Tottenham Hotspur were defeated by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in a damaging blow to Ange Postecoglou’s season.
Form and performances have been choppy of late, and while Postecoglou’s grumbling about injuries carries weight, there’s no excusing the in-game management and obstinate grip on a tactical approach that won’t work with the tools on hand.
Square pegs in round holes? Tottenham certainly have the feel of an outfit struggling to marry its players with its identity. Yet again, Spurs suffered defeat in the Premier League. Nine losses from 18 fixtures – only Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton have picked up more.
For Nuno Espirito Santo, this must have felt like retribution after his woeful – and brief – stint down N17, whereas Ange has stepped deeper into a mire that is on the cusp of swallowing him up, injury crisis or not.
Interestingly, patchwork centre-back duo Archie Gray, 18, and Radu Dragusin can hold their heads higher than most. Tottenham were failed by a lack of belief, energy and inspiration.
The Tricky Trees have shot 11 points clear of the 11th-place Lilywhites, who may drop deeper still before the matchweek concludes.
Spurs' worst performers at Forest
While some would describe Tottenham’s Boxing Day performance as ‘abject’, Nuno’s regimented troops deserve a nod. They stuck to their game plan, executed it professionally, and defended as one. They outfought and outthought the struggling Londoners.
Six defeats from ten top-flight fixtures. Tough times for Tottenham. Defensively, Spurs have been terrible at times this season, albeit with most of its core parts sidelined, but it was the attack that served as the crux of the drama for the visitors.
Heung-min Son is a modern club legend and still one of the elite Premier League forwards – on his day. But he is declining. Aged 32, the South Korean’s deficiencies were exposed against a physical and organised Forest backline, with journalist Mitch Fretton even commenting that the skipper had been “absolutely awful again” in a numb and toothless effort.
At number nine, Dominic Solanke struggled but lacked any meaningful service. On the right, Brennan Johnson was his lively self but flattered to deceive in front of goal, testing Matz Sels three times, as per Sofascore, but failing to really take the chances with confidence.
Tough times all over. Tottenham have the quality, the attacking intent and the long-term vision, but something has got lost somewhere, something important and indefinable. Is it tactical inflexibility that is letting Tottenham down? Or are the players and their manager being foiled by injuries that have exacerbated concerns and stripped a thrilling brand of football down to its bare bones?
Things need to improve, to be sure, and there’s one man above all others who can serve as the catalyst for positive change. Dejan Kulusevski is shaping into a superstar, but he wasn’t at the races in Nottingham.
Dejan Kulusevski's worst display of 2024/25
Playing in the number ten role, Kulusevski failed as Tottenham’s attacking conduit, limiting Solanke in front of him and failing to impress himself upon the sturdy hosts’ defence.
Attacking midfield
11
3
2
Right winger
5
3
1
Central midfield
4
0
3
Centre-forward
2
0
1
He’s a dynamic player, confident across a range of positions, but Ange’s first-class utility man was foiled against a Nottingham Forest system that marshalled and minimised his noise and threat.
Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold has been a vocal advocate of Kulusevski this season, championing the Sweden star’s ascent to the uppermost echelon of Premier League players, but he could only award him with a 5/10 match rating yesterday, noting that lethargy claimed him as the match dragged into the crucial later stages.
Minutes played
90′
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
70
Shots (on target)
1 (0)
Pass accuracy
35/44 (80%)
Key passes
2
Possession lost
26x
Dribbles (completed)
6 (2)
Tackles + interceptions
0
Total duels (won)
14 (3)
Kulusevski’s lack of defensive effort on the day proved particularly problematic, losing 11 duels and failing to even win a single tackle or interception. Sure, he was in an advanced role and Tottenham dominated possession, but Forest excelled in their hemmed-in positions, absorbed the rubbery firepower and struck through Anthony Elanga, masterfully countering.
Better days lay ahead, but the 24-year-old – who also lost the ball on 26 occasions – will be frustrated after assuming a sort of talismanic burden this term. It’s scary to think that the north London club would be consigned to a more miserable and perhaps managerless position were Kulusevski not in the picture.
He wasn’t solely to blame – not at all. Had Son not spurned that glorious chance on the counter, it could have been a different tale indeed.
Football is stuffed with such variables, and dissecting them with an analytical lens can only get you so far. What’s clear is that Kulusevski failed to harness the giddy quality that has been on show so often this term. It was his worst display of the campaign, but given that he has carried the ugly rocks of collective disharmony, such a performance was always going to lurk round the corner.
And now we find the root of the problem: is this a reflection of the Swede’s struggle or a comment on how Tottenham are letting him down? He can’t play this role every single week, not with his peers failing to hold their weight.
And so then. We sit and wait for this interminable winter streak to finish up. Ange waits for his injured stars to return to the brood. How much will change, when that fateful day arrives?
Kulusevski and co failed to turn up today, and no amount of absent personnel can detract from the fact that capable and tested Premier League players couldn’t shift their weight.
So then. Tottenham sit and wait. Sit and wait. Something needs to change – what will it be?
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