Despite their entertaining and charming style of football, Tottenham Hotspur’s refusal to change their style of play is detrimental to their cause. Ange Postecoglou’s men threw away a 2-0 lead against Brighton & Hove Albion to surrender in the end and lose the match 3-2.

Tottenham took what appeared to be a decisive lead in the first half only to allow the home team to fight back and collect all three points. Spurs have collected 10 points from seven matches and are in ninth place in the league standings despite impressing the crowd with their aggressive style of play.

Tottenham Hotspur was late in using substitute players

Having won 2-0, Tottenham should have tried to close out the match. They should bring in another defensive midfielder to partner Rodrigo Bentancur by releasing Dejan Kulusevski or James Maddison. Therefore, his team should switch to 4-2-3-1 from the initial 4-3-3 formation.

However, Postecoglou only did this in the 79th minute, when he brought on Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr. At that time, Brighton had scored three goals to lead 3-2. They managed to maintain their lead until the end to achieve victory.

Postecoglou’s refusal to change his team’s strategy even when the situation demands it has also cost his team in the past. He must understand that his team is not Manchester City, which is capable of continuing to play aggressively against any team throughout the match, given the resources available.

Therefore, he must take a pragmatic approach in order to reap maximum benefits for his team. If not, Tottenham will find it very difficult to ensure a place in the top four at the end of the season.

Tottenham Needs Improvement in Upcoming Matches

Spurs will face West Ham United and Crystal Palace in the next two matches in the Premier League. They should aim to collect six points from these two matches. They also have a UEFA Europa League match against AZ Alkmaar, which is also quite important for them.

Tottenham will then face Manchester City in the EFL Cup on October 30. They can’t play gung-ho against a team of Manchester City’s caliber, because they should be able to perform like that again.

Postecoglou has a good track record and has won numerous titles as a manager in Australia and Scotland. However, football in England is a different matter. It is much more competitive and requires managers to be more flexible and practical in their approach.

Therefore, the 59-year-old manager may have to rethink his strategy soon. However, if he decides to keep him, Tottenham risk throwing away more points like that. The competition for the top four seems quite tight and hence, any further mistakes will hamper their chances. It remains to be seen whether Postecoglou has learned any lessons from this.