Hey Everyone, quick post here. It’s pretty clear to anyone who’s been paying attention to the Premier League that the past few weeks haven’t exactly been incredible for Tottenham Hotspur. Two wins from their last eleven games in all competitions, four draws, five losses. Perhaps it was a really tough schedule? I’ll let you decide, here are the opponents from the past twelve matches, and whether Spurs were home (H) or away (A):

Wins: Southampton (A), Manchester United (H)

Draws: Roma (H), Fulham (H), Rangers (A), Wolves(H)

Losses: Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Liverpool (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Newcastle (H)

When you look at the opposition, its clear that the only wins have been against teams who would self-identify as “struggling” this season, and even against Man United, Spurs nearly threw the win away (albeit from two shocking errors by Fraser Forster). Several of the draws involved late goals as well! Mats Hummels scored a 91′ equalizer for Roma, Kulusevski was needed with a 75′ contribution to rescue a point against Rangers, Jorgen Strand Larsen executed a brilliant finish in the 87′ to tie the game for Wolves most recently. With a few chances going a different way, we might not even be having this conversation now.

Injuries have also been somewhat of a crisis. An overall lack of proper squad depth (players who are ready to compete in the Premier League right now) has forced several first-choice players to play far too many minutes, leading to a pileup of injuries. As it stands, Spurs are without Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Guglielmo Vicario for most if not all of the month of January before the first of them could return. Spurs might as well be without their captain Son Heung-Min, as he is showing signs of having played too much this season, and could do with a rest. However, the top 3 candidates to step into his position on the pitch and contribute, being Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, and Mikey Moore, are actually all currently injured. It’s a huge mess, and Ange Postecoglou has his work cut out for him to try and navigate this stretch, as it is going to be crucial for him to keep his job.

Most people can agree that Ange has so far done a pretty good job at Spurs. Sure you can criticize some things, like perhaps the high intensity training and tactics are causing some of this injury crisis, but overall he has moved Spurs in the right direction. However, the modern football world is not very patient with managers. The average manager at Spurs over the last few years has gotten about 18 months on the job before results hit a poor stretch, Daniel Levy feels the heat on his neck, and then makes a rash change. Reminder: he sacked Jose Mourinho the week of the League Cup final, which would’ve been Spurs first trophy since 2008.

It is due to this history in the league, and at Spurs specifically, that I worry for Ange’s position. December and January are probably the worst two months to have players injured in, due to the intense fixture congestion. Spurs need more players in January – I’m talking the busiest January window the club has ever had. The foundations for a bright future with Ange are there, but Spurs need to bring in reinforcements in January so that results don’t drop so far that Levy makes yet another managerial change.

As I’m writing this, it has been confirmed by Fabrizio Romano that Spurs are closing up a deal to sign a young Czech keeper from Slavia Prague, Antonin Kinsky, to challenge Vicario for the future #1 keeper role. This is already a step in the right direction, but more is needed, and specifically an established player or two to help all the youth on this team.

I’ll keep you updated on what goes on this January, hope you all have a great day!

-LM