There is an age-old adage that goes – ‘Numbers don’t tell you the full story’. In some cases, they maybe do, even if not the full story, it gives a clear indication of where to probe when something isn’t going right. The numbers surrounding Tottenham this season paint a sorry picture.
22 games played – 7 wins, 3 draws, 12(!) losses, 15th in the Premier League table. 45 goals scored (second most in the Premier League). 35 goals conceded. 1 win in the last 10 games in the English top-flight. 4 clean sheets. Do we need to keep going?
Well, we don’t want to keep going. As such, our aim isn’t to rub salt into the wounds of the already hurting Tottenham fans. Instead, this is an objective attempt to take a look at ‘what next for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham and – is there hope?’

The elephant in the room!
With an injury list that reads: Rodrigo Bentancur, Wilson Odobert, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Timo Werner, Yves Bissouma and Brennan Johnson as of their last played game against Everton, just where do Tottenham go from here?
At least six, or if you stretch it, seven, players on that list would start for Tottenham when fit. No team can compete with so many starters not available for selection, especially in four different competitions simultaneously. This is the obvious elephant in the room that we want to get out of the way.
This isn’t an attempt to make excuses but it simply isn’t possible to survive such a ravaging injury wave through the squad without consequences. It is not like the other teams don’t have injuries but no other top team in the Premier League has borne such a brunt as much as Spurs have in recent weeks and months.

Say, for example, half of these last 10 Premier League games that Tottenham played had Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven starting as the centre-backs, surely, the results would have been markedly different? It’s of course a hypothetical situation but one would have to assume so.
Square pegs in round holes
Ange Postecoglou, driven more by need rather than desire, has tried to make the best of the tools that he has at his disposal. He has been trying to plug a lot of holes and the issue for him is that most of his solutions have been akin to plugging round holes with square pegs.
Playing Archie Gray in central defence is perhaps the best example of this. Make no mistake, the 18-year-old kid is a sensational talent destined to become one of the best midfielders in the Premier League in due course. However, here he is, at the N17, thrown into the deep end, asked to play as a centre-back.
Against Everton, in Tottenham’s most recent game, Ange Postecoglou was forced to change the team’s shape to a 3-4-3, to accommodate 11 fit players he had on the pitch and boy, didn’t it backfire royally! It was only in the second half when Spurs returned to a 4-2-3-1 that they even started threatening in the game.
Tactical stubbornness or the lack thereof?
There is a very famous theory going around in the world of football about Ange Postecoglou that he isn’t a manager who has plan Bs, with his plan B being to make plan A work. This has in turn earned him the tag of being stubborn, especially with results not going his way.
Digging deep, however, anyone who has followed Tottenham keenly enough this season will realise that Ange has actually tried a lot of things. The unfortunate thing for him has been that most of his ideas, exciting on paper, haven’t really translated onto the pitch, making things even worse.
Postecoglou started the season with two attacking #10s, deploying both Maddison and Kulusevski but quickly realised that he didn’t have the number 6 in his squad who could hold the fort down when playing with two extremely attack-minded midfielders. Eventually, he reverted to the double six.
So far this season, the two North London derbies tell a story. In the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Spurs lost 1-0 but their full-backs got way forward, embodying Ange Postecoglou’s attacking spirit, positioning themselves high up to cause overloads.
By the time Tottenham reached the second leg at the Emirates, Postecoglou realised the need to shield his vulnerable central defence. Neither Pedro Porro nor Djed Spence on this occasion actually ventured forward a great deal, rather looking to provide protection in defence. The fact that it didn’t work is a different story.
Where is the difference maker?
Ange Postecoglou’s system is heavily reliant on chance creation from the wide areas and to do this like an elite club does, at least one of Tottenham’s wingers on the pitch have to be world-class 1 vs 1 dribblers, capable of taking on their man and fashioning chances out of nothing.
We are talking about the Lamines, Dokus, Dembeles, Nicos and Leaos of the world and except for Wilson Odobert, who has been injured perennially since his transfer from Burnley, no one else offers that ability in the Tottenham squad. Son Heung-min seems to have lost a yard of pace, although he has still been decent if not excellent.
Dejan Kulusevski has been Tottenham’s best player so far this season, whether he plays in midfield or on the right wing. Brennan Johnson is a lot of things but a 1 vs 1 dribbler is not one among them. Timo Werner runs fast but that’s about all that he does on a football pitch.
Thus, one would have to put the blame on Daniel Levy and Postecoglou for poor squad planning in this regard. Surely, they did not think that Wilson Odobert was the solution to all their problems? Surely, right?

2023-24 vs 2024-25!
A significant number of players who starred for Tottenham last season have flopped royally this time around. It has been a stark drop-off in performances which is definitely not something one could pin on Postecoglou.
Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur – all these players have been pale shadows of their former selves but the biggest disappointment perhaps of all has been just how much James Maddison seems to have fallen off.
The English attacking midfielder who was once tipped for regular Three Lions prominence is now not even a guaranteed starter for Ange Postecoglou. So, what exactly changed from 2023/24 to 2024/25?

Time to step up, Mr. Levy!
There are a lot of arrows pointed at Ange Postecoglou at the moment. He is walking around the N17 with an axe waiting to fall on its head but in all likelihood, the same axe should fall on the head of Levy’s.
The Tottenham chairman needs to open the chequebook and sign players in January to help Ange Postecoglou out. Instead, he hasn’t done a thing so far to help the Aussie tactician handle the situation.
In fact, it is quite surprising to see Levy still persisting with Postecoglou but that is a different story altogether. With just 10 days to go in the transfer window, it’s time for the Tottenham chairman to step up and put money where his mouth is.
Light at the end of the tunnel?
Yes, Tottenham are plagued by all these problems. Yes, the Premier League season is a virtual write-off. Yes, Ange Postecoglou seems incapable of motivating his players and trying to arrest this slump. However, is there light at the end of the tunnel?
For the first time in many years, Tottenham are very much alive in both the domestic cup competitions and the UEFA Europa League. They also hold a 1-0 lead that they would take to Anfield when they face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semifinals second leg.
Tottenham also have a date with Aston Villa in the FA Cup, not soon after. The big one though is the Europa league. Spurs are in a largely comfortable position and should they find a way to win their remaining games, they would finish in the top-8 in all likelihood.
As long as they can skip the punishment round of this revamped competition, they should have a number of their first-teamers back in action by the time the Round of 16 comes about.
So, tell us Spurs fans… Would you take a 15th-place Premier League finish if Ange Postecoglou can steer the ship and win Tottenham their first trophy in ages? Let us know in the comments.
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