Tottenham face five losses after Manchester City and Newcastle as ‘crisis’ verdict issued
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
Tottenham could soon lose a fourth and a fifth game with tough fixtures against Manchester City and Newcastle to come on back-to-back weekends, admits Paul Robinson.
The unbeaten start to the season under Ange Postecoglou is now long gone after the first defeat of the campaign against Chelsea was immediately followed by two more against Wolves and Aston Villa, and it could be set to get worse before it gets better.
But with an injury list growing and a host of key players, including Cristian Romero and James Maddison, made unavailable at once after the 4-1 result against Chelsea on 6 November Robinson doesn’t accept that it constitutes a “crisis” when positive signs are still in evidence.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News the former England keeper said of Ange Postecoglou: “I don’t think he’s under any pressure at all. I think he’s earned the right not to be under any pressure. There are reasons for the team not picking up results.
“You look at the players they’ve had missing following the Chelsea game. We spoke regularly about, ‘What would happen if Spurs lose? What would happen if they lost Romero? What would happen if they lost Maddison?’ That all happened in one game against Chelsea.
“In the Wolves game I thought they were good enough to win. They were guilty of not finishing Wolves off when they were 1-0 up. Same in the Villa game.
“I’ve seen enough in both that yes ok they’ve lost three games on the trot and then there’s potentially another against Manchester City, and then the week after let’s not rule out Newcastle as well.
“It’s a tough time at the moment but I’ve seen enough in the Wolves and Aston Villa performances, from the players, the squad, that it’s not crisis time.”
There certainly are numerous mitigating factors at the moment but most managers who are struggling for results can usually point to at least a few.
Postecolgou has rightly been lauded for his commitment to a specific style, but if ever there was a period where factors outside his control had arguably rendered it impossible to stick to it might be now.
A couple of battling draws wouldn’t exactly be a crime with the Australian’s resources so depleted, as it might increasingly take the shine of a sparkling start to the campaign if the defeats continue to rack up.
In other Tottenham news, Postecolgou’s relationship with the board is set to be tested already as a familiar question comes into it.