Tottenham 1-2 Aston Villa: Jermaine Jenas analysis of Ange Postecoglou's side
- Published
There is a lot to admire about Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou being so stubborn about the way he wants his side to play, even with the players he has got missing.
There are a few negatives too, though, to counteract that - and not just with the run of three straight defeats Spurs are now on.
There has been naivety to some of Postecoglou's decisions during each of those results, which cost them in the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday and against Chelsea and Wolves before the international break too.
Yes, this is the type of football the fans want to see, and he is trying to create the right culture at the club, but if Spurs stick with the same approach when they face Manchester City at Etihad Stadium next weekend, then they are asking for trouble.
At the moment there is a feeling they are able to lose games but still feel good about it - but that won't last forever.
Time for Postecoglou to adapt?
Spurs played outstandingly well - Postecoglou after defeat
If he had his best team available, I would encourage Postecoglou to go toe to toe with City, the way he probably wants to.
At the back, I fancy Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven against anyone in the Premier League, the Spurs full-backs are comfortable on the ball and then you have James Maddison creating overloads everywhere.
As we saw when they started the season by going 10 games unbeaten, they are a tough team to play against.
At the moment, though, that's not the case.
We know what City can do to teams and if full-backs Ben Davies and Emerson Royal are the central defensive pairing again against Erling Haaland at the Etihad, then that's a problem for me.
So, does Postecoglou stick with the high line he has been using at the back, against the pace of Haaland and the issues that Jeremy Doku can give you out wide? It's probably not going to go too well.
It feels like they have to adapt because, going on from what I've seen from Spurs in the past couple of games, they are staring a big defeat by City in the face if they don't.
Spurs need to score two to win
There is a lot to process with Spurs at the moment, and certainly not all of it is bad.
On Sunday, they still managed to put in what I would call a positive performance, with what is essentially a B team.
That's not just me having a go at the players who faced Villa, either. The two centre-halves would not be playing if Romero and Van de Ven were available and usually the midfield is Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison - all three of them missed out as well.
I know Richarlison has been poor but with him out and Manor Solomon sidelined too, there are not many options up front either. They are down to their bare bones right now.
The fact Postecoglou still got a tune out of his team, who had enough chances to beat a team who are their direct rivals for a Champions League place, is a big plus.
It is particularly impressive that Spurs are still creating chances without Maddison, who is out until the New Year, but they are just not putting them away at the moment.
They could have been 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes against Chelsea and it was a similar story against Wolves as well as with their early chances against Villa too.
But because of the way they play and the defenders they are missing, you know that those misses will come back to bite them.
Without Romero and Van de Ven, Spurs are not going to win any games 1-0, and it feels like if they don't score a second goal then you know what is coming.
Spurs have slipped out of the top four for the first time since August
Still, it is clear Postecoglou has not panicked during this run of results. He does not have to because he has bought himself time with the start he made, which got every fan on board.
No-one is looking at his team now and thinking 'this is Spurs', because they are so depleted - and I am still confident about their chances of making the top four when they get their players fit.
I certainly think they will finish above Villa, who I did not think were that impressive on Sunday - they played against a second-string Spurs side and only just got over the line.
Jermaine Jenas was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
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