Tottenham Hotspur have blown hot and cold for most of the season but, on Thursday night, they delivered one of their worst performances yet.
Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth and, while the scoreline doesn’t hint at a particularly lopsided encounter, Ange Postecoglou’s charges were poor.
Dean Huijsen’s first-half goal gave the Cherries another win against a big team at the Vitality Stadium, following triumphs over Arsenal and Manchester City this season.
However, it could have been worse for Tottenham as Evanilson saw a second-half goal ruled out for offside, while a late penalty call for the hosts was waved away.
The travelling Spurs fans made their feelings known to Postecoglou at the end of the game as patience appeared to wear thin.
Pundits, such as Glenn Hoddle and Les Ferdinand were also unhappy with how Tottenham played on the south coast.
Former Spurs player Jamie O’Hara delivered arguably the most scathing criticism of the Lilywhites in wake of their defeat to Bournemouth.
Jamie O’Hara warns Ange Postecoglou more defensive calamities will see him sacked by Tottenham
O’Hara did not pull any punches when it came to criticising Spurs during the game
On X, he claimed that Tottenham were “painful to watch” and that the way they played out from the back is a “joke” and “should be banned”.
Then, on talkSPORT, O’Hara claimed that Spurs would definitely sack Postecoglou if the team continued to defend as poorly
He said: “You know what? I don’t know how much more… Look, I like Ange, I like the football he plays, I do.
“But, there’s a big but coming, but this is getting old, this football, in terms of set-pieces and playing out from the back.
“Daniel Levy ain’t going to stand for this. I’m telling you now. If he thinks he can go all the way through the season and keep defending like this, keep having set-pieces like this, he will get sacked.
“Daniel Levy is all about Champions League football, Europa League minimum. If Spurs are 10th in the table after Christmas, they will sack Ange. I’m telling you, they will sack him. This can’t continue.
“I feel like he’s starting to run on thin ice. I need to see more. One from the players because the players again tonight let themselves down, but I need more from the manager.”
Tottenham’s centre-back crisis
Not only were Tottenham poor against Bournemouth, but they also found themselves down another centre-back.
Ben Davies came off with an apparent hamstring injury, forcing Archie Gray to move across to centre-back, much to the chagrin of Spurs fans.
Football injury analyst Physio Scout predicted that Davies could be out for between two and six weeks, depending on the severity of his hamstring strain.
Micky van de Ven remains on the sidelines while Cristian Romero is a doubt for the Chelsea game.
Therefore, there’s a chance Gray and Radu Dragusin will be Spurs’ centre-back partnership on the day.
Receive a digest of our best Spurs content each week direct to your mailbox
