Grinding to a Halt

Ange Postecoglou remarked after the second straight derby loss that, "Sometimes you've just got to grind it out and get through it." Or to put it another way, the only way out is through. We are certainly going through it this week. The good vibes from the beginning of the season are nowhere to be found and neither are the good performances.

But as painful as losing back-to-back games against Arsenal and Chelsea feels, it's not the time to reverse course and abandon the Angeball project. It's going to be a slog to reach the end of the Premier League campaign, but the summer off-season provides a chance to recover morale, rejuvenate physically, and reinforce the squad with new recruits.

Elsewhere at the club, we've now got two teams gearing up for a cup final: Spurs Women and the Men's Academy U21s, in the FA Cup and PL Cup respectively. Let's put our supporter energy to good use and spend more time focusing on those exciting trophy opportunities, and less on the Men's disappointing end to the season. Think of it as self-care.

In this issue: Chelsea recap | Previewing the weekend fixtures | Academy update

PL Matchday 34 recap | Chelsea 2 - 0 Tottenham

Chalobah 24', Jackson 72'

I really don't want to dwell too much on the specifics of this result. We conceded on set pieces once again for both of Chelsea's goals, with a heaping help of bad luck on the second one. The image of Sonny and PEH blocking each other instead of the ball is a haunting reflection of the deteriorating second half of Spurs' PL season. It's haunting me, anyway.

Lately, it feels like everything that could go wrong is going wrong—which has honestly been the case ever since the reverse fixture at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. We've had heaps of injuries, players returning out of form, and a fair share of dodgy calls from the officials. Could you really blame the players for being demoralized at this point? Sure, the best teams have to rely on a "monster mentality" to get them through these kinds of obstacles and setbacks, but it was always going to be a tough task for Spurs to overachieve in Ange Postecoglou's first season in charge. Our current 5th place standing in the PL table is by no means secure, but it's still higher than most pundits (and fans) had predicted for Spurs at the beginning of the season.

It's just unfortunate to witness such lackluster performances in two of the biggest games of the season, from a fan perspective. This was always going to be a difficult stretch of the fixture schedule, however, and the time to bolster our points total was long before now. The bigger loss was our dignity. At least it's looking all but impossible for Chelsea to pip us in the table this season—four points in our last four fixtures would be enough to guarantee a higher finish for Spurs, even if Chelsea were to win out.

Starting XI:

With the exception of preferring Rodrigo Bentancur over Yves Bissouma, this is probably the lineup I would have gone with, too, availability being what it is. I wish it worked better in practice than it did on paper.

There were a few players who came out with some credit for me despite the overall poor team performance. Brennan Johnson lacked the end product in this game but was at least executing the strategy. Micky van de Ven had another strong showing in the back line, as did Cristian Romero (although it would be nice to see his finishing improve from headers since he's had a few chances in the last couple of games). And Dejan Kulusevski at least brought a different dimension to the #10 role than James Maddison has been—admittedly a low standard at the moment.

However, Son Heung-min and Richarlison both struggled to get involved, and Pape Sarr was all over the place in a bad way. The less we say about Emerson Royal the better, because he's the only realistic option right now for the left fullback role.

Oliver Skipp returned to the matchday squad following an injury, while youngster Mikey Moore got his first call-up to the senior team bench but didn't get to make his debut. I know a lot of fans are upset about this, but I actually think it's good player management from Ange. No need to make a humiliating 2-0 derby loss Moore's first game to remember.

Top Three Things:

1. Hesitating in the final third - It's not that Ange's tactics are the biggest issue lately, it's the execution. We create chances but are unable to finish them. We've also seen a lot of chances shirked by a lack of shooting. Earlier in the season this was a recurring problem with Kulusevski specifically, but now it seems to have spread to the entire forward line. Players are choosing to make a final pass instead, often not finding a teammate and seeing the attack fizzle out. I don't buy into the idea that Son needs to show better leadership as captain from a vocal standpoint (none of us can truly know what the situation is there, because we're not on the pitch or in the dressing room), but he could do with leading by example in taking more shots—like we've come to expect from him over his long Spurs career. I'm not sure what is going on to make him and the rest of his teammates seem so hesitant, but it does seem like a problem with an easily actionable solution. I much prefer to see players taking their chances at first asking rather than ending up with a lot of lower-percentage chances on second balls as we saw in this game. We ended up with 19 shots but just three of them were on target.
2. Fatigue was inevitable - I'm not just talking about physical fatigue, although I do think that's a significant factor for many players who have put in heavy minutes for both club and country this season (ahem, Sonny). I'm talking about the mental fatigue that must surely be weighing down most of the squad by this point. It would have been frustrating enough to see the unbeaten run cut short by the debacle in the reverse Chelsea fixture, and then to see key players out of the side for a crucial portion of the season due to injury or international duty. Many of those players have not returned in the same form, so naturally, the overall team performance is looking less cohesive these days. All of these challenges have been exacerbated by the difficult fixture schedule to close out the season (and further worsened by the postponed matches). Wouldn't you feel beleaguered too? It doesn't have to be an excuse, it's just reality—though it's fair to be frustrated about it either way. I just don't think it's helpful to imply that the drastic downturn in form compared to the electric start to the season is down to players "not caring enough." Sometimes caring is not enough to overcome the mental hurdle, as I'm sure many sports psychologists and performance specialists could affirm.
3. Trust the manager, but criticism is fair - Even though I believe in and support Ange's long-term vision for the team, I do think it's right to point out when he makes a mistake with some of the smaller details, team selection and substitutions in particular. I hate to scapegoat Bryan Gil, but it was baffling to see him enter the game ahead of Giovani Lo Celso, who a) has played much better in his limited performances than Bryan has b) is a better technical fit for Angeball, and c) is more likely to have a future at the club—although both players are potential targets for summer transfer window outgoings. I appreciated that Ange acted swiftly in the second half to make some changes, but the order of the subs was less than ideal.

SAtP Player of the Match: Micky van de Ven

It does seem a bit strange to highlight a centerback when we conceded two goals, but Micky wasn't at the scene of the crime for either and rarely put a foot wrong. For such a young player in his first season in the league, he's been remarkably consistent and would easily be in for a shout as Player of the Season for Spurs if he hadn't missed so much time with his hamstring injury. He's probably still a nominee.

Set piece defense remains a huge issue, but Micky is a large part of the reason we've been able to reduce the amount of goals conceded from open play. He's also become a lot more involved in the attack as the season has gone on and has become a goal threat in his own right at times.

Notable and quotable:

• This was just the second time we've lost three games in a row under Ange; the first time began with the reverse Chelsea fixture.

• It was also the third time we've been held scoreless in the space of a month and a half. All of our scoreless games in the PL this season have come during this stretch in the second half of the campaign.

• Chelsea join Wolves as the only teams to beat us twice this season. None of the teams in our remaining fixture schedule can do the same.

• An interesting quote from Sarr, responding to Ange's comments about Romero after the Arsenal game:

The coach is absolutely right. Romero is a really hard worker. I often say he is a warrior. He's a winner and he absolutely hates to lose. In terms of his mentality, out on the training pitch and in matches, it is always the same. That's just how he is and he is certainly one of the leaders in the dressing room with the energy, commitment, and determination that he brings to the team. It is something that helps us get across the line sometimes. He's a winner and I'm really happy for what he brings to this team.

Previewing WSL Matchday 20 — Everton

Let's shift to looking at Spurs Women for a minute, since they play first this weekend, away at Everton.

This is one of those borderline bogey fixtures in the sense that we have yet to beat Everton in the WSL in the away fixture. In terms of relative squad and tactical strength, we are probably best poised to do so as we've ever been. But I don't expect for this game to be a true priority to Robert Vilahamn and the team with the FA Cup final just around the corner.

Our number one priority has to be keeping everybody fit for the final. On that note, all three of the players who missed the Brighton game are available for selection again (Marth Thomas, Drew Spence, and Celin Bizet), but I wouldn't expect to see all three—or any—of them start. They'll likely get at least some minutes to get back up to match fitness ahead of the final, though. The only absence in the matchday squad will be Amy James-Turner, who has a "small issue" but is expected to be available for the big game.

Everton have a fairly sizable list of injury misses, including Emily Ramsey, Aurora Galli, Heather Payne, Rikke Madsen and Toni Duggan. Hanna Bennison may also miss out through illness. They'll have their two Danes, Katrine Veje and Kathrine Kühl, back in the squad however.

The Toffees' last result was a shock 1-1 draw against Arsenal, courtesy of a 90+5' minute equalizer from their 16-year-old Academy product, Isabella Hobson. I'm not saying we need to be worried about her repeating the feat because moments of magic are just that, but we do need to be wary of the whole team being in high spirits after earning a rare point against a top 4 team.

Beth England will be coming into this fixture with a boost to her confidence after earning a nomination for the WSL's April Player of the Month award. Robert remarked on the captain:

From day one I realized she is a great person and leader, and now she is proving how great a player she is. What she does for the team is amazing, how she speaks to the players is brilliant. She is a rock in the team.

We will definitely need her steady leadership on the pitch to manage this game carefully with an eye on the high-stakes fixture ahead. But mostly I just hope she can make it four goals in four in league play. It took her a while to get back up to speed after her lengthy surgery rehab, but this goal-scoring consistency is what we had come to expect from Beth after she joined us last January to lift the team out of the relegation spot. Hopefully we won't see her in the winger role again in this game, but at striker—all the better to build on her goal tally in an injury-shortened season.

Previewing PL Matchday 35 — Liverpool

Spurs Men take on the other half of Merseyside in one of the most dreaded fixtures of the season—to me, at least.

Liverpool have been in a very strange run of form, but we shouldn't let that lull us into a false sense of hope. It's hard to predict their starting lineup considering all of the drama between Jürgen Klopp and Mo Salah last week. Klopp has rotated a lot in the midfield and forward areas over their last few games as well.

Injury-wise, we can't count on another own goal from Joël Matip since he's out for the season with an ACL tear. They could be missing another key centerback if Virgil Van Dijk is ruled out for selection, having not trained until today. Thiago and Diogo Jota are also out with muscle injuries.

We didn't get a firm update on our own squad's availability, but there were no decisive injury concerns from the Chelsea game. In his team news update, Ange seemed to hint that some players who hadn't played a significant amount of minutes in the last game could start against Liverpool—perhaps Giovani Lo Celso and Rodrigo Bentancur?

Ange also reflected on the disappointment of the Chelsea result and how to move on from it:

You've gotta feel that pain because ultimately that's what drives ambition. We know where we're at and we know what we need to do. There's still a long way to go but we're building a decent foundation for it.

You continually focus on what's important. If you fall into the trap, and too many people do there, of thinking there's a quick fix—there isn't a quick fix. It's time, it's hard work, it's perseverance, it's resilience, it's focus, all of those things.

He might be subtly alluding to the criticism around his recent comments on set piece defense not being a priority. I do agree with Ange that there are underlying issues causing the poor set piece defense that need to be addressed first, but hopefully he and his staff are at least working making on some minor tweaks to close out the season stronger in that aspect. Much as I love Sonny, it's clearly not a good idea to rely on him to be involved in defending those opposition chances from dead balls. But in fairness to him, we have very few players who are strong enough in aerial duels to be truly successful at this subset of defense.

Academy update

I have a couple of quick notes on the Men's Academy teams to wrap things up.

• The U21s made a stunning comeback from being down 0-3 at halftime against Nottingham Forest to beat them 4-3 in the PL Cup semi-final. Dante Cassanova sparked the comeback with Spurs' first goal, Will Lankshear got on the scoresheet twice with a goal and the game-winning assist, Jamie Donley assisted Damola Ajiyi's equalizer, and Yago Santiago scored the winner.

They will now face Fulham in the final on May 16, having just defeated them 0-2 away in league play. I will keep an eye out for where this match is going to be broadcast/streamed.

• The U21s have another important knockout fixture coming up on May 6: the PL2 playoffs Round of 16 matchup with Aston Villa.

• Meanwhile, the U18s are still in league action and face Arsenal tomorrow, May 4. Both this game and the U21s' clash with Villa are on the SpursPlay live schedule.

While I'm hoping the Men's team can turn things around to end the season strong and that the Academy teams finish the job, my main focus is on the Women's FA Cup final. It's trophy or bust! But let's get through this weekend of fixtures first, then we'll start preparing.

COYS

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