Tottenham find a new way of being dismal – Angeball is missing one obvious quality
It’s just the way they play, mate. But perhaps that is the problem, and not merely if the way Tottenham play these days is badly or passively or by conceding a host of goals or losing away from home.
“I thought first half, we actually played well,” countered Ange Postecoglou after his side went in at the interval 2-0 down, perhaps deserving of the 4-0 scoreline they instead faced after an hour. The eventual 4-2 defeat at Anfield did not mathematically end Tottenham’s chances of Champions League football – something Postecoglou, with his idiosyncratic logic, has tried to argue is not hugely important – but in effect it denied him a crowning achievement to show for his debut year in England.
Fixtures against Burnley and Sheffield United may prevent the end being the opposite of the start but the risk is that Angeball looks a 10-game phenomenon, an early-season mirage. Tottenham left Liverpool on their worst run for two decades, suffering four consecutive league defeats for the first time since a spell when Jacques Santini’s reign was curtailed and Martin Jol was appointed.
Now they have found different ways of being dismal. They had 73 percent of possession at Newcastle and lost 4-0, the predictability of Postecoglou’s approach allowing Eddie Howe to change his tactics and outwit the Australian. They went 3-0 down at home to Arsenal courtesy of an inability to defend corners. They were atrocious against a Chelsea team missing 14 injured players (and conceded from free kicks instead of corners). They were static at Anfield, allowing Liverpool to run rings around them and go 4-0 up. Their only goals in those four games – a pair each against Arsenal and Liverpool – came from the starting point of being three and four goals behind respectively.
“A very disappointing four games,” said the captain Son Heung-min. “But I think we are on the right track.” He could scarcely say otherwise, though since their season was derailed, the figures scarcely support that argument. Since amassing 26 points from their first 10 matches – a tally that had always eventually brought Champions League football in the past – Spurs have taken 34 from the next 25. It is the 12th best record in that time, with four points fewer than Everton, 11 behind Bournemouth and having conceded only two fewer goals than Burnley. That 25-game average of 1.36 points-per-match would, if extended over a season, yield 52. That would be Spurs’ lowest tally for 15 years.
It is a mid-table return and in 2024, Tottenham have beaten one team currently in the top half; the 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa seems a hugely deceptive scoreline and not merely because it seemed likely to position them for Champions League football. Instead, Villa have dropped five points in eight days and pulled further away from Tottenham.
Tottenham’s head coach Ange Postecoglou gestures after defeat to Liverpool (AP)
This has become a missed opportunity, even if the unexpectedly brilliant start redefined the possibilities. But Tottenham have given too much away. Defensively, with a mere two clean sheets in 26 league games, Spurs feel far too accommodating. After Postecoglou highlighted his disdain for set-pieces, Tottenham showed a different side to their game by letting in four goals in open play at Anfield. They have conceded 58 times this season, and no Premier League side has ever qualified for the Champions League after being breached as often. Some of that may be traced to injuries; lacking both specialist left-backs, Emerson Royal had a harrowing time against Mohamed Salah at Anfield. In a second season, Postecoglou should have more of his personnel, though he exiled Eric Dier, who may instead play in a Champions League final for Bayern Munich.
Yves Bissouma of Tottenham Hotspur looks dejected after Harvey Elliott scores for Liverpool (Getty Images)
Yet that defensive record comes when Micky van de Ven, aided by his astonishing pace, has been one of the signings of the season. It points to structural issues; so, too, difficulties with a goalkeeper who initially looked an upgrade on Hugo Lloris. Guglielmo Vicario has a reluctance to leave his line that can cost goals at both set-pieces and from crosses. There are mix-and-match selections in midfield, with James Maddison dropped, rather than the feel of a strategy. Meanwhile, Spurs’ season will only extend to 41 games and yet they already look drained and desperate for it to end. A summer overhaul and an influx of Angeballers may make them better equipped to ensure that three-quarters of next season is better than three-quarters of this but they require more resilience.
In the broader scheme of things, fifth place represents more than most expected after the shambolic end to last season and the summer sale of Harry Kane; more than Antonio Conte and a motley crew of caretakers achieved last season. Yet what if the last 25 games are the marker for the future? What if the direction of travel is the downward trajectory seen since the start of November? Postecoglou is adamant he will not change. Tottenham will proceed with his way. “They have got to find the right man and the jury’s out that it’s me, mate,” he said, with a smile and hint of self-deprecation. But the jury has been presented with very different evidence by the prosecution and the defence.
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