Tottenham gave their supporters plenty of reasons to feel irate during their miserable evening in Bournemouth but the predictability of the defeat was probably the most enraging aspect of all.
It was the club’s sixth Premier League loss of the season, all but one of which have been against opponents who finished below them in the pyramid last season.
Spurs have developed an infuriating habit of winning when they aren’t expected to and losing when they are. They have just one victory in their last six fixtures in all competitions, a shock 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City at the Etihad.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have been stuck on an escalator going the wrong way since the season began, taking two steps forward before being pulled back to where they started.
The extreme swings of form have created fissures within the fanbase.
An ugly confrontation between fans and Postecoglou after Thursday’s result was the first time that frustration has boiled over in public having previously been confined to social media.
Supporters who pay a small fortune to follow their club earn the right to express their dissatisfaction when performances and results fall short, but some crossed the line when abusing him.
“I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being but you’ve got to cop it,” Postecoglou said after.
“I’ve been around long enough to know that when things don’t go well you’ve got to understand the frustration and disappointment. And they’re rightly disappointed because we let a game of football get away from us. But that’s okay.”
Postecoglou has taken responsibility for Spurs’ inconsistency, but it is increasingly apparent that the squad is badly lacking depth in key areas and that the Australian still has too many players ill-suited to his style of play.
Postecoglou is a head coach, not a manager, so the recruitment department warrants their share of blame for failing to address glaring issues with his squad.
Spurs ruthlessly hacked away at their deadwood over the summer with 16 first-team players leaving either permanently or on loan. It was a necessary step to minimise the bloat, but they failed to replenish sufficiently.
Tottenham’s transfer window
Ins:
- Dominic Solanke (£65m from Bournemouth)
- Archie Gray (£40m from Leeds)
- Wilson Odobert (£25m from Burnley)
- Lucas Bergvall (£8.5m from Djurgarden)
- Yang Min-hyeok (£3.5m from Gangwon)
Outs
- Oliver Skipp (£20m to Leicester)
- Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£16.8m to Marseille, initial season-long loan)
- Emerson Royal (£15m to AC Milan)
- Joe Rodon (£10m to Leeds)
- Giovani Lo Celso (£8.4m to Real Betis)
- Ivan Perisic (free to Hajduk Split)
- Eric Dier (free to Bayern Munich)
- Tanguy Ndombele (free to Nice)
- Ryan Sessegnon (free to Fulham)
- Japhet Tanganga (free to Millwall)
- Bryan Gil (loan to Girona)
- Alejo Veliz (loan to Espanyol)
- Dane Scarlett (loan to Oxford United)
- Ashley Phillips (loan to Stoke City)
- Manor Solomon (loan to Leeds)
- Alfie Devine (loan to Westerlo)
They signed just five players, with Dominic Solanke the only one brought in to strengthen the starting XI. The other four recruits – Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert, Lucas Bergvall and Yang Min-hyeok – are all teenagers or were when they signed.
A youth-focused approach to buying players is sensible and has paid off richly for Spurs down the years. Gareth Bale, Dele Alli and Aaron Lennon were all talented prospects plucked from the EFL who established themselves as stars in north London.
But there needs to be a balance. Spurs were light in certain positions last season but only addressed one of them by buying Solanke. An increased workload from returning to European competition has resulted in more aches and sprains, but that should not have been unforeseen.
There are not enough suitable understudies to key players.
Fraser Forster was signed to be a back-up goalkeeper for a counter-attacking team that played in a low block, not in a more progressive side that resolutely tries to play out from the back.
Micky van de Ven’s recovery pace is crucial to Spurs’s high line working effectively, but the physical demands on him have contributed to him suffering three hamstring strains in 12 months. Ben Davies is hardly a like-for-like replacement and is also now unavailable with a hamstring injury.
Destiny Udogie is clearly the only left-back that Postecoglou trusts. A lack of rotation for him and Pedro Porro on the other flank has unsurprisingly resulted in both experiencing a dip in form.
Spurs have been unfortunate with injuries but the squad was too thin to begin with.
There is a clear lack of game-changing quality in reserve. Spurs brought on Gray (19), Bergvall (18) and Will Lankshear (20) when attempting to turn a draw into a win against Fulham last Sunday. Bergvall and Timo Werner were the cavalry sent on to try and rescue a point against Bournemouth.
The expectation in pre-season was that Spurs would kick on after finishing fifth and just two points off the Champions League places.
They may have produced some impressive individual performances superior to anything they conjured last year, but they are seven points worse off after 14 Premier League games than they were at the same stage last season and have lost twice as many matches.
Postecoclou talked up their trophy-winning credentials, based on his track record of lifting silverware in his second season at previous clubs.
That prospect remains achievable with Spurs in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup and in ninth place in the Europa League table. However, as has been shown recently, they are only ever a few absences away from a crisis and having such dreams squashed into oblivion.
Spurs’ shallow pool is in stark contrast to this weekend’s opponents Chelsea who are finally starting to look a billion-pound team. Enzo Maresca had the luxury of making seven changes for Wednesday’s trip to Southampton with Noni Madueke, Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku among those brought into the side.
Postecoglou does not have anywhere near the same level of competition for places and with fixtures and injuries mounting up it is costing him and his team.
With each passing week, Tottenham’s summer transfer window is looking like an opportunity missed and ultimately, a major failure.
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