Tottenham Hotspur suffered yet another defeat in the Premier League after they lost 2-1 against West Ham at home on Thursday night (7 December).
Spurs once took an early lead through Cristian Romero but they conceded two second-half goals from Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse as they suffered their fourth defeat in their last five games.
Tim Sherwood feels that Spurs are missing the services of James Maddison badly, while other players like Dejan Kulusevski and Brenan Johnson haven’t stepped up to the plate. While Kulusevski has shone in flashes, Sherwood was particularly unimpressed with Johnson.
Speaking to Premier League World Feed after the game (7 December), Sherwood said, “They haven’t got him [Maddison] at the moment who can open the door. Kulusevski does bits and pieces of the right-hand side. For me, Johnson is not doing enough on the left-hand side.”
Spurs have now dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in Europe’s top seven divisions so far this season (16), and it is really frustrating.
Ange Postecoglou divides opinion among the pundits. The style of football implemented by Postecoglou is entertaining to watch but they have been accused of being naive at times.
Their attacking approach has earned them plaudits but they have left them exposed at the back.
In almost every game they are taking an early lead, and after that, they are lacking the cutting edge to score one or two more goals and put the game beyond doubt. In this case, they allowed West Ham to come into the game in the second half.
For the opening goal, Bowen was a bit fortunate that the ball came to him. But for the second goal, the defence was left brutally exposed and this is something Postecoglou must rectify immediately.
With Maddison yet to return to the side from injury Spurs may need to change their style a bit to secure points on board.