As Tottenham slumped to lowly 15th place on the Premier League table with their 12th loss of the season, one person felt the wrath of Spurs’ fans and it was not Ange Postecoglou.
There is no denying that the Australian is under the pump, but the travelling fans who took the train north to Liverpool to watch their side concede three goals in the opening half to Everton, who had only scored 15 goals in 20 league games prior, knew the mess was not entirely Postecoglou’s fault.
The former Socceroos boss admitted to making tactical blunders post-match as Tottenham started the game with a change of formation, a 3-4-3, that was unstuck by positioning issues and defensive errors.
For the second half, Postecoglou changed the shape of the team to 4-2-3-1 with Richarlison coming off the bench to play alone in front of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevki and Son Heung-min, while the defence was bolstered with Djed Spence and Pedro Porro playing as full backs either side of Archie Gray and Ben Davies.
But Postecoglou was merely moving deck chairs on the Titanic, as the saying goes.
With first choice goal keeper Guglielmo Vicario, and three of Postecoglou’s preferred back four in Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie, sidelined with injury, things were always going to be difficult.
Proven goal scorers Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson as well as midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are also in the casualty ward.
Postecoglou did not even have the likes of much-maligned forward Timo Werner and defender Destiny Udogie, who signed for €20 million back in 2022, to call upon.
So, where were the reinforcements?
That question is why Tottenham chair Daniel Levy copped the wrath of Spurs fans, not Postecoglou.
The away end at Goodison park sung ‘we want Levy out’ and the Sky Sports cameras panned to the English businessman after every Everton goal and nervy moment for Spurs.
Levy has been the boss at Tottenham since 2001, making him the longest serving chair in the Premier League.
During his time in charge, the 62-year-old, who made his fortune in property development and investment banking, has become renowned for sacking managers and a reluctance to spend big in transfer windows.
Levy has sacked 13 managers during his 24-year stint, including the likes of Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Harry Redknapp, Glenn Hoddle and Nuno Espirito Santo, who is now in charge of this season’s fairytale team, Nottingham Forest.
But Levy has changed his tune on managers in recent times, publicly declaring the need for stability during Postecoglou’s tenure, but he has been quiet recently despite reports he was recently spotted meeting with former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri.
The change fans are most desperate for however is to bring in some new signings this January transfer window.
Tottenham have been linked to Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho, Barcelona winger Ansu Fati, who had a loan spell at Brighton last season, 17-year-old Irish prodigy Mason Melia and PSG centre back Milan Škriniar.
Postecoglou admitted they were interested in Juventus-bound, on loan, PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani.
But with the clock ticking, the only signings Spurs have to show so far is 21-year-old Czech goal keeper Antonin Kinsky and 18-year-old South Korean forward Yang Min-hyeok, who actually put pen to paper in July but waited until January to join the club after the K-League season.
They are crying out for defensive support, but are yet to see them.
Postecoglou said after the Everton loss that he expected the closing days of the transfer window to be action-packed for Tottenham.
“There will be urgency but it doesn’t need me to say it, everybody can see that,” he told Sky Sports.
“I have no issues with how the club are going about it, they are working hard and trying to find solutions. These players need help that is for sure and hopefully over the next 10 days or so we’ll find a solution. It is really tricky, we’re not the only ones in the market. The club are trying hard.”
But fans are expecting more reluctance from Levy to spend money, and miss out on players that go on to shine at other clubs.
Newcastle’s Alexander Isak is one such example in recent times.
