Lost three games in a row.

Seal

The initial part of the English Championship is perhaps more intriguing than ever. Several teams are involved in a close showdown. It is clear that some lost momentum from the start, for example Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea. But there were those who did not admit significant slippages. In addition to Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, from which something similar could have been expected, Tottenham and Aston Villa were involved in the brawl. Now these two teams, who seemed to be in over their heads, were settling things in a head-to-head battle.

As a result of the battle and the tour as a whole, major changes occurred. Manchester City let Arsenal take the lead and Liverpool let themselves be overtaken by Aston Villa, who had still left Tottenham behind. Thus the “Spurs”, who after ten laps were in the lead nuclear submarine, they were already fifth. Also, successful matches Manchester United and Newcastle allowed the stragglers to catch up with the fleeing group of leaders. And now the entire first part of the ranking looks extremely interesting from the point of view of intrigue and probable rearrangements at every turn.

Three in a row

Unfortunately for Tottenham fans, this was largely possible due to Spurs’ downfall. They were impressive at the start of the season, starting with just two draws in ten rounds. Nobody expected it from a team that seemed to focus only on Harry Kane and entrusted management to the unexpected Postecoglou.

And then something clicked. Tottenham have lost three games in a row. Moreover, they all developed according to a similar scenario. Spurs scored a goal fairly quickly and stopped there, losing the lead and letting their opponents take the lead. Chelsea scored in the sixth minute, but conceded two penalties in the 33rd and 55th minutes, losing heavily – 1:4. Even though they conceded the last two goals in stoppage time.

It became fatal in the next match with Wolverhampton. Already in the third minute Spurs scored, but managed to concede two goals in injury time and give Wolves the victory. With Aston Villa, Tottenham could lead with a big score already in the 20th minute. However, he opened it only on the 22nd. And everything happened again. Only now they have conceded two goals, running out of injury time: at the end of the first half and midway through the second.

High energy intensity football

Tottenham was deprived of participation in European competitions this season, was eliminated from the League Cup early and made a good signing in the summer. It seems that everything is in favor of focusing on the English championship and breaking it there. At the beginning of the season the plan worked. However, even with this regime, it is clear that the team, for example, at the end of the match against Aston Villa, was very tired.

There are several reasons for this exhaustion. One of these is the approach to the game itself. Tottenham operate in a very energy-intensive way from the first minutes. This produces impressive results: the team puts a lot of pressure, combines intelligently and acts at breakneck speed. But it is impossible to always work in this mode. To do this, it is necessary to accumulate a certain reserve of physical strength. It seems that Spurs’ desire to play this type of football is constantly at odds with their physical abilities.

This type of football is attractive. And if the players were not tired, of course, it is always better to play so dynamically than sometimes economically and carefully. But Tottenham doesn’t seem to be able to adopt the latter option. And so he goes further. Where it is possible to slow down, drain the game and calm it down, Spurs continue to commit suicide. It’s beautiful, bright, emotional, but deadly for saving energy. In the same match with Aston Villa, Tottenham came out more, was more interesting, more dangerous, more creative. But in the end it all boiled down to tiredness, including psychological fatigue.

Injuries

This is one of the first reasons cited for the decline. Tottenham has been hit by a real epidemic. Furthermore, many of the injuries turned out to be serious. Van de Ven, Maddison, Sessegnon and Solomon remained lost until the end of the year, Perisic until the end of the season, Richarlison until the end of December. Let’s also add the disqualifications of Romero and Bissouma. As a result, they did not even recruit a full-fledged entry for the match against Aston Villa, and in the end Alejo Velis, yesterday’s debutant from Rosario Central, came out to save the team.

The only substitution option that offered more or less variety had to be used already in the first half, when Bentancur was injured and had just recovered, and Hojbjerg appeared in his place. Of course, Son, Kulusevski, Johnson and Porro showed miracles of willpower and tried to come up with something, barely dragging their feet. But Aston Villa’s bench looked much more powerful and diverse. Indeed, in many ways the substitutions during the break allowed the Birmingham team to turn the game around. Postecoglou had no such chance.

Tottenham even had to form a central defense made up of full-backs. Of course, Emerson and Ben Davis weren’t born yesterday, they were experienced kids and had seen everything, but this pairing didn’t seem reliable. Aston Villa’s second goal – with all due respect to Watkins’ skill – could have been avoided if the attacker had not been accompanied by Emerson and Davis, but by more skilled guys in the center of defence.

Bad luck

Yes, in this case you can also refer to Fortune turning her back. True, don’t get too carried away. Because at the beginning of the season, when Tottenham were in the lead, Postecoglou’s team collected more points than they should have based on the infamous xG. Now, you might say, fate returns the favor.

Furthermore, the conversion of scoring opportunities, the ability to hit the goal instead of the post, is also part of football. As well as saving goalkeepers in lethal positions. By the way, in the match with Aston Villa, Tottenham scored a lot of goals. But only one scored. While the Birmingham team, having created less, still achieved the victory. You can argue all you want about whether hitting the post (and here Tottenham had two) is an element of bad luck, but you can’t forget the need for more precise shots.

At the same time, Postecoglou himself is not particularly concerned about the emerging decline. He praised the team for their attitude towards the game, for their dedication, for doing everything they could. Indeed, looking at the results, one might think that something was broken in the team play, in the organization itself. But Tottenham are playing more or less as they did when they racked up one victory after another. The devil is in the smallest details. Spurs don’t need fundamental changes. Their glasses will arrive and the impression of Postecoglou’s work will not be spoiled.

The only thing you should pay attention to is the ability to adjust the pace of the game and sometimes slow it down to save energy. After all, excessive energy consumption in football causes not only fatigue at the end of matches, but also the injuries themselves. When the body is at its limit, it is easier to break it.