Ange Postecoglou stood on the touchline, pondering the transformation into a more familiar Tottenham struggle.
Tottenham, once five points clear at the top of the table, now find themselves with four defeats in five games, slipping out of Champions League contention. The Ange-Ball era has come to an abrupt end, disappointing fans who were fervently embracing the recent Tottenham resurgence, only to witness a return to old patterns.
West Ham, rallying from a goal down, handed Tottenham their fourth defeat in five games, dimming the memory of the euphoric days when everything appeared to be a dream.
Spurs, after reaching a five-point lead following a victory at Crystal Palace on October 27 (despite playing an extra game), were once considered title contenders. Now, they find themselves on a downward trajectory.
Despite assurances from players that the “Spursy” days were behind them, the team’s recent self-implosion contradicts these claims. The away fans celebrated their team’s performance, highlighting precisely what seemed lacking for Spurs in a miserable London derby for the home side.
xG Graph for Premier League Clubs so far this season pic.twitter.com/QM3Rhs1yUC
— DrChrome (@sxmnewman) December 5, 2023
The graph above suggests they aren’t even the top six best attack in the league, while being almost as poor as Manchester United are defensively.
Was “Ange-ball” even a great thing in the first place? A lot of fans and pundits seemed to jump too early on the Premier League contenders shout for Spurs. At no point were they ever statistically a top contender in the Premier League, that’s not an opinion, that’s a fact.
The only analogy I can think of is the classic case of everybody being obsessed with the shiny new toy (Postecoglou) – but once you find out after few months that toy is no different from the old ones, the obsession is no more.
