans have their own opinions. But that’s his first game for a while, I didn’t want to us pushing guys over the edge. I took Destiny [Udogie] off the at half-time as well. They’re going to play a lot of football for us.”

Postecoglou addressed the fact he made eight changes. “I’ve always done what I think is the right thing for us in terms of what we’re trying to achieve. There are no guarantees in whatever you do in critical times, but I’ve always backed my decisions. If it doesn’t work out, I can live with that. I’m not going to jeopardise what we’ve got here by doing something that makes me look like I’m in a safer position. But I don’t think there are any quick fixes or easy turnarounds. If we can add relentlessness and drive to win games, then it’ll certainly help us.”

There was no way back for Coventry as soon as Spence latched on to a Dejan Kulusevski ball and rolled home the equaliser.

“Coventry played without fear,” added Postecoglou. “They were excellent, you can see why they had a big cup run last year. We had to dig deep to stay in the game, we didn’t dominate it.”

That was scant consolation for Robins, whose opening remark afterwards was ‘I’m trying not to swear’. He added: “Life presents you with chances, and we don’t seem to be able to take those chances. You can say the same about the Manchester United game last season.

“The game was there for us, and there’s the disappointment. If you’re Tottenham, you’re probably relieved to go through at our expense. The comeback shouldn’t have happened, it was a mix of poor decision-making and tiredness.

“But Ange is a good manager with top players, I like the way he plays football. They drag you out. But people want things yesterday, and it’s ridiculous really. We have to remember we’ve come from League Two – so that puts a bit of perspective on it.”

There are not many football clubs at which the ‘t-word’ triggers such an avalanche of emotion, opinion and debate, but Ange Postecoglou is happy to set trophies as the bar by which he and others will judge his work at Tottenham.

No wonder Daniel Levy told the Cambridge Union last year that winning trophies is “easier said than done”, given Tottenham have lifted only the 2008 League Cup during his 23 years as chairman.

Previous managers have run a mile from talk of silverware at Tottenham, instead using European qualification and a cup run as the barometer for success.

Postecoglou briefly worried that this reporter’s question about “the t-word” was in reference to a swear word. It may as well have been, given the panic that talking openly about Tottenham’s need to win a trophy can prompt in some.

“It’s why I came here,” Postecoglou said. “I came here to try to win things for the club. That should be our measure and, if we fall short of that, then we need to improve. That’s up to me to try to achieve that. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with embracing that.”

Manager: I believed I failed last season

The Australian was mystified why a television interview, in which he underlined his record of winning a trophy in his second season in previous jobs, caused such a fuss after the derby defeat by Arsenal.

He tackled the subject again head-on ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup trip to Coventry City. When it was put to Postecoglou that it was a high bar to set for himself, he replied: “Yeah it is, but that’s all I’ve got.” Asked if, in his mind, he would have failed if he does not win a trophy this season, the 59-year-old added: “Yes. I failed last year in my head because that’s how I’m geared. I’ve made it pretty clear what my expectations are.

“But that doesn’t mean that I stop. That just fuels the fire of ‘why didn’t I do it?’ ‘Why didn’t we achieve last year, why didn’t we win something?’ That gets me going for this year and this year it’s about progress. That’s been my whole career, that’s my foundation.”

He accepts, then, that it is also fair for others to measure his performance as head coach against whether Tottenham win a trophy.

“I’ve never tried to steer it another way,” Postecoglou said. “Have I downplayed anything since I’ve been here? So I’m willing to be measured against that – that means that I’m fair game.

“Now, how you come to your summary at the end, that’s as much on you as it is me. You can make your assessment on just one thing or many things. But I’m happy to be judged against that standard because that’s my standard.

“That’s what I’ve done in the past and I don’t want to dilute that because then I miss the opportunity to continue on the road I’ve been on. I have no problems with people using that as a yardstick.

“If I said, ‘This is going to take three or four years, then yeah, it would relieve pressure. But I don’t want to wait three or four years. This year’s an opportunity and then, if we do well this year, next year’s an opportunity. That’s the way I think about it.”

Timing is everything in football and Postecoglou’s willingness to talk about trophies will be particularly arresting to some, given Tottenham’s start to the season, taking four points from their first four Premier League games.

But it is not just his second-season record that gives Postecoglou encouragement. He recalls facing even earlier difficulties at the start of his first season in charge of Celtic, which ended with a title and League Cup double.

“We’re four games into a new season, it’s pretty early,” he said. “I realised in Scotland, they’d rule me out after two games. They said it was all over in the year we won the double. I’m just going to say these things the way I always have and I’m not going to change.”

Who knows whether or not Albert Einstein really said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, but there is no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur fans are being driven mad by their team making the same old mistakes.

Debate over head coach Ange Postecoglou’s refusal to hire a specialist set-piece coach will rage on after his Tottenham Hotspur team lost the north London derby from a corner that was headed into the net by Gabriel.

Postecoglou was ready for the question when it arrived following Sunday’s defeat, insisting he does take set pieces seriously. But the evidence would suggest the issue is more significant than he is prepared to publicly admit.

“I know, I know, for some reason people think I don’t care about set pieces and it’s a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages. I understand that,” said Postecoglou.

“Like I said, we work on them all the time like we do for every other team. You know that they’re (Arsenal) a threat. For the most part, we handled them really well, but we switched off for one and we paid a price, and you learn from that and you move on.

“But it is what it is, you know, it’s my burden to carry and I’m happy to do that. Like I’ve always said, for me, there’s a bigger picture that’s at play here that’s much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to. For us, the way forward is to try to turn the football we’re playing now into something meaningful.”

It was only in May that Postecoglou was last quizzed on the preoccupation around Tottenham’s set-piece record, when he said: “I’m not interested. Never have been. Not in the least.” He added: “Eventually I will create a team that has success and it won’t be because of working on set-pieces.” Spurs fans are still waiting.

Asked if Jover is the best in his field, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta replied: “In his field, in other fields, as a person. The relationship that we have, that’s why I made the decision to bring him to City when I was there and then to Arsenal. Him and the staff have injected a belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches. This is a really powerful one. It’s given us a lot, so a big compliment to all of them.”

Tottenham won one more corner (seven) than Arsenal on Sunday, but never looked like scoring, while there was a nervous hush among the home fans each time the visitors lined up a delivery into the penalty area.

Corners were Tottenham’s Achilles heel under Postecoglou last season and the early evidence would suggest that they will be again. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario does not like coming for them and Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven do not like defending them.

Last season, Ben White put off Vicario by trying to undo his gloves before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed into his own net from a corner. This time, White took a step in front of the Spurs goalkeeper just as Gabriel subtly nudged Romero and headed Bukayo Saka’s delivery over the line.

Speaking on Sky, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp said: “Because people have seen Vicario’s weakness, they stick loads of players in front of him.

“Tottenham, they have gone for man-to-man so they are all obsessed with their player and it is a little bit selfish. Yes, Romero is good at kicking people, but when it comes to stuff like that he has got to do better.”

As easy on the eye as Tottenham are under Postecoglou, they have now lost to Arsenal twice, Newcastle United twice, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City since April. In 2024, their only real victory of note so far came against Aston Villa, who qualified for the Champions League ahead of them.

Spurs have progressed under Postecoglou and it is far too early to start writing off their top-four chances. But if they are not careful, the Australian’s team will get cast as flat-track bullies who get picked off when the big boys come to town.

“We are a team that is progressing in many areas, with all that progress there are always new challenges and things you need to overcome,” said Postecoglou.

“When I look at the four games in isolation this year, the football is probably more consistent and compelling than our first four games last year, but, obviously, our results don’t reflect that. So I think we have made progress in certain areas but there are other areas we need to improve on and that’s my job to fill those gaps as quickly as possible.”

On his best memories of the north London derby: “Probably afterwards, especially when you win at home and you celebrate with your supporters and you know how much it means. It’s something special and we have so many huge Arsenal supporters since the day that they were born and looking at our staff, we have some good examples around the first team as well. They come in after the game and you can see the emotion and what it means for them. It’s a privilege to have the power to contribute to making someone really happy.”

On Raheem Sterling and if he could be involved against Tottenham: “He looks great! First of all, because he’s got a big smile on his face, a lot of energy. He’s at it and wants to prove a point. When someone has got that in their belly, you sense it straight away. Obviously, I don’t need to discover anything about his quality and what he can bring to the team.”

On the respect he has for Ange Postecoglou: “I admire him. I respect him. I think he’s been an inspirational coach because he’s done things in his own way in various contexts and in various countries. He has a really unique way of thinking about the game and his philosophy, and I love it. He stands by it and I think he represents himself and the club in a really good way.”

So to perhaps the most consistently entertaining Premier League fixtures of the past two decades.

Unlike other derbies which boast a similar historic pedigree, Spurs vs Arsenal always seems to deliver on the pre-match hype, at least of late.

And this year, again, there feels to be more riding it on than just partisan loyalties.

Arsenal, chasing a first Premier League title under Mikel Arteta, will be five points off Man City if they lose today with a trip to the Etihad upcoming next Sunday.

Add to that mix the absences of midfield linchpins Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice and you have a storm brewing that Mikel Arteta will be eager to assuage.

“I want to have the energy, the enthusiasm for the next day, the next game and prepare that in the best possible way and that’s what we’re going to do,” Arteta said.

“ We’re going to go to Spurs with unbelievable energy and believe that we’re going to go there to be ourselves and try to win the game.”

For Spurs, this has had the feeling of a season that has not really gotten going. Despite being on top for large swathes of their three games, they have only four points to show for their efforts.

A 2-1 loss to Newcastle before the international break stung and despite the undoubted confidence the club has in Ange Postecoglou, a loss here would turn up the pressure gauge that bit more.

“It’s a great measure but it’s not just about winning. You can win a game like this and walk away knowing they played us off the park in reality,” Postecoglou said.

“ I’ve always said to go out there against the best and perform, that’s the best measure.

“Then hopefully you will win the game as well, because ultimately that’s what you want to do.

“If we go out on Sunday, dominate this game, create more chances, really nullify them, then I think, irrespective of the result, the players will walk off thinking ‘okay next time we’ll have another crack at it’.”

This is not to dismiss the challenge of Liverpool, level on points with City and yet to concede a goal, but rather to lay out the challenge Arsenal face in the coming week to stay in the title race.

Even as early as mid-September they are effectively facing must-win and must-not-lose games. And this with Arsenal having already won away to a Champions League team, Aston Villa, with a mature performance, having lost there last season. Plus Arsenal drew at home to a rampant Brighton & Hove Albion with 10 men after Rice was sent off. It is hardly a crisis.

But there is so little room for error. It was Mourinho, when he arrived at Chelsea in 2004, who smashed the concept – established by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United – that title winners could play themselves into a season, almost like running on the shoulder of a pace-setter in a middle-distance race before hitting the front.

Mourinho’s Chelsea hit the ground running and did not stop. Two Premier League titles later and the opposition were still catching their breath. It was to Ferguson’s credit that he regrouped, reorganised and changed his approach.

Since then being a front-runner has almost been an advantage. Especially for a coach such as Guardiola, who rather than buckle under pressure, absorbs it and, as his record shows, posts astonishing numbers.

In four of Guardiola’s six Premier League title-winning seasons, City have achieved at least 90 points. Before he arrived in England, the 90-point mark had only ever been reached on five occasions, once in a 42-game campaign.

Guardiola turns pressure to his advantage

Under Guardiola, City have sometimes started slowly. In 2022-23 they drew two of their opening six games and won the league. The previous season they lost one and drew two of their first seven fixtures and still won the league. But no one took advantage.

Scarily, they have again hit the front early this season – along with Liverpool – even though arguably City’s most influential player, Rodri, is yet to play a minute (likewise the now-injured Nathan Ake) and with player of the year Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker only making only one substitute appearance each, as they are also eased back after the European Championship.

The relentless pressure City exert is such that, when Mikel Arteta was asked in pre-season what was needed to finish ahead of them, he said: “One hundred and 14 points! If we do that, we win the league for sure.” That means winning all 38 league games.

Arsenal look stretched at critical juncture

Arsenal have given us a title race in the past two seasons when, such was City’s dominance, it might otherwise have been a procession. In fact it appears, at times, that City have not just beaten the opposition but broken them. Returning to the analogy, it has been like runners stepping off the track in the face of an unbeatable opponent.

Arsenal have benefitted from a near-perfect injury record up until now, which means Arteta, fresh from signing a deserved three-year contract, has not been forced to test the strength of his squad. Now, with new signings Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori also out, they are stretched.

For Arsenal, the danger this season is potentially how quickly City can establish a daunting advantage. It may even feel that the fixture list has conspired against Arteta’s side. Their next league games are at home against Leicester City and Southampton, two promoted teams. They will fully expect to win both but by then, as ridiculous as it sounds, the damage might already have been done.