Tottenham on track for worst season since they were RELEGATED in 1977 as damning stats on horror season are revealed
ARE Tottenham genuinely in a relegation battle?
Most would say no chance, even in spite of the atrocious recent run in the league, but consider this.
In 1977 – the last time Spurs went down, finishing bottom of the old First Division – they lost exactly half of their 42 games.
Tottenham this season have been defeated in 11 of their 21 league fixtures which is a marginally worse ratio.
Their current points-per-game average stands at 1.14, which puts them on course for 43 for the campaign.
In the 2008/09 season under Juande Ramos, the team picked up just 20 points after 21 games.
They were slumped down in 19th place ahead of the manager being axed and replaced with Harry Redknapp.
These are just some of the absolutely damning statistics that Spurs fans have been puzzling and poring over the morning after their latest loss in Wednesday’s North London derby.
And they’re why many have been calling for manager Ange Postecoglou’s head, with Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit even urging Daniel Levy to sack the Aussie.
Embattled Postecoglou regularly reiterates the need for context in everything and has, with some justification, pointed to a crippling amount of injuries, particularly at the back.
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But whichever way you square it, there is no dressing up how ugly the league numbers are right now.
For Spurs fans, this will read like a particularly painful maths lesson, but pay attention as this is important.
Since the 4-0 battering of Manchester City on November 23 – the standout result of Postecoglou’s tenure – his side have just one win in nine league fixtures.
Never at this stage of the season have Spurs lost more Premier League games.
Ipswich, who inflicted one of the most painful defeats on Postecoglou’s side just before the City tonking, emphasising their inconsistency, are only above the drop zone on goal difference but have lost one fewer game than Tottenham.
In fact, only Wolves, Leicester and Southampton – the bottom three – have suffered more defeats than Postecoglou’s side this term.
The gap to the dreaded dotted line is eight points, so the unthinkable prospect of dropping down to the Championship does not seem a genuine fear right now.
But what is undoubtedly true is Postecoglou’s side are showing relegation form.
It is just five points taken from the last 27 available. Worse still, it is 30 from the last 84, suggesting a malaise in the league that predates the crock crisis.
Missing Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario and more has left the squad badly short, no doubt.
But injuries are hitting most sides now – Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth, ten points above Spurs, have just lost their two centre-forwards – and Postecoglou knows if he uses that as an excuse, it will fall on deaf ears.
The 59-year-old, who finished fifth in his first season, has made the argument that most of his side’s losses this term have come by the odd goal and are down to bad “moments”.
But when themes recur, the manager has to take some slice of the blame.
Such as Spurs conceding from a corner for a FOURTH time against Arsenal since the Aussie took charge with the Gunners’ leveller on Wednesday, though the set-piece should have never been awarded in the first place.
Postecoglou has not wavered from his attacking philosophy, even when he has not had the personnel to carry it out, and it could cost him.
Fraser Forster was never cut out to play out from the back like Postecoglou demands.
And though ambidextrous Antonin Kinsky is here now, those losses when Forster was in the team have taken their toll.
His midfield has been too easy to play through too often and Spurs were lucky not to be punished more by a wasteful Arsenal when he picked three No10s in Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall for a middle trio in the second half at the Emirates.
Gunners icon Petit eviscerated Postecoglou in his post-match analysis for talkSPORT.
The World Cup winner said: “When I look at this team, I have no idea what they want to do on the pitch, what kind of system, what kind of movements, even the commitment and the behaviour of the players.
“When you look at the quality individually and collectively in this team, something has been broken.
“They’ve been losing so many games, they’re dropping down the table, they’re not far off the relegation zone.
“We’re talking about a team that should be playing for the top position in the Premier League.
“Something is broken in this team and you can’t sack all of the players and so you have to make the easiest decision and that’s to sack the manager.
“I don’t like saying that and I feel for Postecoglou, but he deserves to be sacked because they are going down game after game, so change something.”
It would be a safe bet to say Postecoglou’s future hinges on four days at the start of February, provided he makes it that far.
They have Liverpool away in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, where they hold a 1-0 lead, and then Aston Villa away in the FA Cup fourth round.
This season has become solely about the cup competitions and Europe which can be Postecoglou’s saving grace.
That is provided they do not actually get sucked into a dropzone dogfight, with a ‘six-pointer’ at Everton up next.
A treble-winner at Celtic, Postecoglou has said that success at Spurs will be all sweeter given what they have had to go through this term.
But some supporters already think things have turned too sour.
It remains to be seen if that is, or soon will be, the view of Levy, who up to now has backed his man.
The Spurs supremo has proved himself to be a canny businessman in turning Spurs into a behemoth with a world-class stadium, albeit one still starved of silverware.
He will know numbers do not make for good reading right now for Postecoglou.
Back in the 2016-2017 campaign, their last at White Hart Lane, Spurs took 53 points at home, alone.
That is ten more than they are on course to win from this entire sorry league season.