Panenka Parity

It's been a strange week in COYS land, and it's not about to get any more relaxed with arguably the biggest game of the season taking place tomorrow. I usually try to be an optimist but I will admit that I'm starting to lose my nerve. No, I'm not #AngeOut, and I have no appetite for another manager search in the near future, but I don't feel particularly confident about the trajectory the Men's team is on and expect there to be some tough decisions for the club to make in the offseason.

Some of it comes down to pure bad luck, of course. There's no denying that the injury crisis has had an outsized effect on results this season. But the more I think about it, the fact that we've had so many narrow losses (Liverpool are still the only team to beat us by more than one goal in any competition) is more damning than laudatory. My main criticism of Ange Postecoglou since he joined has always been his game management, both in-game and between games. It cannot be a good thing that there were so many winnable (or even drawable!) games that slipped out of our grasp. We're in the bottom half of the table for a reason; we've already dropped six points total compared to the same fixtures from last season and so far have only picked up seven out of a possible 15 points from the newly promoted teams (we still have Southampton at home left to play).

I was also bumming myself out earlier today thinking about how few matches I have a concrete memory of from this season. Usually, I live and breathe for the minutiae of games and can remember lots of details like specific goal-scorers, interesting game states, and contentious refereeing decisions. For this season, it's hard to think back and pick out statement results and standout performances without first jogging my memory with the fixture list. I think the main reason I'm not lingering on these details for very long is that the outcomes have been feeling moot and/or futile for months now.

Y'all know that I try not to be easily swayed by just one or two results, and truthfully, a comeback against a tough Bournemouth team to salvage a point isn't the worst way Sunday could have gone. But when I look back at the cumulative season so far I can't help but feel like Ange has mishandled the recent stretch.

In this issue: Bournemouth recap | Previewing AZ Alkmaar | News from around the Lane

Anyway, now that I've started the issue out on a total downer note, let's get down to business as usual. I have a recap of the aforementioned draw with Bournemouth, a preview of the home leg against AZ Alkmaar that will determine the course of the remaining season, and some sundry news to round up. Spurs Women still aren't back in action until the weekend, so look for that preview in the next issue alongside Spurs Men's return to Premier League play.

PL Matchday 28 recap | Tottenham 2 - 2 Bournemouth

Sarr 67', Son (Pen) 84' | Tavernier 42', Evanilson 65'

The problem with having half a mind on the next game (because it matters much more in the context of the season) is that you can't really afford to do that in the Premier League. There are no easy wins. This wasn't even an easy draw!

Starting XI:

Hindsight is always an unfair metric to measure by, but I think we can all agree that starting Cristian Romero was the wrong decision. He may have been physically fit, but his mental readiness left something to be desired—he nearly gifted the Cherries a goal within twenty seconds of kickoff. If his performances before his injury spells had been better I might be willing to show him a little more grace, but I worry that we won't be seeing the imperious and impactful Cuti of prior seasons anymore.

And I'll be honest, Romero's recent comments about taking his medical treatment outside of the club did not sit right with me coming from one of the club's co-captains. If he doesn't feel this is the right place for him at this point of his career, he's welcome to make way in the summer for a centerback who will be fully committed. That's not to say that Spurs' medical team couldn't use improvement, but how is it helpful for Romero to air that opinion in public?

Back to the lineup selection, anyone who has ever watched a game of football could tell that this midfield configuration was going to be a disaster. Sure, Postecoglou kind of had to play Rodrigo Bentancur since he's suspended for the Europa League fixture, but playing him alongside Yves Bissouma is always a defensive liability. And that bore out, unfortunately.

I was surprised to see Dominic Solanke play, but I suppose it's a good sign that he was able to shake off the knock from the last game so quickly.

Top three things:

1. Subs needed for creativity. It's not a coincidence that we didn't score until reinforcements were brought on in the second half. Lucas Bergvall—not a perfect player at this stage of his development by any means, but certainly one who causes defenses problems—provided the assist for Pape Sarr's unlikely goal, while James Maddison set up the penalty shout with an incisive pass into the box for Son Heung-min. Once again, the starting lineup felt like a concerted strategy from Postecoglou to merely weather the first half and limit the minutes of key players ahead of a much more influential game. It was a notable change from the tactics earlier in the season to hit teams with a flurry of early goals and take the pressure off the second halves.
2. Centerback flux. With Kevin Danso playing alongside Romero and Micky van de Ven for the first time, Romero for the first 60-ish minutes of the game and then Van de Ven for the remainder, there was a lot of miscommunication and poor positioning afoot. That was to be expected—and better to get the introduction period over with now in a lower-stakes game—but it was still painful to watch at times.
3. Son steps up. I was very surprised by the way the penalty kick played out. Firstly, that Dominic Solanke was not given the nod to take the kick against his former team. Secondly, that Son completely switched up his usual technique and opted for a (sort of, slightly off-center) panenka. I felt a little nervous seeing him step up to take the kick since the last time he did so in the Premier League he failed to convert—and Kepa Arrizabalaga is somewhat of a penalty specialist goalkeeper. But in addition to securing a point from the game, this moment will have been a boost for Sonny's confidence ahead of a crucial game.

Our league position didn't change despite dropping points, but there's still a decent four-point gap between ourselves and the next team, Brentford. We're eight points behind the top half of the table. Kind of bleak!

SAtP Player of the Match: Lucas Bergvall

I'm going to give it to the young Swede for a game where we were very much missing the elder Swede (Dejan Kulusevski). Bergvall's entrance to the game provided some much-needed verve to the midfield. He was also just inches away from scoring a goal of his own and I like that he isn't afraid to take a shot.

Speaking of... honorable mention goes to Pape Sarr. For the record, I do think he meant it. Think about it: has Sarr ever scored a normal goal? "Bangers only" is his middle name. He did have a pretty terrible miss a few minutes prior to getting Spurs back in the game, but overall he was the most impactful of the starting midfield trio (a low bar in this game, admittedly) and hopefully can use that goal as a springboard for the final few months of the season.

Notable & quotable:

• Rodrigo Bentancur made his 100th appearance for Spurs, having just passed the three-year mark with the club (recall that he was a January signing in 2022). His game time has been limited by long-term injuries, but also the incident of racism that saw him suspended for seven games earlier this season. Personally, I find it very disappoint that there's talk of the club extending his contract, but that probably says more about where Yves Bissouma is at in his Spurs career than Bentancur's own performance.

• Son Heung Min's penalty goal was the first penalty of the current Premier League season—and, incredibly, only the fourth penalty to be awarded to Spurs since Ange Postecoglou joined as manager.

• Lucas Bergvall's assist for Pape Sarr was his first-ever PL assist and first overall goal contribution in league play.

• This was just the fourth draw of the league campaign.

• Postecoglou's verdict on the draw:

It was a chaotic game, I think it's fair to say. We probably contributed to that a fair bit, especially in the first half, where we gave the ball away so carelessly at times - probably a little bit of nerves there, a little bit of rustiness from a couple of players. At 2-0 down, it would have been easy for the lads to let the game drift away, but they found something to fight back and get something out of the game, so credit to them.

• And Son's thoughts:

We have to look at ourselves. Nobody can help us except us on the pitch. I think the guys who are playing need to take more responsibility....

We just have to be very strong and make steps forward. You can’t always stay on the same stair. You have to make steps forward. It's March, so we’ve got to improve our stats and our growth. We have to move forwards.

Previewing Europa League Round of 16 Home Leg — AZ Alkmaar

This probably goes without saying, but our season is effectively over if we can't make the comeback and advance to the quarter-finals. And there's even more riding on success in the Europa League than there was for the domestic cups (still disappointing exits): if we don't win this competition, we will surely miss out on qualifying for European competition next season. It would take a remarkable run in the Premier League (and significant slip-ups from teams like Newcastle, Brighton, and Aston Villa) to qualify through the league table route.

While I still feel fairly confident that the players can turn things around in the home leg and knock out AZ Alkmaar, I feel less confident about the potential matchups lurking in the bracket. We've struggled to hold onto momentum in this second half of the season, so every match is going to feel like a new struggle. But I would love to be proven wrong and see the team build up a head of steam and barrel through the remaining rounds to reach the final. The league is already gone, but picking up some good wins in that competition certainly wouldn't hurt morale along the way.

On a positive note for this fixture, we can at least be assured of a better playing surface for the home field advantage—if not an actual home crowd advantage due to the current mood of the fanbase.

As for team selection, I've given up on predicting who Ange Postecoglou is going to pick—but he will definitely be without the services (or lack thereof) of Rodrigo Bentancur, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Elsewhere in the squad, Kevin Danso is set to be out for an indeterminate number of games with a hamstring injury (he's unlikely to return before the international break), but Ben Davies is back in contention just in time. Dejan Kulusevski was not mentioned in the latest injury list alongside Richarlison, but Postecoglou had previously said that Deki was unlikely to be back until after the international break as well.

That's all I've got for y'all on this game. All we can do is hope for a better performance than in the away leg!

News from around the Lane

• Peter Charrington, Director of ENIC, has been appointed to the Tottenham Hotspur board as a Non-Executive Director.

• Spurs Women are participating in the Green Football "Great Save" campaign at this weekend's game at Brisbane Road, collecting donations of football kit (shirts, boots, etc.). Anything that's not in usable condition will be recycled into new material.

• The club has announced season ticket renewal information for Spurs Men tickets, with information still to come for Spurs Women tickets. Prices will not be increasing for either team, thankfully. There was also an update on senior concessions availability. However, ticket sharing is now being limited to members only. So, some good news and some bad news, I suppose. I'm just relieved we have been spared a full round of ticketing discourse this spring with the confirmation that overall prices have stayed the same. I wonder if the reason Spurs Women season ticket information hasn't been announced yet is that the club is rethinking its approach to the number of games hosted in the main stadium. We'll see!

All right, go enjoy the nice weather* and manifest some positive vibes for tomorrow's must-win game. I'll be back later in the week to preview the weekend fixtures.

*Some pollen restrictions may apply.

COYS

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