Tottenham seemingly tried to start the game on the front-foot, utilising Romero’s passing which has been sorely missed during his lengthy injuries.
However, the Argentinian was incredibly sloppy with his passing from the off – calling him ‘rusty’ on his injury return didn’t quite cut it.
Of course, Romero wasn’t the only Spurs player guilty of failing to find their man with a risky pass at the back, a period of play which Postecoglou certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed early on.
Bournemouth’s first goal was actually a result of Pedro Porro misplacing a pass as well, even if it was quite high up the pitch.
Jamie Redknapp baffled by Tottenham’s decision-making in defence
That being said, Jamie Redknapp was seriously frustrated with the decision-making by some of Tottenham’s defenders when speaking on Sky Sports at half-time of the game.
The panel were analysing a moment early on when Tottenham gave Bournemouth a very good chance to go ahead when Romero played a risky pass into Yves Bissouma in the middle.
Bissouma received the ball facing his own goal and was quickly closed down by Bournemouth’s attackers, who are known for their high-pressing.
Picking apart the situation, Redknapp said: “Listen, it drives me insane. Coaches do this – why does he want the ball there Bissouma? He’s getting man-marked.
“First 10 minutes of the game, play the ball into [Dominic] Solanke up front – I watched Liverpool this week, I know they were incredibly lucky, they’ve got the best ball-playing centre-back in Virgil van Dijk – they never played out for the first 20 minutes against PSG.
“There’s no point because they’re going to press us, so if Liverpool aren’t going to do that, why are Tottenham trying to play out against one of the best teams at stopping you?
“I might sound to some like a dinosaur but you are asking for trouble and that’s what Bournemouth do so well.”
Roy Keane then added: “It’s okay giving him an option, but he doesn’t have to play it – and if he does play it, play it a little bit soft – he almost forced him to take the two touches.”
Ange Postecoglou is yet to find his best back four
For the first time in a very long while, Postecoglou did have all of his first choice defenders in the squad against Bournemouth at least.
Micky van de Ven was only fit enough for the bench, where he sat alongside Destiny Udogie, which was seemingly a tactical decision.
And whilst Van de Ven’s spot would appear nailed on when he’s fully fit, there’s a case to be made for Danso to keep his spot ahead of Romero.
Tottenham fans have been impressed by Danso, and he perhaps could start as the right-sided centre-back with Spence playing alongside him at full-back.
A tough choice for Postecoglou, but one that he needs to start getting right.
