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Chelsea's loathing for their crosstown rivals is so strong some fans use their 55-year-old walk-on anthem as a vessel for bashing, regardless of the fixture

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Liquidator is a 1969 reggae track with Hammond organ crescendos so rousing that the Jamaican record producer Harry J figured no vocals were necessary. Clearly, that is not an opinion shared by the thousands at Stamford Bridge who have taken to weaponising the instrumental chorus with their own lyrics.

‘We hate Tottenham! Chelsea!’ Hatred for them, love for us, in that order before each and every game, whoever the opponent. Not all Chelsea fans are fond of their 55-year-old walk-on anthem being used as a vessel for bashing, insisting you can loathe that lot without spoiling our song, but it serves as a regular reminder of this rivalry’s standing.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium DJ will not encourage Chelsea's away end by throwing Liquidator into Sunday's pre-match playlist, no petrol needed on this fire after a history so venomously colourful it involves meat hooks and electrified fencing as well as the odd classic scoreline.

In search of its origins, before there was even a flicker of a feud, Mail Sport was told to look back to the 1967 FA Cup final – or the ‘Cockney Cup final’ as it was christened as the first all-London affair. Two of Chelsea’s own in Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables starred for their victorious opponents. Tottenham had been winning trophies when they weren’t. Bitterness was brewing, so say the historians.

We phoned John Boyle for verification. He’s 77 years young today, but was 20 when he started for Chelsea that day in front of 100,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. Surprisingly, he said there was no ill will. ‘I don’t think there was,’ Boyle told us. ‘I never saw any trouble. It started after that. Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham, all the London teams, I don’t know if there was a big difference at the time. I never thought there was a rivalry with Spurs back then.’

The columnists concurred as Wembley was a serene scene, with the former Daily Express sportswriter Desmond Hackett commenting on his dispatch: ‘I enthused that this would be a joyous, knees-up, knocked-'em-in-the-Old-King's-Road affair. Unhappily, Tottenham's 2-1 win over Chelsea was as sedate as a tea party at Buckingham Palace, apart from the lamentable fact that the Queen did not attend.’ However, Boyle did add: ‘Although the ’67 final was hard to take for the fans.’

That frustration may be why the next time they met, in the First Division at White Hart Lane in November 1967, dozens were arrested during crowd disturbances. One chap was nicked for hiding a meat hook, another for concealing a sandbag, a third for carrying a metal cosh.

Similar stories cropped up from then on as English football entered an early era of hooliganism. March 1969, a 1-0 win for Tottenham with Notting Hill Gate and Earls Court among the London underground stations trashed by supporters who also slashed seats on carriages. October 1972, a 1-0 victory for Chelsea in which troublemakers tossed fireworks at one another from the terraces.

Boyle suggested we look further forward, to once he had left Chelsea in 1973. Inevitably that took us to April 1975, a game in which both sides knew their First Divisions statuses depended as the newspapers said the losers would take a walk down ‘death row’. Eddie McCreadie was only two days into the job as Blues boss when he selected an 18-year-old called Ray Wilkins as captain, axing a legend in John Hollins.

The atmosphere at White Hart Lane was animalistic. Kick-off was delayed as supporters spilled on to the pitch in scraps. Pat Jennings was kicked in the shin by one intruder, but the Tottenham goalkeeper gave his assailant a booting back and the young fan limped away feeling like he had received the goal-kick treatment.

While Chelsea’s current ownership hope their faith in youth is rewarded on Sunday, McCreadie was not. His team lost 2-0. Tottenham survived on 34 points. Chelsea dropped down to the Second Division on 33. Even younger than Wilkins that day was Teddy Maybank, handed his Chelsea debut at the age of 18. Today he is 68, and Mail Sport’s next phone call after Boyle.

‘It was tremendously violent,’ Maybank told us. ‘When we got there, it was like something out of a different world, horrendous. It was lethal, not a nice place to be. In the dressing room, we heard it all kicking off and we didn’t even want to go out to have a look.’

Boyle had to pop out to hand his parents their tickets. Thankfully as a teenage debutant, he could ghost through the war zone without being recognised. ‘It was the scariest moment of my life,’ he continued. ‘You’ll always remember it. Always. It sticks with you, the aggression. Whoever lost that game was relegated. The tension was ridiculous. It’s a shame I didn’t have enough experience to go out and play with a free head.’

And yet, Boyle added he would go through it all over again, because this is the game you live for. Arsenal, Fulham, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Brentford, they’re all closer to Chelsea in SW6 than Tottenham in N17. But it means more than mere geography. Safe to say, then, the rivalry was alive and, certainly in Jennings’ case, kicking in 1975? ‘Definitely,’ Boyle said. ‘Without a doubt. For them to send us down, that hurt, really hurt.’

There are too many memorable matches to mention between then and now, plus a forest full of paperwork filed by coppers patrolling Fulham Road and that mile-long march to Seven Sisters, with the National Front infiltration into Chelsea's fanbase adding to the aggro.

In April 1985, a 12ft-high anti-hooligan electrified fence was erected at Stamford Bridge before the visit of Tottenham, though Greater London Council banned the barbed pitch perimeter from zapping anyone tempted to try to invade. Another story from New Year’s Day in 1986 goes that a few Chelsea fans’ knuckles were still too clean for their liking when their morning match with West Ham at Upton Park was postponed because of a frozen pitch, so they travelled to Highbury instead to liven up Tottenham’s goalless draw at Arsenal.

There was Chelsea’s 6-1 Premier League win at White Hart Lane in December 1997 in which Tore Andre Flo scored a hat-trick. Dennis Wise featured that day and word is he would take it upon himself to teach foreign imports the importance of winning these derbies.

There was Tottenham’s 5-1 League Cup semi-final second-leg victory at the same venue in January 2002, completing a turnaround after the first leg was marred by missile throwing, including coins aimed at Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

It was in the same competition in February 2008 that Spurs secured their last trophy, Chelsea’s cabinet since crammed via the wallet of Roman Abramovich, who might have opted to buy their rivals were it not for Sven-Goran Eriksson advising him to choose blue over white. Abramovich became attuned to the animosity, Carlton Cole claiming his transfer was cancelled when the Russian informed him: ‘You can’t go to Spurs, I don’t do business with them.’

The Battle of the Bridge came in May 2016, a 2-2 draw which confirmed Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester as 5,000-1 champions. Mark Clattenburg told Mail Sport that was ‘by far the hardest match I have ever refereed’, adding: ‘There was so much at stake and you could sense the tension. There would have been few complaints if I had sent off four players that night but equally I could have been accused of ruining what was a great game. I don't think I could have won.’

There was Tottenham's 3-1 Premier League win in April 2018, their first at Stamford Bridge in 28 years after being the gift that kept on giving for too long. Then Chelsea’s 4-1 victory last season when Ange Postecoglou’s high line acted as a noose around the team’s neck, beautifully bonkers though it was for neutrals. Not even that scoreline earned Mauricio Pochettino forgiveness from the Chelsea fans who hated the Tottenham blood in his veins.

You need to be special to be universally loved, and Greaves was that, a scorer of 132 goals in 169 games for Chelsea and 266 in 379 for Tottenham.

Some years ago, Stamford Bridge officials added one of his quotes to a wall in the home dressing room, reading: ‘It’s probably the greatest name in the world: Chelsea. You think about it. It conjures up the best part of the biggest city in the world.’ He was adored, Greavsie, with the two teams’ supporters setting aside their hatred before their meeting in September 2021 to mark his passing at the age of 81. Among those present to pay tribute were Micky Hazard, Graham Roberts and Glenn Hoddle, three men who also represented these two rivals.

And now for the next instalment. Tottenham may remind us how their true enemies are Arsenal. Some at Chelsea may claim they find Liverpool more loathsome, and certainly the away end in Southampton on Wednesday went through their full repertoire of songs reserved for their Scouse foes.

But there will be no love lost on Sunday. Not before, not during, not after. History, and the lyrics inserted into Liquidator, tells us so.

The shadow of Chelsea’s last trip to Tottenham loomed as Ange Postecoglou fielded questions about misfiring form and urged fans to hold their nerve.

That 4-1 defeat in November 2023 was his first as Spurs boss. The Ange Ball revolution was ablaze on a wild night in north London as he refused to yield his high-line principles, despite two red cards and two key injuries.

His sheer b*llsy intent was celebrated by fans convinced their club had recaptured its soul and yet the Blues make the same journey across the capital on Sunday amid evidence that patience might be wearing thin in N17 after some faltering results.

‘That will be dependent on what people see, what people feel,’ said Postecoglou on the question of his bond with supporters. ‘The only way I can affect that is by what we produce on game days.’

And it felt as if he had Mikel Arteta’s haphazard first phase as Arsenal boss in mind when he said: ‘If you stick to a plan and get through difficult moments when there’s dissension among supporters, you forget about that when you’re on the other side. It’s about winning but it’s about belief as well. You look beyond the results. That’s what happened at the start of my tenure. We lost against Chelsea but there was a sense 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.’

Spurs have lost as many as they have won in the Premier League since that Chelsea defeat. They sit 10th after Thursday’s 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth, which was flattering and prompted fans in the away end to turn on Postecoglou when he crossed the pitch to hear what they wanted to get off their chests.

‘Maybe people thought it wasn’t the right thing to do,’ said Postecoglou. ‘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. I’ve been like that my whole career and I won’t change.

‘It’s on me and whatever you’ve got to direct, direct it at me. And I’m listening. I’m listening, I’m looking, I’m understanding.’

Only a fortnight earlier, the away end had been rapturous as Spurs beat Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium. They won 3-0 at Manchester United this season. They put four past Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham.

‘When we’ve won we’ve been compelling,’ said Postecoglou. ‘It’s not been struggling victories. Just about every game we’ve won we’ve been very, very dominant and the team we want to be but that gets diminished by performances like the one at Bournemouth.’

Yet the summer transfer strategy combined with a long casualty list leaves the squad looking callow, and short of natural leaders.

From this perspective it seems remiss to have encouraged Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Emerson Royal to leave. Not only did they offer experience but defensive instinct, something else Spurs lack until you realise Postecoglou recoils against cautious, safety-first football.

He wants defenders squeezing out to win the ball in midfield. He wants midfielders pressing in step with the forwards. He does not want anybody dropping deep to mop up danger. Instead, they must be quick to recover or cynical enough to stop counter-attacking moves at source.

‘We can’t change if I keep everyone,’ said Postecoglou. ‘I can’t just keep adding to the squad and 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. If I was worried about my own existence, I’d 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. 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.’

Still, two weeks into a five-week cycle of Thursday-Sunday fixtures and the squad looks desperately thin. Cristian Romero could return against Chelsea as Ben Davies joins three others with hamstring injuries.

There is, however, little scope to wriggle with selection or make changes from the bench — vital in a high-tempo style and with five subs available and in stark contrast to the wealth of options at Enzo Maresca’s disposal.

Chelsea will have had a day’s more rest than Spurs for this one. Maresca rested half his first team and coasted past 10-man Southampton on Wednesday.

Postecoglou does not have that luxury, and he goes straight from a London derby into the hostility of Rangers at Ibrox in the Europa League, before a trip to Southampton and home games against Manchester United, in the Carabao Cup, and Liverpool.

It is a brutal schedule for a team on their knees and a manager fighting to persuade the world it will all be fine in the end.

The euphoria of Manchester City already seems like a long time ago for Ange Postecoglou.

Twelve days since the four-goal romp at the home of the champions have brought him problems and setbacks at every turn like an advent calendar from hell.

Injuries and illnesses have stacked against him and three fixtures in eight days have brought him no wins.

Equalisers were conceded at home against Roma and Fulham and his depleted side did not deserve anything at Bournemouth, who climbed above them in the table.

Fans in the away booed the Spurs boss after the final whistle and his team looked flat and tired and copped another injury with Ben Davies limping off in the second half after pulling a hamstring.

They were also fortunate not to concede more than the one goal scored in the first half by teenager centre-half Dean Huijsen.

Marcus Tavernier and Dango Outtara missed the target with glorious chances to make it 2-0 in the closing minutes. Fraser Forster stood firm to save from Enes Unal and substitute Lucas Bergvall blocked from Tyler Adams.

That brilliant 4-0 win at City is the outlier for Postecoglou.

It is the only win in six games in all competitions, with in-form Chelsea visiting on Sunday with an extra day of rest in the tank and a much stronger squad to select from.

Spurs arrived missing seven through injury and suspension, but Dominic Solanke was back after illness to start against the club he left in the summer and Archie Gray shook off the dead leg he picked up in Sunday’s draw with Fulham to make his first Premier League start.

Gray came in to give Pedro Porro a breather but ended up in central defence.

Tottenham though started well enough. Dejan Kulusevski had the first effort of the game, firing straight at Kepa Arrizabalaga after good work by James Maddison, who made a positive start, finding time and space in midfield as the visitors settled quickest and dominated the opening phase.

Maddison released Solanke, who fired over under pressure from Huijsen, the 19-year-old defender deputising for Marcos Senesi and who became Bournemouth’s youngest Premier League goal scorer when he opened the scoring in the 17th minute.

Forster made a block at his near post to deny Evanilson as Bournemouth’s first genuine attack of the game ended with a ricochet in the penalty box falling kindly for the Brazilian via Radu Dragusin and Destiny Udogie.

From the corner that followed, Huijsen wriggled free with a simple run around the back of the crowd and arrived unmarked to plant a firm downward header past Forster from Tavernier’s expert dead-ball delivery.

Tottenham’s vulnerability from set-pieces became a theme throughout last season. It drew much criticism to the annoyance of Postecoglou. They have been more solid this season in general, but they conceded a late equaliser from the second phase of a corner last week against Roma.

Now this, and it seemed to drain some of their confidence. Suddenly, the crisp passing patterns of appeared more difficult to stitch together and Bournemouth became more assertive on the ball and the contest more even.

Tavernier had the ball in the net but had strayed a yard offside before the pass by Evanilson and Forster made a vital save just before the interval.

Milos Kerkez overlapping on the left found Tavernier and his glancing header looked to be destined for the net when the Spurs keeper, making his third appearance in a row since Guglielmo Vicario broke an ankle, reacted quickly and saved low with his left hand.

Postecoglou resisted the urge to make changes at half time and the pattern remained the same. Spurs took risks going forward and Bournemouth were always dangerous on the turnover, breaking at pace into wide open areas.

Kluivert sprinted clear of Udogie as they counterattacked from a Spurs corner but was unable to find a way past Forster from an angle, and a square pass to Evanilson might have been the better option.

Son supplied a brief boost when came on, full of purpose to replace Pape Matar Sarr. And Tottenham had a better balance with Johnson switched back to the right as part of the reshuffle.

Son found the net within seconds, tapping in a rebound as Kepa saved from Kulusevski but the flag went straight up and it was the right call.

Davies was forced off on his 300th Premier League appearance with what seemed to be a hamstring injury, leaving Spurs short of three central defenders. Gray moved alongside Dragusin and Porro came on and tested Kepa with a sweet strike but there were chances at both ends as the game ripped open.

Maddison went close, Forster saved from Evanilson and Ryan Christie clipped the outside of a post.

Forster saved his own blushes with a save after a careless pass was stolen by Adams. Evanilson put the rebound into the net but was offside and was denied by a VAR intervention. Ultimately, it did not matter.

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest scores, team news and updates as Bournemouth host Tottenham and Fulham travel to Brighton in Premier League action.

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There have been times, such as when we hammered Man City recently, I may have briefly regretted giving up my Spurs season tickets after the best part of four decades.

OK, that was away. But some of the recent hell-for-leather football under Ange Postecoglou at what we used to call The Lane has been almost up there with Those Glory, Glory Days.

Bill Nicholson, the greatest Tottenham manager, part of Arthur Rowe’s legendary push-and-run side, and his Yorkshire disciple Keith Burkinshaw, would have approved.

Other tepid performances including the hopeless home defeat to Ipswich, not so much. But that’s beyond the point.

(And if I’m giving Ange the benefit of the doubt for now, it’s probably because we share a barber, Harry, who doesn’t have his work cut out with either of us these days. Though, to be fair, while he just runs the clippers over me, because I can’t be bothered any more, he does grease Ange’s receding barnet back over the bald patch.)

Then, last Friday, I remembered why I’d called it a day. Though I’m no longer one of Little Daniel Levy’s mug punters, nor a cash-cow Korean tourist, I’m still on the mailing list.

The following email dropped into my bulging inbox. Littered with hashtags, whatever they are, it featured a bunch of shiny, happy people posing behind the caption: ‘Proudly supporting Rainbow Laces.’ Hang on a minute, shouldn’t that be ‘Proudly Supporting Spurs’?

Apparently not. No wonder I’m Losing My Religion.

‘The Club is proud to show its support for the Rainbow Laces campaign at this weekend’s men’s home match against Fulham. The Rainbow Laces campaign celebrates stories of LGBTQ+ people within sport and aims to tackle discrimination at every level of the game.

‘During this Sunday’s match the campaign will be marked in a number of ways, including captains wearing rainbow-coloured armbands, rainbow-coloured corner flags and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium illuminating in rainbow colours after full-time.

‘This year, we will also be celebrating our Just Proud group, of which several are also members of the Proud Lilywhites.’

Say it loud, I’m white and I’m proud!

Er, not sure about that either. Claiming to be a ‘Proud Lilywhite’ may get you a dawn raid from the Old Bill’s Allison Pearson non-crime hate squad.

That email was a necessary reminder of why, as I have written here before, I hate virtually everything about modern professional football, apart from the football. And even that I can live without much of the time, especially the cheating, time-wasting, spitting and hideous Japanese gangster, right-up-your-neck tattoos.

I don’t go (or used to) to The Lane to be told what to think, how to behave, or how to vote.

Frankly, I’d grown sick and tired of the Premier League clambering on every passing ‘woke’ bandwagon, from ‘trans’ rights to climate change.

If I wanted to observe a minute’s silence before every game, I’d have gone to a funeral. I certainly don’t want to have to pay a few grand to be forced to suffer multi-millionaire players ‘taking the knee’ Starmer-style to Black Lives Matter – a fatuous gesture begun in the wake of the murder of serial criminal George Floyd by a police officer 4,000 miles away in Minnesota.

They don’t even take the knee at the Minnesota Vikings NFL stadium any more. That hasn’t stopped the Premier League and Sky, though.

And here, for the record, before the hysterical, screeching ‘racist, homophobe’ smear-mongering student union Guardianistas start jumping out of their boxes, I was presenting radio and TV shows back in 1990s with Paul Elliott of Kick It Out and arguing, on air and in print, in support of gays in the military. Some of my best friends, etc . . .

And I was appalled to read that the hugely talented comedian/actor Matt Lucas has been abused over his sexuality on his way to the Arsenal – or what we must now call ‘Keir Starmer’s Beloved Arsenal’ – and some of us from the Lilywhite bit of North London still call ‘Gillespie Road’.

That’s what the real hate crime squad should be concentrating on.

So, schtumm, the lot of you.

No, what this is about is the hijacking of ‘The People’s Game’ by pig-ignorant, Bible-burning, middle-class poseurs – something the great Julie Burchill, formerly of this parish, wrote about eloquently in the online magazine, Spiked, this week.

Anyway, if you don’t follow football, you may be wondering where all this is going. Bear with me.

When I read the ‘rainbow laces’ email a week ago, I had no idea it would blow up into a major news story – which the Boys (sorry, persons from the men’s game)) In The Football Bubble chose to ignore until a couple of days ago.

The balloon went up when Mark Guehi, the Crystal Palace captain and England centre-half, wrote ‘Jesus loves you’ in felt-tip on the rainbow armband he was told to wear. Guehi is a devout Christian whose dad is an evangelical preacher, not mad keen on same-sex relationships.

The Premier League were about to come down on Guehi like a ton of the proverbial until it emerged that a Muslim player for Ipswich refused to wear the armband, too. Headless chickens all round.

‘Islamophobia alert’. Dive, Dive, Dive! Anyway, they haven’t got a clue where to go from here. Does ‘homophobia’ trump ‘Islamophobia’?

Can they really discipline a black footballer for refusing to buy in to the ‘Glad To Be Gay’ agenda? And as for a Muslim, even if he does play for lowly Ipswich (or The Rainbow Tractors, as they’re apparently called these days), best not go there.

We’re talking Little Nell here. It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.

Then, yesterday, we learned that a Manchester United had had scrapped plans to wear Gay Pride warm-up jackets after a Moroccan defender refused to play ball and his team-mates did the same in solidarity.

You couldn’t make it up.

And the real scandal here is: None of the spivs who run football these days believe in any of this old pony. Remember how they ran a mile when England were threatened with sanctions at the World Cup in gay-hating, but oil-rich, Qatar if they insisted on taking the knee and wearing rainbow armbands?

Never mind ‘over ’ere on me ’ead’. More ‘over ’ere, we’re chopping your head off’.

They are only interested in money, which is why they are happy to sell out British football to Middle Eastern sports-washing billions.

The ‘rainbow laces’ rubbish is merely camouflage for their cynical, venal, money-grubbing opportunism. Look at us, we ‘care’. No, you don’t.

The Premier League is about the only organisation which still signs up to the MGBGTQWERTY+ shakedown artists Stonewall. Even the NHS has done a runner.

Most of us think Rainbow is that old children’s TV show, featuring Zippy and Bungle.

Certainly, Bungle would have made a better job of dealing with this latest own-goal than the two-bob chancers who dominate the Premier League.

Incidentally, I’ve just read a story about a ‘misgendered’ penguin. No doubt they’ll be taking the knee and having a minute’s applause for him at The Lane, too, shortly before banning chants of ‘Yid Army’ in support of Israel.

So, yes, there have been times. But as for me renewing my season tickets Somewhere Over The Rainbow!

Justin Kluivert to have 2+ shots on target tonight price boosted to 4/1, say Sky Bet

Kluivert scored a hat-trick in Bournemouth's 4-2 win over Wolves on the weekend

Click here to see ALL today's latest sports betting stories

Tottenham's inconsistent season continued over the weekend - with Ange Postecoglou's side having to settle for a draw against Fulham at home.

Spurs will be hoping they can return to the winner's circle when they take on Bournemouth in a Premier League clash at Vitality Stadium tonight.

They aren't tipped to do so however - with Tottenham 17/10 underdogs to come away with the victory according to Sky Bet.

Conversely, Bournemouth are 13/10 favourites and a draw is valued at 11/4 odds.

The Cherries looked strong last time out, putting four past Wolves en route to a 4-2 victory at Molineux Stadium.

In addition to the above market - let's take a look at the four Price Boosts on offer for this contest.

The boosts include Destiny Udogie to commit 2+ fouls at 1/1, Justin Kluivert to have 2+ shots on target at 4/1, Dejan Kulusevski to win 3+ fouls at 7/1, and James Maddison to score from outside the area at 14/1.

Udogie has committed 16 fouls in the league this season, including two in his last away league game.

Additionally, Kluivert (14) has had the most shots on target in the league for Bournemouth this season and scored a hat-trick from four shots on target against Wolves.

Sky Bet odds in Full-time Result market for Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur:

Bournemouth 13/10

Tottenham Hotspur 17/10

Draw 11/4

Sky Bet Price Boosts for Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur:

Destiny Udogie to commit 2+ fouls WAS 8/11 NOW 1/1

Justin Kluivert to have 2+ shots on target WAS 3/1 NOW 4/1

Dejan Kulusevski to win 3+ fouls WAS 5/1 NOW 7/1

James Maddison to score from outside the area 10/1 NOW 14/1

Brennan Johnson says Tottenham have been working harder on their physical and mental attributes in a bid to solve the great riddle of their inconsistency.

The 23-year old forward has ten goals to his name this season and was on target in their notable demolitions of Manchester City, United and Aston Villa. However, Johnson was also part of the side that suffered defeats to Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town, games they had been expected to win.

The all too familiar contrast in results has infuriated fans and once again prompted criticism that the squad is 'naive and lacking maturity'. Coach Ange Postecoglou has even referred to their 4-0 rout of Manchester City as a 'millstone' as it is now used as a reference point for the level they are capable of.

'When we play the way we did against Manchester City and also away at Man United it shows us what we really can do and how we can play but then losing games like Palace and Ipswich just makes it even more frustrating,' admits Johnson.

'Listen, none of us want to lose or drop off our performance so it's something we have to look back at, really analyse and think about how we played in certain moments - maybe when the other team scored or trying to come back from defeat because obviously Ipswich we went down two goals, so we gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

'It's a number of things. Physically, how hard we work, how hard we run, in those games we definitely did drop and we've looked at that. Mentality as well. In those games when the other team are on top we have to respect it and defend a little bit better then when we get the chance to attack we need to be relentless and ruthless. So it's a mix of all those things.'

Johnson, who scored again in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Fulham, hopes they can kickstart their campaign with a win at Bournemouth on Wednesday.

A key component will be his link up with Spurs’ captain Son Heung-Min, who has a particularly strong record against the Cherries, and importantly has proved a positive influence on Johnson.

'It's been amazing to work alongside of him, says Johnson, who admits to studying the South Korean before joining Spurs from Nottingham Forest last year.

‘He’s an unbelievable player. There are so many things in his game I admire and have admired for a long time now. He can play off both feet, his work rate, his leadership, his professionalism. There are so many things and most importantly he’s such a nice guy as well. It’s an honour to play alongside him.’

Talking to Men in Blazers, Johnson reveals he still gets the occasional ‘Good luck’ text from former England captain David Beckham, who is friends with his father David Johnson from their time together at Manchester United’s academy.

‘My dad and David got on well during their time at United’s academy and he’s just kept an eye on my career. The relationship isn’t as strong as people think! It’s not like we are constantly texting but yes he has messaged me a couple of times. It’s a nice feeling that he kept an eye out and when I came here he was very supportive but that’s about as far as the relationship goes.’

Johnson, who chills out listening to Bob Marley and lists Redemption Song as one of his favourites, was an avid skateboarder as a youngster and will be hoping there aren't too many more twists and turns to Tottenham's season as they search for that elusive consistency. 'You can't think about things too much. Things happen in football so quick that the most important thing is the next action.'

Tottenham will make a late call on forward Dominic Solanke ahead of his return to Bournemouth on Thursday night.

Solanke missed the 1-1 draw at home to Fulham on Sunday with illness, but is set to return to training later on Wednesday and could be in contention to take on his old club.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou decided to send Solanke home on Sunday because he was 'under the weather' and was hoping for a full recovery.

Solanke has scored six goals in 17 games since signing from Bournemouth for £65million on a six-year deal in the summer.

In November he was rewarded with his second and third England caps after a seven-year absence from the national team.

Postecoglou said: 'Archie (Gray) got a knock but he's recovered well. Main one is Dom and he's due to train today.

'He is still not 100 per cent but has definitely improved from the weekend. That's it. The other injured guys are inching closer but not available.'

Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Cristian Romero (toe), Rodrigo Bentancur (suspended), Wilson Odobert (hamstring), Micky Moore (virus) and Richarlison (hamstring) remain out.

Tottenham could have done with Solanke against Fulham as they struggled to carve out chances, with Brennan Johnson getting on the scoresheet but seeing his goal cancelled out by Tom Cairney.

An ankle injury previously ruled the striker out for chunks of August and September.

Not that goals have been hard to come by. Spurs are the Premier League's top scorers with 28 goals.

Yet, despite hammering Manchester City, Aston Villa, West Ham, and Everton, they have contrived to lose five games and are therefore only seventh in the table, despite their attacking prowess.

'I think it's too easy to say "well, let's just play like we did against Man City every game",' Postecoglou said after the draw with Fulham.

'It somehow again seems with this club that whatever it is that we do well is then used as a millstone to bring us down in every other opportunity.'

Postecoglou added: 'I know people are going to keep using City as a reference point, but against City I was able to put on Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson (as substitutes). We had Vicario in goal.

'I guess people are looking for easy targets, but if people don't understand what we're dealing with at the moment and how the players are coping with it -- well, I think it's fairly self-evident.

'We're going to have to have days like today where things aren't running smoothly, but all you can ask for is for the players to give everything they can and I think they did that and more today.'

More to follow.

Spurs in a defensive crisis due to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romeo injuries

Sven Botman has been out all season for Newcastle causing Howe serious issues

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Tottenham and Newcastle are reportedly set to do battle for a £25million-rated Ligue 1 centre-back as the Premier League sides look to solve their defensive problems in January.

Spurs' injury list is lengthy and the north London outfit have been particularly heavily hit at the back, with Micky van de Ven remaining on the sidelines for another few weeks with a thigh injury and Cristian Romero yet to make a return from an ankle complaint picked up three weeks ago.

Indeed, this meant that Ange Postecoglou had to shift left-back Ben Davies into the heart of defence for the memorable 4-0 win at Manchester City last month and Sunday's 1-1 draw against Fulham.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have been left reeling by a Sven Botman knee injury which has meant he has not played all season and will remain on the sidelines until the new year at least.

The two sides' respective defensive crises mean they are likely to assess their options in the upcoming January transfer window, with both showing an early interest in Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov, the Telegraph reports.

The 20-year-old has been one of the surprise stars of the French league this campaign, starting nine of his club's 13 matches in a solid start to the season which sees them lie in seventh.

He made the switch to the north of France from Belarusian outfit Energetik-BGU Minsk a year and a half ago for just £83,000 but already has scouts from across Europe packing the stands to watch him play.

Indeed, Spurs and Newcastle face competition from five other Premier League sides for Khusanov's signature while Paris Saint-Germain are also interested.

Tottenham are keen to bolster their defensive options while the Magpies rate the Uzbekistan international as one of the finest young talents.

And with good reason too. Khusanov has put in a string of assured displays this season for a rock-solid Lens side which has only shipped 12 goals in 13 matches. Only leaders PSG, with 11, have conceded fewer than them.

Lens are currently managed by Belgian-born Briton Will Still, who was hired in the summer as the replacement for long-time boss Franck Haise, who left the club to manage Nice at the end of the season.

At 32, Still is one of the youngest managers in Europe and departed Reims in May by mutual consent with the side languishing in 11th.

Despite Khusanov's youth, the boss has showed great faith in his talent and has picked him whenever available, including in the weekend's victory over Reims as he was coming back from suspension.

The Uzbekistani can also fill in at defensive midfield if required but has solely played at the back this campaign.

After the draw against Fulham, Postecoglou took a pop at his side's Premier League rivals as he praised his squad players for the way they have stepped in for injured stars.

'I've seen so much violin-playing over [other teams having] one centre-back out, but we're just supposed to get on with it,' Postecoglou told reporters.

He added: 'Benny [Davies] and Radu [Drăgușin] have been outstanding throughout this spell. I mean there aren't too many teams in the league who have both their centre-backs out. The beauty of it is these boys are, and I love that.

'I love the characters they're showing. I love the fact that they're not seeking excuses or wanting me to make allowances for it.

'But at some point, I need to also acknowledge the massive effort that all these guys are putting in. Radu and Ben were outstanding again today.'

Spurs were held to a draw as Tom Cairney cancelled out Brennan Johnson's strike

Ange Postecoglou praised his players after fielding a makeshift defence again

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Ange Postecoglou complained about the Premier League’s string section after watching Tottenham play second fiddle to Fulham.

“I’ve seen so much violin playing over one centre-back out but we’re just supposed to get on with it,” grumbled Postecoglou, leaving his audience to wonder if he was hinting at Manchester City without Ruben Dias or Liverpool without Ibrahima Konate.

“There aren’t too many teams playing with both centre backs out. But I love the character they’re showing. I love the fact they’re not seeking excuses or wanting me to make allowances, and I need to acknowledge the massive effort all these guys are putting in.”

Postecoglou hailed his makeshift defensive unit but Spurs were mostly off key going forward, rarely fluent and hardly creating a chance through seven minutes of added time against a team of 10 men with Tom Cairney sent off soon after scoring the equaliser.

The final whistle was greeted by smattering of boos. Tottenham have won one of their last five, although it was a 4-0 win at Manchester City.

“We’ve copped a couple of significant blows since then,” said Postecoglou. “It’s too easy to say, well, let’s just play like we did against Man City every game. Somehow, again, it seems with this club that whatever we do well is used as a millstone to bring us down at every other opportunity.”

Injuries are undoubtedly having an impact on a team designed to play at an intense tempo. That was clear with a glance at the subs’ bench. And there was another injury with Archie Gray forced off with a dead-leg soon after coming on.

Dominic Solanke was sent home unwell before kick-off and Spurs missed his physical presence, yet take nothing from Fulham. This was a splendid display from a team crossing London with problems of their own.

Andreas Pereira was absent amid a storm around an interview in his native Brazil, talking regretfully about moves to Marseille and Nottingham Forest which did not materialise, and casting doubt on his future at Craven Cottage.

Pereira issued a pre-match pledge that he was committed to the club, while Silva said “he was not ready” to play and that his absence for the first time this season had been “a technical decision”.

Fulham were controlled and cohesive though, after surviving a scare within the first minute when Bernd Leno saved from Heung-min Son. Fraser Forster made saves to frustrate Raul Jimenez and Issa Diop. Alex Iwobi crashed an effort against the bar, near the end of the first half.

James Maddison clipped the outside of a post in first-half stoppage-time, with a clever free-kick driven low as Fulham’s defensive wall jumped, and Brennan Johnson fired Tottenham ahead in the second half.

Silva’s team were on top but caught out at the back, with Johnson capitalising on space vacated by one of Antonee Robinson’s various forays upfield.

Spurs worked the ball briskly to left through Son and Maddison before Timo Werner clipped a pass back across to Johnson, who made no mistake on the volley. This has become his trademark goal, a first-time finish at speed cutting inside from the right.

Fulham refused to panic and levelled through Cairney, who had only been on for five minutes when he slammed in a left-footer from 15 yards at the end of a patient passing move and a lay-off by Iwobi.

It was his first goal for nearly a year although his delight vanished when his foul from behind on Dejan Kulusevski in midfield was picked up by VAR.

Referee Darren Bond pulled out his yellow card before a referral to his monitor because Cairney caught Kulusevski midcalf with his studs. “We all know Tom is not a malicious player,” said Silva but had to admit it did not look good on the slow-motion replays.

The card was upgraded to a red and the contest faded out, a point each leaving the two clubs a point apart and one happier than the other.