Football.London

Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham desperately need things to turn in their favour very quickly. Spurs were on the losing side on Thursday evening as Bournemouth secured a 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

The result leaves the north London club tenth in the Premier League table after 14 games, with the side passing up the opportunity to move into fifth had they collected maximum points on the south coast. It was once again a familiar story for Postecoglou's side as they conceded a sloppy goal and didn't do anywhere near enough in the final third to trouble the Cherries.

At a time when Tottenham are having to deal with a huge amount of injuries to key players as well as Rodrigo Bentancur's suspension for domestic games, Postecoglou has a real lack of experience on his substitutes' bench on a matchday. Many have questioned the club's transfer policy in the summer after they opted to buy talented teenagers Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Yang Min-hyeok and Wilson Odobert for a decent sum of money rather than purchase players who are currently ready to feature in the starting XI.

Dominic Solanke was the only player bought who has gone straight into the team and remained there on a consistent basis. As Spurs are in desperate need for new additions in the January transfer market, football.london's Tottenham writers Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest discussed the club's transfer approach come the turn of the year.

In the latest episode of their Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast, the duo opened up on the need for experienced figures to help Spurs kick on and hopefully achieve their goals under Postecoglou. The current lack of leaders on the pitch for Tottenham was also a major talking point, especially with the club parting with some key figures in the past couple of transfer windows.

Dissecting the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth and the post-match scenes involving Postecoglou and some Spurs fans in the away end, Sunday's Premier League encounter against Chelsea is also on the agenda on the latest episode of the podcast. You can listen to the show in podcast format by heading right here or you can watch the show on YouTube by going right here.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham by clicking here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Harry Redknapp has explained why he believes Chelsea are capable of challenging for the Premier League title this season.

The Blues are currently second in the league table, level on points with third-placed Arsenal and seven adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea will take on Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend as they aim to continue their impressive start to the season. Enzo Maresca's side have won their last four matches in all competitions and will aim to continue that form when they face Spurs on Sunday afternoon.

Results in midweek saw Chelsea gain two points on Liverpool after their draw with Newcastle. The Blues will hope that results fall in their favour again this weekend but may need to claim a win over Tottenham in order to maintain their momentum in the title race.

Redknapp believes that Chelsea are very much in the title race, but has explained why Tottenham may prove a tough opponent for Maresca's team. The former Spurs boss has predicted a 2-2 draw in North London on Sunday.

"Last week I said to whisper it, but this week I’m going to lay my cards on the table. Chelsea are firmly in this title race," Redknapp told BetVictor.

"Enzo Maresca made seven changes to the side that faced Southampton, and he had the luxury of being able to sub Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo in preparation for this big London derby.

"I really don’t know what to make of Tottenham now. One minute they’re thrashing Manchester City at the Etihad and the next they are being held at home by Fulham and getting beat at Bournemouth.

"They have such a poor record of dealing with set pieces and Ange Postecoglou will need to sort that out before the next North London derby! I’m very excited for the match. Chelsea do look the better side by far, but I see Spurs turning it on here."

Ange Postecoglou has admitted that his wife told him off for his altercation with the Tottenham supporters after the defeat at Bournemouth.

The Spurs head coach went over to applaud the travelling supporters at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night but their anger at the team's dismal performance poured out at the head coach and his players. With some of it personal abuse, Postecoglou reacted to those individuals before pointing to himself as if to say he will fix the problems and then turning away.

The Australian was asked whether he regretted reacting to the more abusive supporters and he had little hesitation in his answer.

"No. They felt like they needed to give me feedback, so I thought I’d get close enough for them to make sure they were heard," said the 59-year-old.

However, by showing that he can be provoked may have marked the Tottenham boss out as an easy target in the future and he admits that Mrs Postecoglou was not impressed.

"Hopefully after 18 months, you’ve realised that I am who I am. I don’t really care. Whether people think I’m an easy target, soft target. I’m going to shy away from it. I’ve fought my whole life and I’m not going to race down the tunnel because some people feel like they need to give me some direction," he said.

"It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t. From my perspective, what motivates me and what drives me on a daily basis is continually staying true to my values and what I believe is the right thing to do in every situation. Maybe people thought it wasn’t the right thing to do. My wife certainly didn’t. So I got some feedback there as well. But that’s ok. I’m not going to change. It’s who I am, mate. I’ve been like that my whole career and I won’t change."

Postecoglou explained what it meant when he was pointing to himself during the exchange with the supporters.

"It’s on me but also whatever you’ve got to direct, direct it at me. And I’m listening. I’m listening, I’m looking, I’m understanding," he said.

This inconsistency harming Tottenham right now is something new for Postecoglou in his second season at a club. Spurs have comfortably beaten Manchester City at home and away in recent weeks, won at Manchester United and beaten Aston Villa, all with a hail of goals, yet they have also been dreadful in Premier League games against Crystal Palace, Ipswich, Fulham and now Bournemouth.

"It doesn’t sit well with me, nor should it. I’m not going to accept it," said Postecoglou. "My role within that and my responsibility is to change that because if we’re going to get to where I want us to get to, we need to break that cycle of not showing the belief and resilience in key moments. It doesn’t sit well with me mate but nor should it and that’s why we do what we do.

"[The fans' reaction] will be dependent on what people see, what people feel. The only way I can affect that is by what we produce on game days. I’ve got to concentrate on the controllables, and the controllables are the team, how we prepare, how we play and hopefully through that vehicle we get everyone on board."

On whether it's a weakness in mentality at Tottenham to be so inconsistent, the Australian said: "It’s a funny one because if you talk about mentality, you’d think mentality would be ‘well, against the big teams, you come up short.’ I didn’t go into this job where I felt there was something institutionalised here that would stop this club having success. I just don’t think that way.

"I think everything while I am here is in my control. So I’m not going to palm off responsibility to whatever we’re going through to things that have existed in the past. From the moment since I’ve come in I have the ability and the opportunity to change things so that’s what I am endeavouring to do. The key is to understand that Bournemouth is not a lesser team. They have beaten City and Arsenal at home so we knew it was a tough game last night, particularly in the spell we are in at the moment where we have a lot of football with a thin squad.

"We prepared ourselves for a tough game, that was going to be tougher than any other game we were going to face last night, and the disappointing thing is, like I said, that in a game where we started well, we once again allowed the opposition to play the game on their terms by us lacking discipline and conviction in a key moment and we can’t keep doing that."

Tottenham face an in-form Chelsea this weekend just over a year after the chaotic meeting between the two clubs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which ended 4-1 to the visitors. Spurs had Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie sent off but still continued to play their way with nine men and could have snatched an equaliser before the Blues netted two late goals.

The home fans applauded their team off the pitch that night despite the defeat and Postecoglou believes the core values have not changed.

"No, not really and I think we have seen evidence of that this year. Nothing has changed in terms of my resolve to play the type of football I want to play and be that kind of team," he said. "It’s just that we haven’t understood the other side of that and that is that the discipline and resilience to overcome difficult moments so that the football we have can come through.

"When we have won this year, we have been pretty compelling. It’s not just struggling victories. Every game we have won we have been very dominant and exactly the team we want to be so we have shown the potential of what we can be but that kind of gets diminished by performances like last night."

Those poor performances bring the usual response from pundits and disappointed fans claiming that Postecoglou has no Plan B. It is those kind of doubts that have followed him around for his entire coaching career.

"I keep saying I have had 26 years of that. I come in here right and I can only be really myself and answer questions the way I want to if I really believe in what I am doing," said the Australian. "I am not going to change my values, I’m not going to change my beliefs, I’m not going to change my sense of purpose or the way I do things because then I can’t come in here and defend what I am doing.

"I can defend this to the day I’m gone if I’m doing it my way. So like I said it is not unusual for me, it’s not unique and sometimes you kind of understand that people are going to see what we are doing in that light. ‘Well, why don’t you change?’ But change to what? To something somebody else is doing or somebody else did? I was brought here to do it my way otherwise what is the point of me being here."

He added: "I’m sure at other clubs, if you stick to a plan and got through difficult moments, there’s dissension among supporters in this moments. You forget about that when you’re on the other side.

"It’s about winning but it’s about belief as well in what you’re doing sometimes. You look beyond the results I think. That’s what happened at the start of my tenure last year. We lost against Chelsea but there was a sense that we were building something. Obviously it kind of went off the rails after that game. It’s not just about winning, but where we are right now it will certainly help.

"I’d be surprised if [the players] think I was happy with this. I don’t think they are either. I don’t think they’re comfortable with where we’re at. It’s not just about anger and screaming and yelling. It’s about purpose and direction and responsibility and charting a way forward. That’s much more important for me."

Tottenham made the biggest signing of the Premier League summer transfer window in getting Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth for £60million but have also spent approaching £100million on five teenagers. So does Postecoglou actually have a stronger squad than the one he had last season?

"If everyone was fit, yeah. Where we are now, no, but that's pretty evident. Vicario, Van de Ven, Romero, Bentancur, Richarlison, Odobert, if five of those were available last night or four of those were available last night... Look the players who left, it wasn't a slight on them," he said.

"They were good, experienced players, absolutely, but we can't change if I keep everyone, I can't just keep adding to the squad without letting people go, and when they left we couldn't replace like-for-like, I couldn't let a 28-year-old go and sign a 28-year-old because that wasn't where we were at. We had to sign younger players and start building, and in the perfect world, we wouldn't have got the injuries and suspensions and illnesses that we have, and the squad would look a lot healthier, but where we are right now, we're nowhere near the level we need to be."

One player that Postecoglou will be hoping to have back is Cristian Romero, especially with Ben Davies picking up a hamstring injury on Thursday and leaving Spurs with one fit centre-back in Radu Dragusin.

"He just hasn't been able to feel 100%, but we're closer now so there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel. The first thing is that he feels more comfortable so hopefully he's available soon," he said.

Will the Tottenham boss have to ask the World Cup winner to do a job for the team on Sunday regardless?

"I don't think I have to ask him. Cuti's the kind of guy if he feels he can get out there and help us, he will," said Postecoglou. "I won't have to twist his arm."

Ange Postecoglou has a huge call to make on Sunday when it comes to naming his Tottenham team to take on Chelsea. The Lilywhites are extremely limited in certain areas of the pitch right now, perhaps none more so than at centre-back.

Ben Davies became the latest player to join an already packed treatment room after sustaining a hamstring injury in Thursday's defeat at Bournemouth. The Welshman joins Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in there at present, although there is the possibility that the World Cup winner could soon be back in the Tottenham matchday squad.

Radu Dragusin is guaranteed to start against Chelsea but it remains to be seen who will partner him. So what are the options available to Postecoglou? football.london takes a look below.

Cristian Romero

Postecoglou offered a glimmer of hope in his pre-match press conference that Romero could possibly feature in this weekend's game against Chelsea. Tottenham are desperate for a boost at centre-back and the return of the Argentine would be a huge lift for all if he is in a position to feature.

"Ben, too early again mate, he'll go for a scan today, we're talking 10 hours after last night's game, so we'll find out more," he said when asked for the latest on Davies and Romero. "Cuti is due to train, we're not doing much today but we'll see how he goes tomorrow."

So, it appears that Romero's participation in the match may all depend on how he gets on in training on Saturday. Tottenham's backline will certainly look a lot stronger if the World Cup winner takes his place in the team alongside Dragusin.

There was no mention of Van de Ven's fitness in the head coach's press conference, which seems to suggest that the Dutchman is not quite there just yet in regards to a first-team return.

Archie Gray

If Romero is not in a position to play against Chelsea then it may result in Archie Gray starting at centre-back. The 18-year-old has extremely limited experience in the position, with his only game time there coming in a Tottenham shirt during pre-season and the games against Ferencvaros and Bournemouth.

It's not an ideal situation, especially against free-scoring Chelsea, but Postecoglou may have no other choice but to start Gray at the heart of defence. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Australian said the teenager's stint at centre-back "will do him the world of good".

"He’ll be better for it," explained the 59-year-old. "It was a good experience for him, it wasn’t easy, it was tough, particularly when we put him at centre-back but it will do him the world of good, make him a better player and a stronger personality for our football club."

Full-back moves across

Tottenham were in a similar position 12 months ago as they had to try and cope without Romero and Van de Ven. That resulted in Postecoglou deploying full-backs Emerson Royal and Davies at centre-back rather than selecting Eric Dier in the position.

Spurs even went to the Etihad Stadium and left with a point following a 3-3 draw despite starting four full-backs in their backline. Amid possible doubts about Gray starting at centre-back against Chelsea if Romero is unavailable, Postecoglou could choose to move a full-back across to the middle of defence and keep the ex-Leeds United man at full-back.

Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence are Tottenham's current options at full-back, with Sergio Reguilon, who is out of favour under Postecoglou, another choice at left-back after taking his place on the bench at Bournemouth.

Academy options

Postecoglou could opt turn to the academy in Tottenham's hour of need. While it would be a major shock for one of the talented youngsters to come straight into the team for the London derby clash, there may well be a place on the substitutes' bench for one of them.

There have been opportunities for a handful of academy aces in the Europa League squad so far this season. Malachi Hardy and Maeson King were both on the bench against Roma in last week's 2-2 draw in N17, with Alfie Dorrington and Dante Cassanova in the matchday squad for last month's defeat against Galatasaray in Istanbul.

Tottenham require a natural centre-back on the bench as things stand and that could possibly result in a call-up for one of the academy stars this weekend.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham by clicking here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Chelsea's resurgence under Enzo Maresca is gaining steam as they prepare for a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, aiming for their fifth consecutive victory across all competitions.

Maresca's men delivered a resounding 5-1 win on Wednesday night, with Cole Palmer contributing to the scoreline, propelling Chelsea into second place, edging Arsenal on goal difference. Despite this impressive run, Maresca remains cautious about title aspirations, a sentiment echoed by bookmakers who place Chelsea as fourth favourites for the Premier League title at the moment.

However, a win in this derby could keep Chelsea in close pursuit of title favourites Liverpool as the hectic festive schedule approaches. The bookies are expecting a tight-knit affair with the Blues as the slight favourites at 13/10 with CopyBet while Spurs are 13/8 and a draw at 14/5.

Tottenham, meanwhile, have experienced a rollercoaster season characterised by flashes of brilliance and moments of fragility. Currently enduring a challenging period, Spurs suffered a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Thursday, marking their third game without a win. Manager Ange Postecoglou faces mounting pressure to rally his squad and appease disgruntled fans with a victory over their London rivals.

Tottenham vs Chelsea Betting Tips

Both teams to score - 1/3 (CopyBet)

Cole Palmer to score anytime - 6/5 (CopyBet)

Under 3.5 goals - 20/21 (CopyBet)

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Son Heung-min showed his true colours following Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth. The Cherries stormed past Ange Postecoglou's team at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night to climb above the Lilywhites in the Premier League table.

Desperate to grab an equaliser in the final half-an-hour, the 32-year-old forward was brought on to replace Pape Matar Sarr. Just moments after coming on, Son found the net but he was quickly adjudged to be offside.

Despite the Tottenham skipper's best efforts, he couldn't inspire a comeback on the south coast. After the game, a chorus of boos could be heard from a disgruntled away end, while many of the Spurs players were hesitant to face the music.

But, as the captain, Son was spotted rallying his troops. The South Korea international was seen yelling at his teammates to go and applaud the Spurs fans; and he seemed particularly frustrated with Destiny Udogie as he lingered around the centre circle.

Once Son and his teammates returned to the dressing room, manager Postecoglou went to applaud the travelling supporters - but he was hardly given a warm reception. The Tottenham boss was hurled abuse as he apologised for the disappointing result, which has seen the north Londoners drop to 10th.

Speaking with reporters after the game, Postecoglou was asked for his thoughts. He said: "Very disappointing. We started the game well. Started the game the way we wanted to and started controlling it but we give away a poor goal, a really poor goal. Again.

"That allows the opposition to, and this is a difficult place to come to anyways, sit back and play the football they want, to counter-attack and we have to open up. It is disappointing and not good enough. It is not something that is a one off. We have done that now three or four times and paid a price for it."

Then, on a heated encounter with the supporters, Postecoglou said: "They are disappointed, rightly so. They gave me some direct feedback which I guess is taken on board."

When asked if he had a message for the Spurs fans, he added: "Again that would be me trying to dictate how they feel. All I can say is I'm really disappointed with tonight, and I'm determined to get it right and I'll keep fighting until we do."

Ange Postecoglou held his press conference on Friday morning ahead of Tottenham's Premier League derby against Chelsea at the weekend.

Spurs will host Enzo Maresca's in-form Blues at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon looking to bounce back from another frustrating defeat, this time at the hands of Bournemouth on Thursday evening. Postecoglou lost Ben Davies to a hamstring injury which meant he has eight players out of action and the spine of his team missing.

The Tottenham boss also went over to the travelling fans after the final whistle and along with the players received some vocal feedback from the angry Spurs faithful.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Postecoglou on Friday morning at Hotspur Way after travelling back from Bournemouth. We've got a full transcript with every word the Australian said which you can find below.

How do you reflect on last night and the scenes at full time?

Not a lot of time for reflection, mate, we got back at 2am. Same way I felt last night, I guess. It was a disappointing night and we've got a lot of work to do.

Do you feel like the majority of supporters are behind you?

They're not behind me, they're behind the club. I've got no interest in who's behind me. You got to figure the ones who travel to Bournemouth are pretty hardcore supporters, they weren't happy with what they saw, they felt like they needed to give me some feedback, I took the feedback on board and we move on.

Was this defeat the result of having a stretched squad?

That's to one side. We know that. We knew that going in [to the game]. For me, the disappointing last night was the repeat of the cycle of us going into games, starting well enough but allowing the opposition to get a sloppy goal like we did last night or not taking our opportunities. We need to break that cycle, irrespective of where we're at at the moment. We know we're really thin on the ground in terms of squad numbers. We know there's not a lot of opportunities to rotate and rest players. We obviously paid the price with Benny last night. They're known things. But what also is known is that we've repeatedly shot ourselves in the foot in those kind of games like last night and we need to change that.

Can we have a Ben Davies and Cristian Romero update?

Ben, too early again mate, he'll go for a scan today, we're talking 10 hours after last night's game, so we'll find out more. Cuti is due to train, we're not doing much today but we'll see how he goes tomorrow.

With a big game like this against Chelsea, is it a chance for your team to show what they're really about?

Yeah to a certain extent but that won't eliminate what happened last night. We've done well against the teams up the top end of the table this year, not just wins but played really well, whether that's City or United away or Villa at home. But that doesn't eliminate what happened last night.

That still needs to be addressed. That's to one side. It's a big game on Sunday, they're obviously going really well Chelsea. They're in a good space at the moment with a fairly healthy squad and in good form. Always a tough game against them and we are at home. We need to make sure we produce a performance like we have in the other games which have been similar to get something out of it.

This is an incredibly busy month, how do you go about making sure energy levels are where you need them to be?

Just by continuing to try to prepare the players in the best way we can. We're really stretched thin in terms of the squad and losing Benny last night doesn't help that. We've got European games, we've got Carabao Cup in there as well so we've just got to try and manage the players the best we can to make sure we've got the maximum performance out of them.

What is your message to the fans?

As I said last night, no message. I'm here, I'm going to fight to make sure we bring success to this football club. Nothing really changes. Whether there's doubt, whether that's internally or externally, it just makes my resolve even stronger to get it right.

Does it concern you that the fans are not seeing the progress you get to see in working with the players every day?

Again, the supporters are the supporters, they're invested in this club whoever is in charge, whichever the playing group is. They will feel what they feel, whether they can see what we're trying to do or not. I can't change that materially without there being evidence on the pitch that they can see. If they can't see it at the moment then it's up to me to make sure they can see it.

Have you worked out why the team are struggling with inconsistency?

No, not yet but we will keep searching for those answers. Look, some of it in sport is just around having a competitive squad where there is competition for places which keeps people on edge all the time and we don’t have that at the moment. We haven’t had that for a while. Within the absence of that, we have to find other ways to make sure the players are clear on their responsibilities.

Son is in the final year of his contract. How important is he and would you like to keep him long term?

Right now all I care about is Sunday. I couldn’t care about people’s contracts. I couldn’t care about their situations. What I care about is Sunday and I want to make sure we have a group of players on Sunday who are ready to go out there and fight.

How do you process defeats? Do you speak with coaching staff or do it personally?

It’s me, mate. I’m the one responsible for it. There is no point in the toughest moments palming off the responsibility to other people. I’m the person in charge. I’m the person that has set us off in this direction and I am the person who needs to fix it.

Tottenham have spent a lot of money, approaching £100m on five teenagers. That is great long-term but does it make it difficult for you in the short-term?

It is still the right decision and I own them [transfers] because I believe they are the right decisions for this club. I have said numerous times, I make these decisions with the kind of background that I’m going to be here for a while to see this through. To be honest, if I was worried about my own existence I would have fought tooth and nail to block Harry Kane leaving but it wasn’t the right decision for the club because he was in the last year of his contract. That is not what drives me. The decisions we made around signing young players are the right decisions for this club for where we are at right now and they will bear fruit.

But from the outside it seems like you have lost a lot of experience?

Yeah we have but we needed to do that. We needed to do that because it was a team that was coming towards the end of its cycle and we were rebuilding not just the squad but the playing style and you couldn’t replace experience with experience because that is not a rebuild. That is kind of topping up because you feel you are close to something and we weren’t close to anything.

Archie Gray had a lot thrown at him, how did you feel he dealt with it?

He’ll be better for it. It was a good experience for him, it wasn’t easy, it was tough, particularly when we put him at centre-back but it will do him the world of good, make him a better player and a stronger personality for our football club.

You copped some unacceptable abuse last night and lots of frustration. Even though you had eight players out, you want to win every week and it’s one win in six, how much are you hurting right now?

I’m not hurting, I am determined and that’s all. I don’t want to say it is unacceptable because like I said, it is what it is. I have lived in this world for long enough to know that when people aren’t happy, they’ll express their opinions and I am never going to hide. I am never going to shirk that responsibility, that’s fine. I will take on board. Is it nice? No, because like I said last night I am not just a manager, I am a human being like everyone else and none of us like to hear those sorts of things, but it is what it is. It doesn’t disappoint me, it doesn’t frustrate me, it doesn’t make me angry. I am just as determined as ever to get it right, not because of that but because of my resolve to bring success to the football club.

How much do you feel supported? It's a difficult period with players out, a Thursday to Sunday period, but you signed a four-year deal and Rome wasn’t built in a day. Do you feel support from the key figures?

I don’t need support. I don’t worry about contracts, I don’t worry about support. I just want to make sure that what I set out to do, I accomplish and that is to bring success to this football club. I will work my backside off to make sure that happens. I am not going to be deterred in my ambitions or endeavour to do that and that’s what I’ll keep doing.

Tottenham Hotspur face Chelsea on Sunday in a huge London derby. Spurs have already lost at home to Arsenal this season and defeat to Chelsea would be unthinkable for the supporters.

Head coach Ange Postecoglou is under huge pressure and that was no more apparent than after the loss to Bournemouth on Thursday night when he went over to applaud the supporters and was given a barrage of abuse.

It was an insipid display from Spurs and followed a similarly disappointing performance in the 1-1 draw with Fulham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Spurs could find themselves as low as 13th in the Premier League table by the time they kick-off against the Blues on Sunday afternoon. It has been an extremely disappointing start to the season all told.

Can Postecoglou turn it around? Is he the man to turn things around? We asked our football.london writers to give their verdict on the Australian's future at the club.

Lee Wilmot

It was a fresh, exciting brand of football that Tottenham desperately needed after the managers that came before him. And a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League was a fine start.

But things have gone sour for Ange Postecoglou this season. How many times have Spurs been genuinely good from start to finish this season? Very few.

I thought the Manchester City win would kickstart the season and get Spurs firing on all cylinders. It has not happened. We've followed that up with a draw against Fulham - and let's face it the Whties deserved to win - and a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

Spurs have been desperately poor on too many occasions this season - Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town and these latest two results. That's 12 points down the drain you could reasonably expect a free-flowing, firing on all cylinders Tottenham team under Postecoglou to pick up.

There are injuries, injuries galore and that is a rather large extenuating circumstance of course, but Spurs were supposed to have built a squad of young players who could offer more strength in depth than we had last season. It has not turned out to be the case.

We can't defend set-pieces and we don't look like scoring from them either. We're too open - which is fine when you're banging goals in, less so when you're not - and for all the possession in matches the build-up is often slow and laboured.

It has become quite tedious to watch Tottenham again and that's the real issue here. The entertaining football has gone and if you're not doing that and you're not winning matches, there's a big problem.

Can Postecoglou turn it around? I hope so, but defeat to Chelsea on Sunday and that could be that.

Rob Guest

It certainly doesn't get any easier for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham when you look at the upcoming fixtures. While you would expect Spurs to get results against Rangers and Southampton, the Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool games look rather daunting given the team's current form and list of absent players.

Lose against in-form Chelsea on Sunday and the pressure on Postecoglou's shoulders is only going to increase to new levels. Injuries and suspensions are killing Spurs right now and any team in the Premier League would be impacted if they were missing their first-choice goalkeeper, first-choice centre-back pairing, a midfielder of Rodrigo Bentancur's quality and a couple of attacking options.

Regardless of those missing players, there have been a number of occasions this term when Spurs have looked so open at the back, lacked energy on the pitch and not played the attacking, free-flowing football that Postecoglou is known for. Thursday's defeat against Bournemouth was a prime example as they were incredibly lucky to leave having lost by only the one goal.

Tottenham really should be higher in the table after dropping points against Leicester City, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Fulham and now Bournemouth. It is not good enough and Spurs have to find some consistency sooner rather than later if they want to make this season a success.

I don't believe sacking Postecoglou is the answer at present, though. Tottenham cannot keep parting with managers and go back to the start again as it has got them nowhere in recent years. After all, who would you even turn to if Postecoglou is to depart?

Tottenham have to try and navigate this period as best they can and stick with Postecoglou, just like Arsenal did with Mikel Arteta when things looked rather bleak for him down the road at the Emirates Stadium. Tottenham are in the middle of a project right now and there is unfortunately going to be some short-term pain which will hopefully lead to brighter days in N17 in the not too distant future.

Kieran King

For me, Tottenham should part company with Ange Postecoglou. They have not been good enough so far this season, and although impressive wins have come against the likes of Manchester City twice, Aston Villa and Manchester United, Spurs have failed to beat Leicester, Ipswich, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Brighton and Newcastle within the first 14 games of the Premier League season.

That, alongside their lowly league position of 10th with just 20 points from a possible 42, has raised alarm bells that Postecoglou's time at Tottenham could be coming to an end, and I think it's inevitable that he gets the sack. You can't simply turn up every other week a club the size of Tottenham and expect success. They look miles off compared to last season and something needs to change.

Should Postecoglou face the bullet, I believe that Tottenham need to look at Fulham's Marco Silva or Newcastle's Eddie Howe. Both managers have plenty of Premier League experience, play an attractive brand of football and would help ensure Spurs are more consistent as they bid to climb the table.

Kieran Horn

In short, there are far bigger problems at Tottenham than Ange Postecoglou right now. The Spurs head coach is not free from blame however with his tactics at both ends of the pitch flattering to deceive currently as the Lilywhites look rather lifeless in attack and very open in defence.

At the end of the day however, he just does not have a good enough squad to seriously compete in four competitions. Regardless of who is in charge, the problems are so deep-rooted that they cannot be solved imminently.

Followers of football, and this most definitely includes Tottenham fans, are impatient and too often the term project is thrown around, but that is exactly the process that is required. There is going to be some serious short-term pain but it will absolutely be worth it in the long run if Postecoglou is backed further.

Many raise a point that the 59-year-old has made minimal progress during his near 18 months at the club in comparison to Chelsea's Enzo Maresca who only joined this past summer. However, when comparing the two squads, it is very clear to see why the Blues are where they are currently.

And in all honestly it is very likely things become much more tense over the following weeks with home games against Chelsea and Liverpool on the horizon. However, some perspective is seriously needed as Spurs seemingly face the busy Christmas period with just one senior centre-back.

Every team gets injuries, but when there is three in one position it is very difficult to not suffer. Postecoglou is struggling and it is fine for questions to be asked about his future but anyone suggesting he should be sacked right now, is out of their mind.

Isaac Seelochan

It feels like Spurs have been pretty average for some time bar the odd good result. Ange Postecoglou got off to the perfect start last season but teams have by and large worked them out.

One of the most damning facts for Postecoglou is that a Bournemouth team under a manager who has been there for the same period of time is now above his side in the table. The Cherries played them off the park despite spending a fraction of the money Spurs have paid for some of their stars.

Postecoglou has often come across as quite arrogant and thin-skinned in some of his responses to journalists, despite the fact he has received a lot of good will in the media. I have a feeling he won't last the season and that won't be entirely unjustified.

Tottenham fans can start making their travel arrangements for their FA Cup third round tie against non-league side Tamworth. In Monday evening's FA Cup draw, Ange Postecoglou's side were drawn away against the National League outfit.

Tamworth have already made big headlines in the famous competition this season after getting the better of League One sides Huddersfield Town and Burton Albion in round one and round two respectively. Andy Peaks' team will now welcome Spurs to The Lamb Ground for what should be an intriguing third round tie.

As expected, the FA Cup clash has been selected for live TV coverage. The game is now in the calendar for 12.30pm on Sunday, January 12, with ITV1 the place to watch the fixture.

The FA Cup game comes between Tottenham's home game against Newcastle United on Saturday, January 4 and their away fixture at Arsenal on Wednesday, January 15. Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Bournemouth game, Postecoglou was asked about the FA Cup draw and he admitted that he does already know a little bit about their third round opponents.

"It's an exciting bit of the cup. I was watching it with my boys, and they asked me a million questions about Tamworth, and I had to do some quick Googling," he said. "Actually no, to be fair, I'd watched the previous round. I like watching the FA Cup games. So I saw how they'd got through, so I knew a little bit about them.

"II's a beautiful part of the FA Cup. I'm sure they're buzzing to have a Premier League team there. It's great for us because it's a tie that will obviously have a little bit of interest around it and yeah one I look forward to."

There was a certain irony to the fact that it was the consistently unused Djed Spence who came over and put a consoling hand on Ange Postecoglou's shoulder as he turned away from his bruising encounter with Tottenham's furious travelling fans.

Just 12 days earlier and a jubilant Postecoglou had enjoyed a very different moment with those supporters after ending Manchester City's 52-game unbeaten run at the Etihad Stadium with a 4-0 win.

In contrast, on Thursday night, the Australian had watched as a line of his players had stood in front of the fans, first applauding and then standing and taking on the chin what the frustrated fans were shouting at them.

While some had come and gone, Pedro Porro, Yves Bissouma, Radu Dragusin, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall remained and took what was coming from a section of supporters that had made the long trip down to the south coast knowing there were no trains to take them home that night. They were certainly not rewarded for their efforts.

Postecoglou then went over and 'copped it' in his words from the supporters. Some of what was shouted at him was deeply unpleasant with comments about his weight and associated colourful language, and that was what triggered an initial fiery response, as he told some to calm down before pointing to himself and seeming to suggest its on him to fix Tottenham.

That's only partly true as the true cost of a period spent buying teenagers and only one ready-made player for his starting XI continues to throw a light on the club's ambition to actually want to succeed in the short term.

"They are disappointed, rightly so. They gave me some direct feedback which I guess is taken on board," said Postecoglou of his encounter with the fans.

"I've got no issue with it. I didn't like what was being said because I'm a human being but you've got to cop it. I've been around long enough to know that if things don't go well, you've got to understand the frustration and disappointment.

"They're rightly disappointed tonight because again we've let a game of football get away from us. That's ok, I'm ok with all of that."

When asked what was said to him, he simply responded: "Yeah probably not for here mate."

The major problem with Tottenham's transfer policy in spending approaching £100m on five teenagers who will arrive over the course of three windows, is that injuries will expose the lack of experience in the squad right now and it comprises yet another manager used to lifting trophies.

Postecoglou will always own what transfers come into his clubs, but he has swapped a lot of experienced players - albeit ones that he may not have felt suited his football - like Hojbjerg, Lo Celso, Dier, Emerson as well as Kane, Perisic and Lloris and other than Dominic Solanke, 18-year-olds and one now injured 19-year-old have filled the gaps.

So when the injuries come and they truly have - with Ben Davies' hamstring injury making it eight players currently unavailable to Postecoglou and most of them key figures - those young players are having to be thrown in or not used at all and the policy's long-term nature is being exposed.

On Thursday night, there was little leadership from the older players either to be seen in the performance. James Maddison wore the armband but was mostly anonymous. Son Heung-min came on in the second half and after a little flurry of activity got bogged down in it all, including having to play as number eight.

It was only 12 days ago when Maddison was enjoying the post-match plaudits after his excellent two-goal display at the Etihad Stadium, telling everyone how Tottenham's team is better when he is playing in it.

Whenever Spurs lose though, it's mostly a Dejan Kulusevski or a Ben Davies coming out to face the music or Son apologising to the fans and saying the team must do better.

Thursday's performance at Bournemouth showed a team lacking in numbers, energy and to use Postecoglou's term - solutions.

They started the game brightly and it took one switch off from a set piece 18 minutes in with Dean Huijsen left completely unmarked by Radu Dragusin to head home from a corner to change the whole vibe of the game.

There was no little irony that the matchwinner was a teenager, the young Dutchman planting a firm header past everyone and into the back of the net.

It knocked Spurs for six and all of their confidence in breaking through their hosts seemed to drain after that. Kepa in the Bournemouth goal had precious little to do, saving a Pedro Porro half-volley from outside the box probably the most he had to do all game, while Fraser Forster was called upon on various occasions as the home side found ways through on the break.

"Very disappointing. We started the game well. Started the game the way we wanted to and started controlling it but we give away a poor goal, a really poor goal. Again," he said. "That allows the opposition to, and it is a difficult place to come to anyways, sit back and play the football they want.

"To counter-attack and we have to open up. It is disappointing and not good enough. It is not something that is a one off. We have done that now three or four times and paid a price for it."

He added: "Football is a game where you try to control it and dictate it to play the way you want to but when you give goals away like we did tonight, and we have done that consistently not just with set-pieces but just in general this year, it just gives the opportunity then for the opposition, particularly a team like Bournemouth, to play on the counter which is what they want to do.

"We have to open up. They can sit back. Just really disappointing it has happened again. Something for me to mull over and do something about."

There were a handful of positives from the game. Forster again did little wrong while Destiny Udogie put in one his better performances of the season and Archie Gray adapted to everything thrown at him as the young midfielder started off as a right-back and then moved into central defence, where he had never played before joining Spurs.

That a £40m wonderkid has needed to do so again shines a light on the club's transfer priorities.

Gray made one sliding tackle when racing back in the first half that had to be perfect and it was and he deserves credit for how he took it all on shoulders. He's going to be some player for the long-term for Tottenham, but again it's about the long term.

Elsewhere the team spluttered and faltered, with Maddison and Johnson anonymous, Solanke toiling without service once again and even the in-form Kulusevski running into blind alleys and seeing no real movement around him.

It was a performance we've seen too many times this season now, against Crystal Palace, Ipswich, Fulham and that abysmal second half at Brighton.

With Postecoglou, the age-old Tottenham problems persist for his side, that teams who sit back with a low block often have a field day.

The highs under the Australian this season have given a glimpse of what his football can be with breath-taking big wins at City, United and at home against Aston Villa, but it's worth noting that Spurs were given the space to rip those teams apart on the counter, another common strength of Tottenham over the years.

This current malaise, amid the latest injury crisis, will provide a stern test of Tottenham's nerve at the very top.

Daniel Levy and the club's board decided to appoint Postecoglou, knowing his way was going to involve a major rebuild and with the Australian represented by CAA Base, it was going to provide an even closer alignment with the powerful agency that has many of Spurs' stars on their client list.

Then after a positive rebuilding first summer, the board and the newly-appointed recruitment team switched tack and decided to provide Postecoglou with five teenage signings, although he claims he was behind all of those transfers.

That policy, with just a single first team improvement made in Solanke, is one looking to the future rather than the now. Some more cynical might suggest they are enticing investments for future stakeholders or owners to look at as assets that will grow in value.

Regardless, the signings have been long-term project ones, so can a compromised Postecoglou truly be judged or have his fate decided by this period in which he's been hammered by injuries and the club's own transfer policy?

Everything about Tottenham always screams reactionary. It's like they listened to criticism that they weren't finding and signing the next big things as teams like Brighton do, so they went out and did so to the extreme, signing so many of them that they neglected what they needed now.

They have also been reactionary in their managerial appointments, lurching from one style to another, chasing whatever they think they should do rather than creating their own identity.

Postecoglou was their first real attempt to do that since Pochettino and to abandon his project as they have so many others' in the past, would only throw further light on the owners' failings in building a club on the field as they have off it.

There's only so many times you can blame the manager. Levy has gone through 13 permanent managers over the past couple of decades and there's only so many times you can point the finger and start again.

Tottenham have to stick to something and back it. The Postecoglou way has been as painful as it has enjoyable at times, but that was always likely to be the way.

Some will point out that he has won a similar amount of Premier League games as Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta had done by this stage and it's all part of a process, others will point out that those two managers also reached finals with the latter winning the FA Cup.

A drained and frustrated Postecoglou spoke quietly after the game, practically whispering into the microphone as his press conference began, before growing in volume as it reached its conclusion.

He was asked if he had a message for those supporters that he has always previously stated should feel whatever they feel.

"Again that would be me trying to dictate how they feel," he said. "All I can say is I'm really disappointed with tonight and I'm determined to get it right and I'll keep fighting until we do."

Now Postecoglou needs a club that will fight with him.