It was the best of times as well as the worst of times for Tottenham at the Amex Stadium on Sunday.
After taking a seamless 2-0 lead in the first half, Spurs conceded three in the next 45 without reply to return to London empty-handed.
After the game, they were criticised for not having someone who could rally the players on the pitch.
Tottenham have a leadership problem, claims Alasdair Gold after Brighton defeat
After Tottenham’s defeat to Brighton, the club’s correspondent for Football London, Alasdair Gold, claimed that Ange Postecoglou’s side had a leadership problem which exacerbated their second-half performance against the Seagulls.
“It’s like they crumbled under pressure when Brighton started coming back, no leadership to turn things around. Spurs just started to shrink. This was when they needed their leaders to step up, and they didn’t.
“The only one who maybe did was [Guglielmo] Vicario. [Cristian] Romero is the captain for the day, but he just turns away muttering after mistakes. James Maddison, the vice-captain, didn’t make any move to stop the situation either. There’s a lack of leadership on the pitch, and it’s becoming a real issue for Tottenham.
“Experienced players like [Rodrigo] Bentancur and Romero need to step up. I didn’t see leadership out there, and when Son [Heung-min] isn’t playing, it’s even worse. Tottenham needs a real captain on the pitch.”
Gold, via his own YouTube channel.
The defeat against Brighton arrives at the worst possible time for the Lilywhites, as questions regarding their performances resurface right alongside the international break.
Spurs will face West Ham at home once club football resumes in two weeks’ time.
What would a “leader” do?
What exactly is a leader supposed to do on the pitch once he realises that their plan is not working while being told by the coach to keep doing what they’re doing?
In such a situation, the best-case scenario is this leader continuing to try rally the players around him to keep going at it again and again. The worst-case scenario is him calling out the manager for being short on ideas and essentially leading a mutiny in the dressing room.
What is currently happening at Tottenham is closer to the former than the latter, and the latter is unlikely to happen even if the players silently admit among themselves that they need more guile on the pitch. So no, of all the issues Spurs have, leadership is not one of them.