Things had finally started to look up for Rodrigo Bentancur at Tottenham before a foot-in-mouth moment resulted in a ban that will put him on the sidelines for over a month.
And it’s not just any month. Regular watchers of football need no introduction to the infamous festive period schedule of English football. Spurs are due to play seven games in which the Uruguayan will not feature, but these are not the only games they’ll be playing. The Lilywhites also have Europa League fixtures against Roma and Rangers in that period, but for them Bentancur will be available; the ban issued by the English FA is only restricted to domestic competitions.
While this virtually makes Bentancur the first name on the teamsheet for Spurs’ next two Europa League fixtures, his absence will be deeply felt in the crucial domestic games, one of which has the potential to define their season already.
Spurs’ stop-and-start performances under Ange Postecoglou have carried over from last season. As expected, he’s not being cut as much slack as he was last term, and speculation regarding his dismissal has already started to surface.
These seven games Rodrigo Bentancur is going to miss may very well seal Postecoglou’s fate before January comes around. His hectic training regimen will be met very little time for recovery, and this time he ought to be prepared.
Still, Spurs remain just three points off the top-four places in the Premier League, and at the very least we can expect them to take the fight to the opposition regardless of their own predicament, which makes them the kind of team that can bloody the noses of the sides better than them on paper while also falling prey to sides nominally weaker than them.
- Manchester City vs Tottenham | Premier League | November 23
- Tottenham vs Fulham | Premier League | December 1
- Bournemouth vs Tottenham | Premier League | December 5
- Tottenham vs Chelsea | Premier League | December 8
- Southampton vs Tottenham | Premier League | December 15
- Tottenham vs Manchester United | Carabao Cup | December 19
- Tottenham vs Liverpool | Premier League | December 22
Postecoglou would have naturally preferred to have Bentancur available for the Man City game, especially with the Sky Blues there for the taking. A slip here could set Spurs up for a tricky December, where they also have fixtures lined up against Chelsea and Liverpool, two in-form sides more than capable of exploiting all the holes Spurs will undoubtedly leave behind their high line, and the longer Micky van de Ven stays out of the picture, the more precarious their defence will be.
The Carabao Cup tie against Man United is one Spurs simply cannot afford to lose. Bentancur’s ability on the ball here, especially in a midfield three against what we are expecting to be a two-man United midfield under Rúben Amorim, could be the decisive factor. Given Postecoglou has been pointing to the “I always win in my second seasons” fact, going out of the League Cup would only put him in more trouble.
We can expect Lucas Bergvall to get more minutes on the pitch. Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr can handle the deep-lying duties between themselves, while Archie Gray can also operate centrally if needed.
Will Tottenham be okay?
Against the big sides, Spurs will continue punching above their weight. Even if they end up losing, they won’t go down without a fight. From a tactical standpoint, we’ve reached that stage with Ange Postecoglou where the availability of personnel has become a bit of a secondary matter. If the head coach is not willing to adapt to any given situation and remains adamant on playing his way, it only makes it easier for opposition sides to ensnare the side.
Expect Tottenham’s stop-and-go momentum to continue in Bentancur’s absence.
What will this ban achieve?
The seven-game ban is not going to make Rodrigo Bentancur more or less of a racist. His comments reflected a blissful ignorance on his part, and while laying down a marker and adhering to the rules is important, it’s hard to imagine this would result in a case of introspection and subjection to diversity manuals that would help Bentancur internalise the issue with his comments.
It’s a perfunctory gesture to follow the rulebook and get a temporary conversation going. It will bring about no further changes to the fortunes of the player, his team, and the sport.
