Tottenham Hotspur extended their winless run to three games yesterday afternoon, conceding late on against Wolverhampton Wanderers, dropping yet more points in their quest for a top four spot.
The 2-2 draw against the West Midlands outfit will be all the more disappointing given the fact Ange Postecoglou’s men held the advantage with just minutes to play before Jorgen Strand Larsen fired home the equaliser.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Brennan Johnson both found themselves on the scoresheet, but it wouldn’t be enough to secure all three points, with the injury-hit Lilywhites remaining in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Such a result will pile added pressure onto the shoulders of the Spurs boss, with Champions League football now looking a distant prospect given the huge gap between them and the top four places.
Undoubtedly, there’s still half a season for the club to turn around their recent fortunes, but the damage may have already been done given their recent slump in form.
Spurs’ defeat against Wolves in numbers
Yesterday’s draw with Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the sixth time this campaign that Ange’s side had dropped points on home soil, highlighting their struggles in recent months.
The clash was an even affair in terms of possession, with the visitors slightly edging the aforementioned area, having 52% of the play during the contest.
However, despite the lack of possession, Spurs had four times more big chances than Vitor Pereira’s side, with Heung-min Son missing a penalty - undoubtedly their biggest opportunity to claim all three points.
Spurs also managed to have more efforts during the encounter, managing ten shots inside the penalty area, showcasing the amount of opportunities they had to walk away from the clash victorious.
Ultimately, it was a case of missed chances that cost the Aussie all three points, with his job likely on the line after the failure to win for the third straight outing.
One player in particular failed to impress in the meeting with Wolves, leaving Postecoglou with a brutal call to make over his long-term future at the club in North London.
The player who should never feature for Spurs again after Wolves
Goalkeeper Fraser Forster has had to play his part for Spurs in recent months after the ankle injury sustained by number one shot-stopper Guglielmo Vicario in the victory over Manchester City.
The 36-year-old has since made ten appearances for the Lilywhites, often coming under fire for his lack of ball-playing skills, handing the opposition the chance to fire home after his wasteful distribution.
His display against Manchester United was by far his most forgettable, being caught in possession and ultimately being punished by Amad Diallo and Joshua Zirkzee, but Ange’s side still managed to reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
In his ten matches between the sticks, he’s conceded 21 times, including games against Chelsea and Liverpool where he shipped four and six respectively.
The defeat yesterday was the fifth time he had conceded two or more goals in a game since he returned to the starting lineup due to the absence of the Italian.
Albeit, his performance against Wolves yesterday was nowhere near his worst performance since deputising, but he certainly could’ve done more to prevent Strand Larsen’s effort from finding the back of the net from close range.
Forster only managed to complete 13 of his 21 attempted passes, once again looking wasteful with the ball at his feet, costing Postecoglou’s side dearly in the long run.
He was handed a 5/10 match rating by Football London’s Alasdair Gold, highlighting how disappointing he was for Spurs once again in North London.
With January just around the corner, Ange may be tempted to look for a replacement in January - with a move reportedly a priority - or even show faith in young talent currently within the ranks to cover until Vicario returns to action.
However, given his recent displays, it’s evident that Forster simply can’t be trusted if they are to return to their best form and have any chance of qualifying for any form of European football come the end of May.