Coach Ange Postecoglou is not a stranger to risks. However, in the London derby against Chelsea, he had his most dangerous match ever.
Tottenham had another lackluster performance in the Premier League. The back-to-back changes in the 64th minute - bringing on Pape Matar Sarr and Brennan Johnson to replace Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert - made Spurs fans frustratedly exclaim "You don't know what you're doing".
Shortly after those changes, Sarr scored the equalizer and Postecoglou put his hand on his ears, towards the home crowd. However, after knowing that the equalizer was denied, Postecoglou kept shaking his head.
Ironically, the 59-year-old strategist was rewarded with Enzo Fernandez's header in the 50th minute to bring Chelsea a 1-0 victory.
Postecoglou has been involved in fierce debates with fans in the past, most notably the match against Bournemouth. The most recent was against Fulham and perhaps the most embarrassing after losing to Leicester City, who are in danger of relegation. Since the win over Spurs, Leicester have lost all 8 consecutive matches since then.
Postecoglou is known for being hot-tempered when he loses, but this incident happened while the match was still taking place. This could threaten his fragile relationship with fans. Postecoglou's later explanation was not convincing enough.
"My God, it's unbelievable how everything is interpreted. We just scored and I wanted to hear the fans cheer. We had a difficult time and I think it was a great goal.
I want them to be really excited because I felt at that time we had the ability to win. I just felt the motivation was on its way to us. I don't care. This is not the first time they have complained about a substitution or my decision," said the 59-year-old strategist.
There is a growing call for change among Spurs fans. Most of those complaints were directed at Chairman Daniel Levy. The chants of "we want Levy to leave" were first heard in the 18th minute and then became the background music for another sad night of Tottenham.
A small standard with the content "it's time for change" was also raised. This is another recognition of the view that Postecoglou is just the latest in a series of Spurs managers who have not been fully supported. Because Spurs' board focused too much on finances instead of success on the pitch. However, Postecoglou is taking a risk by pouring that fury on himself.
Postecoglou's uncompromising commitment to an attacking style of play is counterproductive. This was the 16th defeat for the "Roosters", the most in 30 matches in a Premier League campaign of their. Tottenham are currently 14th, close to relegation from the Champions League group they crave.
Their injury crisis has eased with centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero starting alongside Dominic Solanke in attack. Meanwhile, destiny Udogie also appeared at left-back.
Dejan Kulusevski is still sidelined with January signings Kevin Danso, Richarlison and Radu Dragusin. However, Postecoglou could not explain another poor performance by emphasizing the lack of options.
Postecoglou's approach creates a match suitable for Chelsea, instead of the opponent's low defense that has caused The Blues to have difficulty recently. Chelsea themselves are still fragile.
Chelsea should have won by a large margin. Nicolas Jackson failed to capitalise on some chances, before Jadon Sancho forced Guglielmo Vicario to make a spectacular save as the game was about to end.
For Tottenham, it is simply that they do not create enough security to pursue an open way of playing. Postecoglou's fate will certainly depend on the Europa League. After hosting Southampton, Spurs will face Frankfurt in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Only a victory in that match will provide a solid foundation for Postecoglou's future.
"This was a really tough game, like every time you travel to Stamford Bridge. We had to work hard to stay in this game, which I think Spurs did relatively well. We had to defend and I have to thank Vicario for his excellent saves.
But Tottenham also conceded a really poor goal, in the way we have conceded many times. And again, we have to pay the price. Receiving defeat in this way is very disappointing. But fortunately Tottenham still reacted positively, found a goal, unfortunately not recognized" - Postecoglou added.
