The Athletic

Ange Postecoglou has admitted that Tottenham Hotspur “need to reinforce” their squad in the January transfer window.

Spurs have been hit by an injury crisis with seven players unavailable including first-choice centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero as well as goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

It is a situation which forced Postecoglou to name five teenagers and Brandon Austin on the bench for their 5-0 victory over Southampton on December 15. Austin, 25, came through the club’s academy but the back-up goalkeeper has never made a senior appearance for them.

Spurs have won two of their last six Premier League games and since the start of December rank bottom for goals conceded (12), shots faced (85), shots on target faced (37), expected goals against (14) and big chances against (25). Postecoglou was asked about potential transfer plans before their game against Nottingham Forest on December 26.

“We’ve been planning (and) a lot of it was going to be around where we’re at around this time,” he said. “We’re still a little bit short in a couple of areas and we need to reinforce.

“But January’s trickier in terms of what sort of players you can bring in. You want to bring in people who are going to make you stronger. I think the fact that we’re still in the Carabao Cup semi-final, still got (Europa League), FA Cup, we’re in all the competitions, it’s not like our schedule’s going to ease up at any stage. So I think it makes sense. We will try and reinforce where and what number we’ll have to wait and see.”

Spurs were one of the busiest clubs in the last January transfer window as they bought Radu Dragusin from Genoa for £25million, signed Timo Werner on loan and agreed a deal with Swedish side Djurgarden for Lucas Bergvall who officially joined them in July.

Ben Davies is due to return from injury before the end of the year while Van de Ven and Romero could be back at the beginning of January. Postecoglou spoke about the “balancing act” of bringing players in as quickly as possible but making sure they are the right players.

He said: “You don’t just want to panic and bring in anybody that you don’t think will help our cause in the back half of the year, but I think we’ve already shown we are pretty methodical and prudent about our work. We’ll make sure we’ll bring somebody in who is going to help us.”

After Spurs face Forest on Thursday they host Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 29 and start 2025 with a clash against Newcastle United.

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(Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

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Tottenham Hotspur have seen their appeal against Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-game suspension dismissed.

Bentancur was given a seven-game suspension and £100,000 fine by the Football Association (FA) after he said Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-min and his cousins “all look the same” during an interview on television programme Por La Camiseta, which is broadcast in the midfielder’s native Uruguay.

The 27-year-old denied the original FA charge and Spurs appealed against the sanction, which they described as “severe”. Tottenham’s appeal could only have reduced Bentancur’s ban down to six matches.

An independent appeals body confirmed the appeal had been dismissed on Tuesday morning.

In a joint statement with The Frank Soo Foundation, which support East and Southeast Asians in football, anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out said they had received more complaints about the Spurs appeal than the incident itself.

“Many of the reports from the East and Southeast Asian community and beyond told us how angry and disappointed they were with the club’s actions and how it extended the pain for those who were affected by the original incident,” the statement said.

“We know this has been an upsetting episode for many fans and hope the club will now reflect on its decision and how it might seek to engage with the community.

“The number of reports to Kick It Out over recent seasons shows that more education is needed to highlight East and Southeast Asian racism in football, and we would urge clubs to tackle this in the same manner as other forms of discrimination.”

Bentancur has missed Tottenham’s past five Premier League games and will remain unavailable for Sunday’s game against Liverpool and Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United. His first match back could be the trip to Nottingham Forest on December 26.

Though he has been suspended domestically, Bentancur has remained eligible to feature in Tottenham’s Europa League fixtures.

This season, Bentancur has made 10 Premier League appearances and five in Europe, including last Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Rangers.

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(Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)

Most of Tottenham Hotspur’s players jumped straight onto the coach after their 5-0 victory over Southampton on Sunday evening but one individual stayed behind for a little bit longer.

Djed Spence was not alone, though. The 24-year-old defender, who was clutching his muddy shirt, was surrounded by family and friends in the reception of St Mary’s Stadium. The group hugged each other, cracked jokes, smiled and took photos to commemorate a moment that many of them at one stage might have privately feared would never happen.

Two and a half years, or 881 days to be precise, after Spence joined Spurs from Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £20million ($25m) including add-ons, he finally made his first start for them. Spence spent the 2021-22 season on loan with Nottingham Forest. He was a key member of the squad that won the Championship play-off final and excelled against top-flight opposition on their run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

The full-back’s performance against Arsenal prompted Gabriel Martinelli to call him the toughest individual opponent he had faced. Spence seemed ready for the Premier League but his subsequent journey has been unconventional, to say the least.

It did not help that then-head coach Antonio Conte called Spence a “club signing” a couple of weeks after he arrived from Middlesbrough. Underwhelming loan spells with Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa suggested his long-term future lay elsewhere but a couple of encouraging displays for Spurs in pre-season, and a notable cameo against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup in August, led to him signing a contract extension until 2028.

Spence was left out of the club’s Europa League squad but played the entire second half of September’s impressive 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Spence’s versatility — he is comfortable on both wings — is a valuable skill. A groin injury disrupted his momentum and then, earlier this month, Ange Postecoglou made comments that threw doubt over his long-term future.

“I think a major turnaround is Djed playing regularly at this level, just because he has hung around doesn’t mean that is a major turnaround,” Postecoglou said before Tottenham’s defeat to Bournemouth. “I still think a lot of that is Djed continuing to train hard and wait for his opportunity.

“Fitness-wise, he is always in good condition. We train pretty hard. Could he start a game? I think he could. Could he start multiple games? Probably not because he hasn’t played for quite a while. He has been in and around the squad. Particularly between now and Christmas opportunities may come up for him.”

And they have. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies are all unavailable, which has forced Postecoglou to come up with some creative solutions in defence. Archie Gray, who played primarily as a right-back for Leeds in the Championship last season but prefers a central midfield role, has become an emergency centre-back. Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie have been burdened with a heavy workload. Gray’s move into a central area means Spence is the only option to give Porro or Udogie a break.

It took Spence less than 60 seconds to demonstrate why he should have been trusted to perform at this level sooner. The former England Under-21 international received the ball just inside his own half with his back to goal. Spence spun away from Flynn Downes, stayed on his feet despite being pulled back and poked the ball into a gap between Southampton’s centre-backs. James Maddison raced onto the pass and slipped his shot through Alex McCarthy’s legs.

“He has been patient and he’s a great lad,” Maddison told TNT Sports. “Djed is quite a laidback character, so I don’t think he needed too much of a pep talk. I just told him before (the game), ‘Go and do what you do’. I think he got the ball and managed to wriggle away like he does, which he is very good at. And that’s a run that I have been working on for years, you know, that left pocket run in behind the defence. To be fair to Djed, it was a brilliantly weighted pass — perfect. I just had to finish it off. Big credit to Djed for that one.”

There were lots of other moments that suggest Spence should receive more playing time in the future. He looks comfortable moving into midfield and constantly asks to receive the ball. Just before half-time, having switched to left-back because Udogie came off due to tightness in his thigh, Spence showed remarkable composure next to the corner flag. Southampton’s forwards were aggressively chasing him, Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr. They escaped the pressure and initiated a counter-attack that led to Son Heung-min forcing McCarthy into a save.

Spence was being pushed into different positions across the pitch, forging relationships with team-mates he has barely played with while realising a childhood dream. His all-action display is illustrated in The Athletic’s player dashboard below. It helped that Southampton were awful but he did not show any nerves.

He did not need to do a lot of defending against the Premier League’s bottom side but in one situation used his strength to usher the ball out of play and prevent Kyle Walker-Peters from reaching it. This happened right in front of the away supporters who cheered and Spence then whipped his arms up asking for more noise. They want to see him succeed.

“Djed has had to bide his time,” Postecoglou said afterwards. “It’s the one area of the pitch where we’ve had cover this year, with Archie playing at right-back, so he’s had to be patient. It’s a testament to him and the coaches who have worked with him in training that he could come on today. We needed him, not just to play but to make an impact and he did. Great reward for his patience and perseverance.”

Postecoglou said the decision to substitute Udogie was “precautionary” and that “he wanted to continue but we can’t take any risks at the moment”. The Italy international and Spence share a close relationship. They sat next to each other on flights during the pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea and attended a concert together from the Nigerian artist Asake at the O2 Arena.

Depending on how Udogie recovers, Spence might need to ask his friend for advice before Thursday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United. It has taken far longer than expected but Spence is finally ready to make his mark for Spurs.

(Top photo: Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Southampton have sacked manager Russell Martin following Sunday’s defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, which left them nine points adrift from safety at the bottom of the Premier League table.

The 38-year-old, who secured Southampton’s promotion to the Premier League last season, will depart after his side won just one of their opening 16 Premier League matches.

Martin’s final game in charge saw supporters at St Mary’s chant for his exit from the stands and also leave in significant numbers in a first-half that included four goals conceded in the first 25 minutes as they were beaten 5-0 by Spurs.

Under-21s manager Simon Rusk has been placed in interim charge.

A Southampton statement read: “We can confirm that we have taken the difficult decision to part ways with our men’s first team manager, Russell Martin.

“Going into the start of the season, we all knew the challenges that we would face this year as we readjusted to life in the top flight, competing in the best and most competitive league in the world.

“However, the reality of our situation is clear. The board have supported Russell and his staff and been open and transparent regarding our expectations. We have all been on the same page in recognising the urgency of needing results to improve.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Russell and his staff for all the hard work and dedication they have given the club on and off the pitch over the last 18 months. Everyone connected with Southampton FC will always have fantastic memories of last season, especially the play-off Final win in May.”

Southampton have taken just five points this term with Sunday’s defeat a 13th of the campaign.

They had secured their maiden top-flight win of the season against Everton on November 2, before losing at Wolverhampton Wanderers before the most recent international break.

Since then there have been further losses at the hands of Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa with Martin’s preferred style of play and frequent defensive errors again coming in for criticism.

Speaking after Sunday’s loss to Tottenham, Martin told TNT Sports: “We have no choice but to work and fight. It’s all I’ll I’ve done since I’ve been in this job and it’s all I’ll continue to do until I’m told otherwise.”

Asked if the booing affected him, Martin replied: “As a person, no. Because I understand it’s not personal. I don’t know them, they don’t know me. As a manager yeah of course it hurts me, it hurts the team, but I also understand it.”

His departure makes him the fourth Premier League manager to lose their job this season following Erik ten Hag’s sacking in October, Steve Cooper’s dismissal by Leicester City in November and Gary O’Neil’s departure from Wolves on Sunday.

Martin was appointed in June 2023 after leading Swansea City to two mid-table finishes in the Championship.

The former defender was tasked with guiding Southampton back to the top-flight and he did so at the first time of asking after defeating Leeds United in the 2024 Championship play-off final.

Before his time with Swansea, Martin managed Milton Keynes Dons, where he earned praise for implementing a possession-based style of play.

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‘Martin’s position had become untenable’

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The writing has been on the wall and it has felt like a matter of when, not if, the board decided to make a change.

With Southampton languishing at the bottom of the table, winning only one of their 16 Premier League matches this season, his position was untenable — especially with other clubs around them making managerial changes.

Martin was always going to stick with his style of play — possession-heavy and passing out from the back — and it is worth remembering that Sport Republic wanted this particular philosophy.

However, Southampton have been gifting teams victories weekly and something had to give. If they want to maintain their top-flight status, which is a tall order from their current predicament, then the only viable option was to sack Martin and hire a different head coach to see if they can extract more from the squad.

Southampton supporters will no doubt always remember the play-off final win at Wembley in May and Martin leading them on a run of 25 games without defeat — setting a club record in the process — last season, but the decision to part company with the former Swansea boss is one that will satisfy the fanbase.

(Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

The battle of the Premier League’s two most tactically stubborn managers had a resounding winner and left the loser looking for a new job.

Much has been made this season of how Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou and Southampton’s Russell Martin are overly wedded to their principles and reluctant to change approach, even when results are going against them.

On Sunday, Postecoglou reaped the rewards of his attacking outlook, while Martin’s failure to opt for pragmatism meant he endured a miserable day, which culminated in him being sacked late on Sunday evening.

Neither side entered this game full of confidence, but Tottenham blew the home team away in a blistering first half in which they scored five times and led 3-0 after just 14 minutes.

James Maddison set the tone inside the first minute, Son Heung-min doubled the lead after 12 minutes, Dejan Kulusevki added a third two minutes later, Pape Matar Sarr scored a fourth and Maddison got his second on the stroke of half-time.

To Southampton’s credit, they did not capitulate in the second half and managed to keep the score to 5-0, but the damage had long since been done and Martin’s fate, as it turned out, was sealed.

Jay Harris and John Stanton analyse the key talking points.

Tottenham’s blistering start the perfect tonic for Postecoglou

Tottenham were in desperate need of a confidence boost, so this trip to face the team at the bottom of the table came at the perfect time.

Southampton will have noticed that Spurs have struggled away from home this season and they have not fared well against sides that look to slow the game down and make it a physical contest. There was never any chance Martin would tweak his tactics, so Southampton were set up perfectly for Tottenham to destroy them.

It all started in the opening 60 seconds when Djed Spence spun away from his marker easily and poked the ball through a huge gap in the defence for Maddison to fire a simple finish past Alex McCarthy. A few minutes later, Maddison’s cross somehow looped over everybody and Son had an easy finish at the far post.

It was comical defending from Southampton and it resembled a training-ground exercise or something you would see on the school playground when the older kids would steal the ball from a younger year group.

Tottenham looked capable of scoring every time they went forward. When Southampton tried to press, they were carved open.

It was a horrible performance from the home side but exactly what Spurs needed after five games without a win and sets them up nicely for Thursday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United.

Jay Harris

Southampton’s season sinks to a new low

For Southampton, this was the latest indignity in what is becoming a wretched return to the Premier League.

Martin was already under intense pressure going into this game and this new low point leaves them and his late-night dismissal leaves them managerless and bottom of the Premier League with one win from 16 matches. They are nine points adrift of safety.

At one point shortly after going 3-0 down inside the first 14 minutes, Martin utilised a break in play to gather all his players around him on the touchline and he was frantically dishing out instructions. Whatever he said, it simply did not work and they could not stem the flow.

The home fans had already been singing “Russell Martin, your football is s***” at 2-0 down and the mood only deteriorated as the half went on.

Martin’s response to that early onslaught was to take off attacker Kamaldeen Sulemana after 15 minutes and bring on defender Nathan Wood, but by then, the damage was done. Sarr made it 4-0 10 minutes later.

At that stage, it felt like time to check the record books. No team has ever scored 10 goals in a Premier League game and it seemed entirely possible that could happen.

Southampton do not have to go back too far for humiliations on that kind of scale, having lost 9-0 to Leicester City in October 2019 and 9-0 to Manchester United in February 2021.

But they found a resilience in the second half and, at least, did not find themselves on the end of the kind of hammering experienced by the club in previous top-flight campaigns.

Now, it will be for someone other than Martin to try to rescue their season.

John Stanton

Two and a half years, or 881 days to be exact, after Spence joined Spurs from Nottingham Forest for a fee worth up to £20million ($25m) including add-ons, he finally started a Premier League match.

Spence has endured a strange time in north London and at one stage it felt like he would never recover from then-head coach Antonio Conte’s comments that he was a “club signing”. When he struggled to make an impact on loan with Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa, everybody assumed the defender would leave.

But Spence knuckled down, made an infamous cameo appearance in the Carabao Cup against Coventry City and was rewarded with a new contract, but still had to wait for his chance in the starting XI.

It took him less than 60 seconds to make an impact at St Mary’s. He received the ball just inside Southampton’s half with his back to goal, spun away from his defender and charged forward before setting up Maddison. It was a great piece of skill that will only make more people question why he has not been trusted before to perform at this level.

There were a couple of other moments that showed his quality, including a passing sequence with Maddison and Sarr while under intense pressure in their own box, which led to a counter-attack and a goalscoring opportunity for Son.

On another occasion, he ushered the ball out of play right in front of the Spurs fans, who cheered in response. He then whipped his arms up in the air and urged them to make more noise. They have had to wait a long time to see his potential but clearly want more.

With Destiny Udogie picking up an injury in the first half that forced Spence to move over to the left, expect him to play a lot over the next few weeks.

Jay Harris

Levy the subject of fans’ anger

Postecoglou revealed earlier this week that Cristian Romero apologised for criticising the board over a lack of investment in the squad in the aftermath of Tottenham’s defeat by Chelsea.

The Argentina international’s comments appear to have struck a chord with the fanbase, though. Before Maddison opened the scoring, the away supporters had already started chanting “we want (Daniel) Levy out”.

They briefly paused while celebrating Maddison’s effort and then quickly restarted. Levy, who has been chairman since October 2001, was constantly the source of their frustration and they sang about him all night.

At one stage, they were drowned out by Southampton’s protests about Martin, but that dissipated when Kulusevski made it 3-0. Tottenham fans then started singing, “I don’t care about Levy, he don’t care about me, all I care about is Kulusevski”.

Postecoglou has come under a lot of pressure over the past few weeks, but this was an endorsement for him. The Spurs fans clearly still have faith in his project — there were songs of support for the Australian during this game — and do not want him to become the latest manager to be sacked by Levy.

Spurs announced earlier this year that they were seeking external investment and it is clear from Sunday’s trip to the south coast that the supporters are eager for significant change at the very top of the club.

Jay Harris

What did Postecoglou say?

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Postecoglou said: “Really proud of the players. We obviously had a tough away European fixture on Thursday night. We had 10 first-team players unavailable for a number of reasons today in a squad of 25, and we asked a lot of them to go out there again and dig into their wells of energy.

“A couple we put out there hadn’t played in ages, haven’t started games, so the fact the boys could play with such energy and quality was just outstanding. Really pleased that they get the rewards for it because they deserve it.”

What next for Spurs?

Thursday, December 19: Man Utd (H), Carabao Cup quarter-final, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET

What next for Southampton?

Wednesday, December 18: Liverpool (H), Carabao Cup quarter-final, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET

(Top photo: Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

The Premier League has scheduled matches featuring Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur for 7pm GMT (2pm ET) this Sunday after both clubs played in Europe on Thursday night.

Tottenham travelled from London to Glasgow to play Rangers in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night. They drew 1-1, leaving them ninth in the table.

Chelsea have cruised to the top of the table in the UEFA Conference League while fielding heavily rotated teams. Their latest win came on Thursday when they travelled 3,500 miles to Kazakhstan to face Astana, a match which ended 3-1.

The next Premier League fixtures for both teams will now take place on Sunday at 7pm GMT, meaning the schedule for December 15 now looks like this:

Brighton vs Crystal Palace (2pm GMT, 9am ET)

Manchester City vs Manchester United (4.30pm GMT, 11.30am ET)

Chelsea vs Brentford (7pm GMT, 2pm ET)

Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur (7pm GMT, 2pm ET)

Why 7pm?

Neither match could be played on the Saturday as both Chelsea and Tottenham were involved in matches on the Thursday night.

Chelsea requested a later kick-off on the Sunday as it is an eight-hour flight back to London from Kazakhstan.

The Premier League then offered Spurs a later kick-off, despite their trip to Glasgow being just 340 miles away.

The 7pm slot is unusual but is a league contingency when other kick-off times are unavailable or unviable.

Neither fixture could be moved to midweek next week as Chelsea play in Europe again, against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday, while Chelsea’s opponents on Sunday, Brentford, play against Newcastle in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Tottenham play Manchester United in the League Cup on Thursday, while Southampton play Liverpool in the same competition on Wednesday.

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Have Sunday games been played this late before?

There have been 35 Premier League games kicking off at 7pm or later on a Sunday (29 of them in 2020-21, a season of many adjustments due to the impact of Covid-19). The first was Everton v Liverpool in June 2020. The most recent was West Ham v Manchester United in May 2023.

Usually, Sunday games occur at 2pm and 4.30pm as part of Sky Sports’ ‘Super Sundays’ coverage.

Will they be on TV?

Tottenham vs Southampton will be on TNT Sports, which is another reason it ended up in the 7pm slot on Sunday — Sky will be showing the 2pm and 4.30pm matches, so the Spurs match could not clash.

Chelsea’s match against Brentford won’t be on television.

Premier League fixtures are amended throughout the season to accommodate domestic and European cup competitions, as well as broadcasters. The expanded European competitions, taking up extra weeks in the calendar, have meant further pressure on the Premier League schedule.

What’s the impact on fans?

Sunday 7pm kick-offs are controversial.

Southampton are to host Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s on Sunday, which means any Spurs fans who make the trip will face a late journey, but the United Kingdom’s public transport organisations run reduced services on Sundays. This is even more of a problem when many will have work on Monday morning.

“Fans have already gotten used to so many random kick-off times, on random days, that this is just another one to add to the list, Ben Stansfield, founder of Southampton fan media Total Saints Podcast, tells The Athletic. “Fan convenience is clearly irrelevant.”

The backlash against a 5.30pm kick-off for the 2023 Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal led to it being rescheduled for 4pm.

The fact that fans may be unable to travel can also lead to reduced ticket sales, and a worse atmosphere in the stadium.

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English football's 3pm kick-off is dying - does anyone care?

(Top photo: Stamford Bridge during Chelsea v Newcastle last season; Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA via Getty Images)

Chelsea produced a brilliant comeback away to Tottenham Hotspur to move second in the Premier League and add to the pressure on Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham took an early two-goal lead thanks to Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski but Chelsea reacted superbly, pulling a goal back through the impressive Jadon Sancho before half-time.

Cole Palmer added two penalties after the break, either side of Enzo Fernandez firing past the Tottenham goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

A goal late in added time from Son Heung-min made it 4-3, but that was too little too late, and the result leaves Tottenham in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Liam Twomey, Jay Harris and Jack Pitt-Brooke analyse the key talking points from Chelsea’s 4-3 victory…

Chelsea played with a confidence verging on arrogance

Last season, Chelsea won 4-1 at this stadium and somehow managed to emerge from the experience bruised, even figures of fun in some quarters.

Postecoglou’s volatile Tottenham were flying high then, and appear to be on a very different arc now. But the nature of this comeback at the home of their arch-rivals — when was the last time Chelsea even fought back to win a game? — ensures they will get every inch of the credit they deserve.

Chelsea under Graham Potter or caretaker Frank Lampard would likely have collapsed completely in the face of Tottenham’s early storm. But Enzo Maresca’s side are made of considerably sterner stuff, and while they rode their luck at times here, they felt on track to turn the tide against Spurs long before Moises Caicedo won the penalty kick that tied the game.

Jadon Sancho gave them life with a sublime intervention in the 17th minute, silencing the home crowd with a sharp run infield from the left and a shot like a dagger in off the far post.

From then on, Chelsea applied sustained pressure, and with every extended stretch of defending Tottenham’s audible anxiety grew.

Maresca’s half-time reshuffle solidified their dominance. Romeo Lavia had produced some brilliant passes in the opening 45 minutes but introducing Malo Gusto and shifting Benoit Badiashile over to the left side of central defence removed the corridor of uncertainty that Spurs had exploited to such great effect in the opening minutes.

Chelsea played with a confidence bordering on arrogance from then on, pinning Spurs back and pulling them into uncomfortable areas that, eventually, led to fatal mistakes.

Fernandez’s emphatic half-volley — his third goal in four matches from midfield — simply confirmed the dynamic of the game and Palmer’s Panenka penalty was as brilliant as it was utterly disrespectful.

Chelsea turned what could have been a damaging setback into another victory over their favourite punching bags, and questions of a surprise Premier League title challenge will keep coming.

Liam Twomey

This was painful deja vu for Spurs fans

So far this season, Spurs have alternated between giddy highs and painful lows. Today, they managed both in the same match. The football that Tottenham played in the first 35 minutes or so was scintillating, as they raced into an early 2-0 lead. It felt like it might be a repeat of the 4-0 win at Manchester City last month.

But Spurs collapsed and lost 4-3. As Spurs players kept getting injured and Chelsea kept scoring, it all felt eerily similar to the 4-1 defeat in this fixture last November. When Palmer converted his second penalty, some Spurs fans started to boo, others started to leave.

Many fans will ask why Spurs are stuck with the same problems now as they were one year ago, and whether the variance in performances might ever be reduced to more manageable levels.

It is all very well playing dazzling football in spells but this was Spurs’ seventh league defeat of the season. They have only played 15 games.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Did Cucurella recover from his boot drama?

Premier League history was made at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday: for the first time in the competition’s history, a pair of football boots were hooked well before half-time.

There is no telling whether Marc Cucurella would have acted quite so decisively had both of his slips in the first 11 minutes not swiftly resulted in Tottenham goals, but his immediate reaction to seeing Kulusevski’s low shot creep beyond Robert Sanchez was to hold up the offending boot in anguished gesticulation towards the Chelsea dugout.

To the kitman’s credit, a fresh pair were immediately available and the fact that Cucurella did not slip again supports the idea that it was no mere excuse.

Tottenham’s ruthless finishing was harsh on Cucurella, who has been one of Chelsea’s better and more consistent performers this season — but he did not let it define his game.

Cucurella had already begun to exert a more positive influence in the remainder of the first half, moving the ball on quickly and accurately to Sancho to cut infield from the left and curl in the brilliant goal that gave Chelsea life before the interval.

In the second half, his attacking role grew as Maresca’s tactical reshuffle required him to invert into an advanced midfield position. Tottenham had trouble tracking his movement and he continued to dovetail effectively with Sancho on the left, where Chelsea did most of their best work in possession.

Liam Twomey

Yet more injuries compound Tottenham’s misery

There was a surprise twist when the line-ups were announced as Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero both started for Spurs. Romero only returned to full training on Friday, while the last time Postecoglou gave an update on Van de Ven’s fitness, he said he would be back by “mid-December”.

It was a huge boost for Spurs but things quickly went wrong when Romero pulled up injured shortly after Dejan Kulusevski made it 2-0 after 10 minutes. The centre-back went down on the floor with his hands over his face. He walked off the pitch with his shirt over his head and looked close to tears.

Van de Ven made a couple of exceptional tackles on his return from over a month out with a hamstring injury but only lasted until the 78th minute. The Netherlands international went down on the floor and the medical staff stretched his right leg but he had to be replaced by Archie Gray. It was a bold gamble to start them both and it backfired.

To make matters even worse, Brennan Johnson picked up an injury a few minutes into the second half, too. The 23-year-old went down just outside Chelsea’s box, tried to stand up and continue but was replaced by Timo Werner.

When Maresca could bring Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto off the bench, Postecoglou had to turn to Werner, James Maddison and two teenagers in Gray and Lucas Bergvall. Tottenham are down to the bare bones for the busiest period of the season. The lack of options and quality in the squad has left them in a precarious position.

Jay Harris

What next for Tottenham?

Thursday, December 12: Rangers (away), Europa League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

What next for Chelsea?

Thursday, December 12: Astana (away), Conference League, 3:30pm UK, 10:30am ET

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At the end of Tottenham Hotspur’s last away game in the Premier League, Ange Postecoglou stood on the touchline with his right fist raised triumphantly. For the second time in a few weeks, he had led them to victory over Manchester City. They were superb at the Etihad Stadium, thrashing the Premier League champions 4-0. The feel-good factor was back after the frustration of losing to Ipswich Town just before November’s international break.

Less than two weeks later, the mood has plummeted. After Thursday night’s dismal 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, Postecoglou kept his distance while players applauded the away fans. The 59-year-old then strode over and had a tense exchange with the supporters. It was a million miles away from the scenes at the beginning of last season when they would sing “I’m loving Big Ange instead” to the tune of Robbie Williams’ Angels after home games.

“They are disappointed, rightly so,” Postecoglou said. “They gave me some direct feedback, which I guess is taken on board.

“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 rightly disappointed tonight because again, we’ve let a game get away from us. I’m OK with all of that.”

The cracks in this relationship are deepening. Impressive performances against Manchester City and Manchester United temporarily masked Tottenham’s poor record on the road. Postecoglou’s side have lost nine of their last 13 away matches in the top flight.

A pattern is emerging. The home side take an early lead, sit deep, and invite Spurs to break them down. When Tottenham push too many players forward in a desperate attempt to score, they are picked apart on the counter. Bournemouth’s only goal came from a set piece, another issue that plagues Postecoglou’s side, but they massively outperformed Tottenham on expected goals (3.31 xG to 0.58 xG, according to Opta), suggesting the home team created a higher quality of chances. Evanilson, Dango Ouattara and Justin Kluivert were guilty of wasting opportunities on the break that would have ended this contest much earlier. Postecoglou described gifting Dean Huijsen a free header from Marcus Tavernier’s inswinging corner as “madness”.

“It is disappointing and not good enough,” he said. “It is not a one-off. We have done that three or four times and paid a price for it.”

Tottenham have taken one point from games against Fulham and Bournemouth, their last two opponents. They are 10th, level on points with Brentford and Newcastle United. At this point, it is fair to ask how much significant progress have they made under Postecoglou.

Spurs’ playing style has been revolutionised, the squad is much younger and the underlying numbers look favourable. When everything clicks, they are thrilling to watch. The harsh reality is they have lost six out of 14 league games this season. Apart from table-topping Liverpool, the table is bunched — Spurs are one point above Manchester United in 13th but also three points behind Brighton in fifth. There is a great opportunity to qualify for the Champions League (Manchester City are six points ahead in fourth) but with every performance like those against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace (a 1-0 loss) and Ipswich (a 2-1 defeat), Spurs lose momentum.

There are mitigating factors. Guglielmo Vicario fractured his ankle and will be sidelined for months. First-choice centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are unavailable too while Ben Davies joined them on the injury list after pulling his hamstring against Bournemouth. If Romero is not fit enough to face Chelsea on Sunday, Postecoglou faces a real dilemma about who should partner Radu Dragusin in the heart of his defence.

Archie Gray, who made his first Premier League start on Thursday, covered Davies after he was replaced by Pedro Porro. Starting Gray, whose favoured position is central midfield, alongside Dragusin against Chelsea — the division’s top scorers — would be a huge gamble but it is difficult to see an alternative.

Postecoglou was frustrated by not being in Europe last season but now Tottenham are struggling to juggle the demands of playing in multiple competitions. Richarlison and Wilson Odobert are ruled out long-term, which places a greater strain on Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson. Porro and Destiny Udogie have featured in every Premier League game and have been playing in the Europa League, too (three starts for Porro, two for Udogie).

Djed Spence is not in their Europa League squad but has never started a game for Spurs, despite joining them from Nottingham Forest two and a half years ago.

Postecoglou cannot rotate his star players as much as he would like to keep them fresh because their backups are either injured or not trusted.

What cannot be denied, though, is that this side struggles to deal with adversity.

After a bright 10-minute spell, Huijsen’s header dented their confidence. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Solanke failed to connect. Johnson looked uncomfortable on the left wing and Kulusevski kept drifting over to that side in the first half anyway, which meant nobody was stretching Bournemouth’s shape on the opposite flank.

Postecoglou made a few bold changes by taking off Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma, leaving Lucas Bergvall, 18, as the Tottenham’s deepest midfielder for the final 15 minutes. Son Heung-min came off the bench initially at left wing and then dropped into central midfield. It was a bizarre experiment that did not pay off. Spurs had a lot of attacking power on the pitch yet somehow looked toothless.

Perhaps the most concerning issue of all, which Postecoglou alluded to, is that Tottenham keep repeating the same mistakes. This is a young team in their second season under a head coach with a unique philosophy. Things were always going to take time but constantly losing in the same manner suggests that something is fundamentally not working.

Spurs should be adapting to and overcoming these challenges — not tripping up on the same question in every test. Postecoglou needs to find a solution or else the number of disgruntled fans will quickly increase, and so will the pressure.

(Top photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou said he had no issue with the “direct feedback” from Tottenham Hotspur supporters after their 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

After the final whistle at the Vitality Stadium, the head coach went over to the travelling fans who were voicing their disappointment at the result.

Discussing the incident after the game, Postecoglou said: “They are disappointed, rightly so. They gave me some direct feedback, which I guess is taken on board.”

When asked to elaborate on what was said by the fans, Postecoglou said: “Yeah, probably not for here, mate.”

“I have no issue with it,” he added. “I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being but you have to cop it.

“I have been around long enough to know that when things don’t go well, you have to understand the frustration and disappointment.

“They are rightly disappointed tonight because we let a game of football get away from us but that’s okay. I’m okay with all that.”

GO DEEPER

The Briefing: Bournemouth 1 Tottenham 0: Set-piece struggles and away day woes strike Spurs again

Postecoglou, who is already without Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, said he feared Ben Davies would add to his injury troubles in defence after Davies was substituted in the 62nd minute.

“It looks like he’s done his hamstring,” Postecoglou said of Davies.

“Him and Radu (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.”

The result meant Bournemouth moved one point above Spurs in the Premier League. Postecoglou’s side are next in action against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday and are now 10th in the table.

(Top image: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)