Tottenham Hotspur lost for the fifth time in the Premier League this season on Sunday afternoon, beaten by Ipswich Town, who recorded their first triumph of the campaign, prompting Alan Shearer to criticise the North London outfit’s inconsistency, but insist that Ange Postecoglou is not under pressure.
A spectacular overhead kick from Sammie Szmodics and a tap-in from Liam Delap gave the Tractor Boyes a two-goal lead at half-time, before Rodrigo Bentancur pulled one back in the second period. Despite pushing for an equaliser late-on, it didn’t come, condemning Spurs to tenth place heading into the international break.
While lamenting the Lillywhites for producing erratically mixed results throughout the course of the season so far, Shearer doesn’t believe this should warrant serious pressure on Postecoglou’s job, as the Australian’s side remain in touching distance of the top four.
Shearer: Postecoglou Not Under Pressure
After investing heavily in the summer, signing the likes of Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall, Spurs were expected to push on this season and compete for silverware, as well as qualify for the Champions League. Only three points behind third place Chelsea, in the Quarter-Final of the EFL Cup and seventh in the Europa League, their objectives are still achievable, but the unpredictable nature of their results and performances will be a cause for concern.
Postecoglou is under growing pressure to enact a level of consistency, although the former Celtic head coach isn’t quite under the firing line as of yet. Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, when asked if the Spurs boss was under pressure, Shearer responded:
“Typical Spurs though, isn’t it? My goodness me. They beat City at home, they beat Villa at home with a great win, and then you got Ipswich at home. Ipswich turn you over.
I don’t think so [Postecoglou under pressure]. No, I think you just look at it like that, he took responsibility, didn’t he? He said it’s his fault, his problem. He’s got to sort it out. But when you see them in the second half against Villa and then beating City, it’s just, it’s the inconsistency again. How long have we been saying that about Spurs?”
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The former France international tends not to pull his punches when assessing the game, and he might well have annoyed Arsenal fans with his latest reflections on Mikel Arteta’s team.
The Gunners have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions, drawing blanks in defeats to Newcastle and Inter and attracting some unwanted attention for their struggles in attack.
And Gallas has admitted that, of his former clubs, Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs are now the easiest on the eye.
Asked which of his old teams he would most like a season ticket for, Gallas told Prime Casino: “Oh, that’s a horrible question because at the moment, Arsenal are not playing well.
“Chelsea are improving, but they still have a long way to go. If I had to pick a team right now to watch, then it would be Tottenham.
“Tottenham, in the second half against Aston Villa, they were superb. They were playing the football that they played at times last season. Son was magnificent before he came off. I don’t know why he came off, but he came off.
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