Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat to Everton

Tottenham Hotspur suffered yet another Premier League defeat this afternoon, this time at the hands of 16th-place Everton. Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from the latest loss.

Daniel Levy has blood on his hands at Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur are 19 days into the January transfer window with 10-12 first-team injuries consistently plaguing the team for the last three months.

Even without an injury crisis, there is clearly plenty of room to improve the Spurs starting XI and, in turn, the depth of the bench. It seemed obvious that Tottenham would have transfers lined up as soon as the window opened. In fact, it was unfathomable to assume otherwise.

The immediate deal for Antonin Kinsky seemed like a signal of intent, but Ange Postecoglou is still waiting for any kind of outfield reinforcement. Daniel Levy has thrown managers under the bus before in North London and it feels like the vehicle is fully fueled and ready to claim another victim.

Ange Postecoglou could be in trouble

This week feels dangerous for Ange Postecoglou. As much as the injury crisis is completely tying his hands, at some point, Tottenham will look at the Premier League table and sack him out of fear of a relegation scrap. Not only were Spurs beaten by Everton today, but they were well beaten. A fight-back in the final 15 minutes flatters to deceive, but if you can’t brush aside a team like the Toffees, you’re only going one way in the table. I hope beyond hope that Ange is given longer (and reinforcements in the next week of the window) but I fear for his future now.

Remember – just three days ago, reports claimed that Postecoglou retained the backing of the Spurs hierarchy. Let’s see if that remains the case.

Injuries breed fatigue and fatigue breeds injuries

Tottenham are in a spiral it is hard to break out of. A mass injury crisis like this with 10-12 out all at once hits the squad twofold. Not only is Ange without a number of his key first-choice players, but those who are left standing are forced to play near enough every minute. Playing every minute creates fatigue, fatigue leads to more injuries, and it becomes so difficult to break the cycle.

Of course, there is one clear way out – investing in new players in the transfer window. I fear things will get worse before they get better (Romero, Van de Ven and co are still weeks away from a return). Daniel Levy really needs to decide – if he backs the manager, then he needs to actually back the manager.

Lack of leadership

Yes, Spurs have a lot of injuries, but they still have ‘leaders’ out there on the pitch. Heung-min Son is the club captain. James Maddison is a vice-captain. Dejan Kulusevski wore the armband recently. These players need to step up in a big way to make it through the current crisis.

Kulusevski is, at the very least, leading by example with some flashes of brilliance, but even he looks tired beyond belief at the moment. It has been weeks, maybe months, since we have seen Son and Maddison grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drag Spurs kicking and screaming to a win.

Mikey Moore needs to start for Tottenham

No matter how inexperienced the bench is, Ange Postecoglou needs to start using them more. Playing the same fatigued XI over and over is only going to lead to more drops in performance levels and eventual injuries. Mikey Moore, for example, is good enough to start games for Tottenham. Richarlison should also be leading the line in the absence of Dominic Solanke now. Even people like Sergio Reguilon need to be used to give Djed Spence and, in particular, Pedro Porro, a rest.

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