Is Tottenham’s Squad Strong Enough to Maintain a Top Four Challenge?

Tottenham have suffered their first setback of the season, as they lost 4-1 at home to Chelsea. There is a big rivalry between the two clubs and the game had plenty of spice to it, with the VAR room working overtime during the contest. Mauricio Pochettino returned to the club for the first time and escaped with three points.

In previous years, a display such as the one showed on Monday night would have caused consternation within the fan base. However, there is still a general theme of optimism among the supporters. This comes directly from Ange Postecoglou, as the head coach is excellent at managing both on and off the pitch.

Monday night’s performance felt like a one-off. Spurs have been consistent this season and have been deserving of their high position. Even when you dig down into the game, Tottenham started superbly and took an early lead. They were just millimetres away from making it 2-0 through Son Heung-min, but Brennan Johnson was offside earlier in the move.

If that had fallen in Tottenham’s favour, they would have probably have gone on to win the game and returned to the top of the Premier League table. Instead, it was Spurs’ passion and poor discipline that decided the game.

Chelsea were slowly coming back into the game prior to Cristian Romero’s red card challenge, but Tottenham would have been confident of seeing the game through. Prior to the red card, Tottenham had created 0.28 expected goals (xG) to Chelsea’s 0.24 xG.

A Depleted Squad

Although the result was disappointing, it is only one match. The bigger disappointment would have been focused on the injuries and suspensions suffered in the game. Tottenham have a thin squad and they are seemingly reliant on a small core of players. As they aren’t in European competition, there isn’t a great need to rotate, but there will be worries about the drop in standards.

Micky van de Ven and James Maddison both left the pitch through injury. The former has been one of the most impressive signings made this season. His recovery pace coupled with his reading of the game is central to Spurs’ high line. The Dutchman suffered a hamstring injury and is likely to miss a number of weeks. His injury was compounded by the red card of Romero. Tottenham will be without their starting centre-back pairing for at least three matches.

Defensive Backups

Eric Dier will come in alongside either Ben Davies or Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. That is a huge decrease in quality and with Manchester City on the horizon, there will be concerns about that area of the pitch. There may be a need to move away from the high line for a short period.

James Maddison also left the pitch with an injury, but it is hoped that it wasn’t as serious as Van de Ven’s. Destiny Udogie will also miss one match through suspension while Richarlison is set for surgery.

Testing Period for Postecoglou

Postecoglou has been dealt several blows in just 48 hours and it will be interesting to see how he manages his squad. If they can regroup and beat Wolves next weekend, it will show an impressive ability to bounce back and Tottenham would have to be taken seriously as a force.

After a seriously good start to life in North London, this may help reset expectations at the club for Postecoglou and ensure nobody is getting carried away. In the short term, there may be some pain, but it may be a blessing in disguise when it comes to the expectations of everyone connected to the club.