Tottenham's commitment to 'Angeball' last season was so complete that their fans responded to a 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea in November 2023 by singing to manager Ange Postecoglou.
Thirteen months later, after a 4-3 defeat to the Blues, Spurs fans were more skeptical than ever about Postecoglou's suitability.
After Antonio Conte's dismal 16-month spell in charge, Postecoglou's open-minded approach has given many Tottenham fans renewed confidence. This bold, uncompromising style is more in keeping with the Spurs tradition.
Even Chairman Daniel Levy, who is usually reserved, emotionally declared: "We have won Tottenham back" at an event in September 2023. At that time, Postecoglou had only been in power for 3 months.
That, however, is a distant memory. Spurs always started well, created excitement but then lost players to injury and eventually lost. The reverse defeat to Chelsea reduced Postecoglou's era at Tottenham to a trickle.
Those who still believe in Postecoglou will point to a spellbinding first 15 minutes when Spurs took full advantage of two slips from Marc Cucurella to take an early two-goal lead.
But when Jadon Sancho broke through from the left and fired a tricky shot past goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Tottenham's fragility suddenly became more apparent.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca made a key tactical change at half-time. Romeo Lavia was taken off with a hamstring injury, allowing Moises Caicedo to move from right-back to a defensive midfield role.
Maresca has the benefit of squad depth to make changes, while Postecoglou has been ravaged by injuries. However, some disgruntled Spurs fans will question whether the Australian has the ability to make changes, given his insistence on attacking.
In the second half, Tottenham easily let Chelsea score 3 goals in a row, including 2 penalties. Son Heung-min's late goal at the end of the match seemed to be just a consolation for Spurs.
"It's not for lack of effort. The players are constantly playing because we can't rotate. They are giving their all. That also reduces performance because they need rest, but we can't give them rest.
We still have a lot of work to do between now and January. I still feel there is a real belief in this squad in what we are doing. And if we maintain that, we will turn the season around," said Postecoglou.
