How does one fix a football club like Tottenham Hotspur?
Forever on the brink of an existential crisis, Spurs suffered perhaps their worst defeat under Ange Postecoglou on Sunday, falling to a despondent 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town and giving up the chance to head into the international break in third place in the Premier League.
Given the tight nature of the table, there might not be any serious fretting from the Australian boss just yet. However, the inconsistency his side has exhibited in the early stages of the campaign has been nothing short of infuriating for supporters. Going from wins over Manchester City and Aston Villa to losses against Galatasaray and Ipswich in the space of a week is testament to that.
The underlying numbers suggest Tottenham should be much better off than they are currently, but what do they need to fix to enjoy a more prosperous rest of 2024/25?
Tottenham have a very definite Achilles heel right now. And no, it’s not corners where they often look the most vulnerable.
The north Londoners often find themselves scrambling to block crosses from their left, but when they come in their centre-backs get dragged across, Pedro Porro is sucked in and Brennan Johnson can be guilty of not tracking back to the fullest extent.
That leaves space at the back post, where teams like Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Man City have all taken advantage by hitting the back of the net.
It’s a maddening flaw in Postecoglou’s game plan and one that absolutely needs attention, otherwise opponents will continue to rinse it for all it’s worth.
There’s little doubt James Maddison can’t offer the running power stars like Pape Matar Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski do, which makes his recent omission from multiple Premier League starting XIs somewhat understandable.
And while Postecoglou has got his substitutions right at points in recent weeks, only giving the England international six minutes plus stoppage time from the bench against Ipswich was a curious decision.
Maddison is certainly the most creative passer in Tottenham’s squad and something incisive was needed at the weekend to open up a resolute visiting defence. He didn’t get enough time to make a difference and his skillset simply cannot go underutilised when few players in the team can create chances like he can.
It’s been a frustrating start to the campaign for Tottenham’s captain.
Son Heung-min has struggled with a hamstring problem and hasn’t been able to build up much rhythm. Three goals and three assists in the league is hardly poor at this stage, but it’s not as good as what the South Korean is capable of.
A lot of the time he’s been stationed on the flank almost as a touchline-hugging winger. While Son has drifted inside for opportunities to deliver his trademark strikes from distance, he hasn’t threatened as regularly as he would like.
His partnership with Dominic Solanke still needs time to develop, but the 32-year-old can’t be allowed to watch games pass by any longer. He must get more involved in central areas where he’s so devastating.
Radu Dragusin arrived from Genoa with pretty rave reviews, having prompted a bidding war with European giants like Bayern Munich supposedly interested.
However, as of yet, the Romanian has not convinced anybody of his pedigree and was at fault – perhaps unluckily so – for Ipswich’s second goal. Misfortune or not, the drop in quality from Micky van de Ven to his recent replacement is frighteningly steep, not least because Dragusin cannot offer anywhere near the rapid pace the Dutchman does.
Van de Ven’s paper-thin hamstrings will be a major concern given he’s had to miss plenty of matches at Spurs already, but Tottenham’s style of play is perhaps more dependent on him than any other player. He must be available for the first fixture after the international break, an intriguing trip to Manchester City who have lost four matches in a row.
There was an odd moment at the end of the Ipswich defeat where Postecoglou seemed to pick out a member of the home crowd for a staring contest, likely because something uncouth had been shouted for the terraces.
Yes, fan discontent is growing. Yes, the inconsistency of the team is borderline ridiculous. But it is also Postecoglou’s second season in charge and the club’s second campaign without legendary striker Harry Kane.
There were always going to be bumps in the road and this latest defeat changes nothing. In fact, there may well be another couple of low-points before Spurs look like genuine and reliable contenders again.
Supporters are pretty warranted to feel miffed after losing to a team who hadn’t won a league game before rocking up in north London, but Tottenham are still going through their own rebuilding process and more time needs to be given to Postecoglou to amend his tactics.
For context, Postecoglou has 25 wins from his first 50 Premier League matches. Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta both managed 26, while Pep Guardiola’s tally was only 36.
There may well be a bright future ahead for Tottenham, but there will be pain to endure along the way. Once that holistic truth is widely accepted, the easier the healing after each ridiculous defeat will be.
