Djed Spence called out after new footage as Tottenham fail miserably at Hotspur Way
Tottenham may have secured their place in the Europa League final, but crashed back to earth in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Lilywhites were beaten 2-0 by Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in a game that the visiting side dominated.
Spurs now sit a dismal 17th in the Premier League table, a reality that is becoming increasingly hard to ignore in north London.
Djed Spence called out by after Tottenham blunder
Although Ange Postecoglou may be putting all of his focus into the European final, Spurs certainly didn’t have a particularly weak side against Palace.
Palace were the dominant side, with 23 shots throughout the game in comparison to Tottenham’s eight.
| Team | Possession | Shots | Shots on target |
| Tottenham | 47% | 8 | 1 |
| Crystal Palace | 53% | 23 | 10 |
It was far too easy for Palace, too, with the Lilywhites open at the back, allowing their South London opponents plenty of space and time on the attack.
There weren’t many in the Tottenham squad who covered themselves in glory in the Premier League clash, but Djed Spence was one man who came under particular criticism.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2 (11 May), Danny Murphy called out the defender when analysing an opportunity Palace had.
Murphy said: “This is a really obvious one, look. Forget, I don’t know where the left winger is. He doesn’t exist in this equation because we can’t see him.
“But, Spence has followed Sarr all the way in, he hasn’t looked once left to see where the wing-back is, and this is just a technical thing.
“They’re outnumbered, but they’re not communicating, they haven’t set up a plan in training before the game to stop Palace, even though we know how they’re going to play.”
Postecoglou struggles shining through at Tottenham
There is plenty of speculation surrounding the future of Postecoglou at Tottenham, with it looking increasingly unlikely that a Europa League win will be enough to keep him in a job.
When watching the game against Crystal Palace, it’s not hard to understand why that may be the case, with the squad looking lost on the field.
As Murphy says, Spence’s defensive blunder was a basic error and something you would not expect to see from a side with so many strong players.
However, it does suggest that what is happening at the training pitch on Hotspur Way is not lending itself to what the side needs in games.
Postecoglou could be forgiven for struggling with injuries in the team, and even excused for a lack of support from Daniel Levy.
However, if the basics are starting to look impossible at Tottenham, there are certainly serious questions that need to be asked.