Well, if there ever was a week that summed up Tottenham Hotspur football club, then this was it.
Beat your top four rivals in their backyard, and that convincingly, but then follow it up by losing to lower-half opposition.
Not only did Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham lose 3-0 to Fulham on Saturday, but it was a deserved loss.
Tim Sherwood was keen to highlight the performance of the midfield and how Yves Bissouma was ‘nowhere to be seen’ for Fulham’s second goal, as he told Premier League Productions (16/03/24 at 7:45 pm).
The former Spurs boss noticed Ryan Mason, who is on the coaching staff, pointing out the amount of space Yves Bissouma was leaving for the Fulham players.
From his poor positional play to his quite awful first touch, it was a day to forget for the £25 million signing.
In the end, just after the hour mark, he was subbed off on a yellow card by Ange Postecoglou, and even then, some fans would argue it still should have happened sooner.
The signs were pretty clear from the get-go that Tottenham just weren’t at it and changes could have easily been made at the break.
Yves Bissouma criticised
“You can’t leave the middle of the park like that,” said Sherwood.
“Maddison is too advanced forward. Bissouma is nowhere to be seen and is over this side. Sarr is over this side.
“He has got the whole park to himself. He (Ryan Mason) is pointing it out because it’s obvious to everyone. The boys have to recognise that on the pitch. The manager can’t do everything.
“It’s a good finish, in the end. But because you leave the middle of the park open. We talk about Tottenham trying to put pressure on – it was really poor defending from Tottenham, but you have to give credit to Lukic. He ran into the box. Even after that, Bissouma had to follow him in. He almost watches him go.”
Tottenham hand the advantage back to Aston Villa
That performance at Villa Park last week was lauded and applauded by all.
It was the clearest sign yet that the London club were going to secure fourth spot and Champions League football.
Yes, they were still two points behind, but they had a game in hand, and because of the 4-0 scoreline, a much better goal difference.
But fast forward to the present and Spurs have handed the advantage to Aston Villa.
Unai Emery’s side travel to the London Stadium on Sunday to take on West Ham United, which will be a difficult watch for the Tottenham faithful because you feel they are going to be cheering on the Hammers here.