Tottenham Hotspur warmed up for his or her north London derby at house to Arsenal within the worst attainable trend.
Ange Postecoglou’s males had been second-best all around the pitch in Saturday’s 4-0 hammering at Newcastle United. They will haven’t any arguments with the consequence or the extensive margin of defeat, no Erik ten Hag-isms about how they really dominated the sport with their possession or smattering of half-chances.
Spurs stay a crew and membership in transition going from one excessive id to a different, and there are going to be bumps within the highway, however this was the primary time throughout Postecoglou’s debut season the place you puzzled if his cussed methodology will come to bear tangible fruit.
Their solely different thrashings this season have include caveats or not less than explanations. The 4-1 loss to Chelsea got here with 9 males. A 4-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion over the festive interval was not consultant of the equal recreation performed. Falling 3-0 to Fulham was deserved, however wasn’t a collapse on their ideas or beliefs.
This, nevertheless, was completely different. Newcastle pounced upon each weak point in Tottenham’s philosophy. You wish to play a excessive line? We’ll run in behind with three fast attackers and make your offside lure redundant. You wish to play via us? You will must play via all 11 of us. You suppose you’ll be able to coast on bodily benefits? We’ll knock you down like a stack of dominos.
Micky van de Ven, lauded as Tottenham’s superhero final week and having fun with an exceptional debut season thus far, was turned to mincemeat by Alexander Isak after which Anthony Gordon for the hosts’ quick-fire double earlier than the break. Pedro Porro and Future Udogie, who previous to this season had nearly completely performed as wing-backs of their careers, did not cowl themselves in glory both.
The mauling continued within the second half when Isak added a 3rd, dragging Van de Ven into the Newcastle half earlier than galloping into the 50 yards of house in entrance of him. Spurs’ continued shortfalls on set items noticed them concede a fourth to Fabian Schar from a nook.
Postecoglou, for probably the most half, has overseen a season of progress and few would have had Spurs preventing for a Champions League spot heading into the marketing campaign, however he additionally wants to begin trying inwardly at his system’s personal shortfalls to guard his younger gamers from themselves.
Tottenham finish the season with a gauntlet run-in. Up subsequent are rivals Arsenal in a fortnight, earlier than different video games towards Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester Metropolis seem over the horizon. Eesh.
The saving grace for Spurs is that they’ve dealt with themselves with dignity and decorum in each match towards the groups above them within the desk this season, with the mid-table pack often those having them in a counter-attacking chokehold. There’s an innate survival intuition to not let matches run away from them when they’re emboldened in a toe-to-toe encounter.
However an Arsenal crew as tactically versatile and domestically rampant as this might be licking their lips on the prospect of working via Tottenham in the event that they depart themselves so susceptible with out good cause once more.
