Struggling

What a dreadful week to be a Spurs fan.

In fact, a controversial penalty from Harry Kane and moments of brilliance from Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen on the follow-up were the only moments separating poor form and utter meltdown mode.

A poor performance and defeat away at Burnley last weekend kicked things off, before yet another Stamford Bridge defeat compounded our misery. Make no mistake - today’s game was massive. While winning was important of course - if not just to get one over on our bitter rivals - a loss would have been catastrophic for our season, and could well have sent us into free fall. Fans must be sat wondering what happened to the Tottenham of two weeks ago, that took apart the top team in Bundesliga with a classy second half display. Ironically, the ten day gap between the Dortmund demolition and the bemusing loss to Burnley seems to have done us no favours. Consider the momentum well and truly killed.

There are many contributing factors affecting our form lately, but I do not for a second buy into the theory that Harry Kane disrupts this team’s rhythm. He’s the only player that has scored for us in the past three games, for starters. It is a far more nuanced debate than to simply suggest Kane’s inclusion messes with Son's performances It could be that the Korean flourishes more when he is the star man. Or possibly while playing as a lone striker, he is presented with more goalscoring opportunities. But neither of these factors are as salient as the time Son has spent on the pitch. After three international tournaments in the space of nine months, the Asian Footballer of the Year has had little rest between matches and often completes ninety minutes for club and country, especially given our current injury predicament. It is hardly surprising, since 'Sonny' is a key figure, but it does nothing for a player’s form, starting every single match in such quick succession. Sure, he was on a fine goalscoring run, but he was not about to score in every match, with or without Kane’s return. Such an issue is purely coincidental - Son has simply burnt himself out the last couple of games.

Life's certainties: Death, taxes and Kane scoring against The Arse.

And who can blame him. Anyone who thinks fatigue is not a reasonable explanation for our dip in form cannot have watched this team enough. Pochettino’s philosophy is built on a high press, winning the ball back high up the pitch to devastating effect. It is a fantastically effective method of play, but one that relies heavily on a player’s fitness. Eriksen is the perfect example of this. A diminutive playmaker to most, those who recognise the Dane’s true greatness understand these moments of magic are heavily supported by a willingness to work for the team and track back non-stop. Sure, he still put the leg work in today, but there was a real sense of lethargy about his   play. Speculation about his future may well be affecting his performance, but according to an article in The Observer, Eriksen has averaged a full 90 minutes every 6-and-a-half days over the past four years. That's insane.

But I cannot attribute Eriksen’s form - or lack thereof - solely down to fatigue or transfer speculation. There is a bigger force at hand, and one that would have cataclysmically affected everyone’s mood had we lost today. 

We’re still at Wembley.

That’s right. Our shiny new stadium still hasn’t opened. You know, just in case you have been living under a rock this past year. Which, to be fair, would have hosted just as many games as White Hart Lane II. And there is probably lunar sediment with more atmosphere than Wembley.

But how does this link to Eriksen et al’s downturn in form, I hear you cry?

To put it bluntly, I think we’re skint. The knock-on effect of a delayed, overbudgeted stadium has left Levy tightening the already unyielding purse strings. Pochettino, despite his best efforts to convey a sense of satisfaction with his current squad, must be tearing his hair out. Do you know why our players are so knackered? We cannot afford to rotate, with the stakes this high. The stadium and resulting loans have messed up our finances, we cannot afford to bring in fresh blood, and it has taken its toll on our delapadated squad this year. It’s no wonder several players have gone down with muscular injuries over the past couple of months. The human body can only be worked so hard before it begins to fail. I’m surprised Sissoko doesn’t leave every game in a cryogenic chamber, the amount of effort he puts in. We are still at Wembley, which has had a knock-on affect on incoming transfers, and resulted in an overworked squad.

Levy’s attitude to expenditure has been heavily criticised in the past, though his caution had been largely accepted in the ensuing years after Bale left. We wouldn't want to waste another hundred million, after all. There comes a time, however, when he simply must find the money to financially support one of the best managers in the world. I remember going in a similar rant in the summer, and to think that it is coming up to 18 months since we last signed a player is frankly laughable for a club of our standing. Things are catching up with us, and we are truly struggling. We are lucky Pochettino's perseverance with Sissoko has finally paid off, to be honest, or we would have been in even deeper trouble this year.

Unequivocally our Player of the Season. [Getty Images]

I know it’s not viable for us to spend the money Liverpool spent last summer. But look what it has done for their title ambitions - they stand toe to toe with City while we fall back into the race for fourth. It’s thoroughly depressing, in truth, because this group of players is the best I have seen in my lifetime and we are under the tutelage to take us the distance. It will not last, however, unless we properly kick on. And hopefully that all begins when we finally enter our new stadium in 2029.

Our successes this season have papered over the cracks in terms of our off-the-pitch shenanigans. It was only a week or two ago that we were talking about a potential title race. But if we do not turn this slump around - starting in Germany next week - we could be on the precipice of another Spursesque meltdown. Top four remains the priority, as always, and we hope it is accompanied with some decent performances in the Champions League. But by the time next season - our first in the fabled new stadium - comes around, we have to be ready to hit the ground running.

Audere est Facere.