Ange must now drop Spurs’ 5/10 dud who was as bad as Emerson

When it rains… as they say.

Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a third consecutive defeat in the Premier League after an insipid and uninspiring performance against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with the frustrations over recent weeks boiling over into a cauldron of calamity for Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs might be fifth in the standings but the problems are mounting as hopes of a return to Europe’s elite are yanked away as if by some invisible cord – with familiar face Mauricio Pochettino the latest architect of Tottenham’s ongoing spiral.

Liverpool await at Anfield on Sunday and Manchester City will journey down to N17 in a few fixtures, and based off the meek, morose nature of Tottenham’s effort against Chelsea, optimism will be in short supply for an outfit hobbling to the finish line.

Postecoglou said his team lacked “belief and conviction”, but the struggle of stand-in star Emerson Royal highlighted the biggest issue heading into the final few games.

Emerson’s performance vs Chelsea

Tottenham were dealt a miserable double-blow recently when first-choice left-back Destiny Udogie’s season-ending injury was swiftly followed by second-choice left-back Ben Davies’ season-ending injury – leaving Emerson as the best fit for the role.

Against Chelsea, he was ravaged by Noni Madueke down the flank, torn apart by pace and directness in a torrid display that exposed his fragilities.

Not his finest hour – or hour and a half, more precisely. Out-of-position Emerson will likely feel aggrieved that he has been scapegoated, to a degree, but the facts remain that he is not taking his chances at Tottenham.

While Emerson was shoehorned into a left-sided role, Dejan Kulusevski also found himself in a fresh role but with greater optimism that he offered skills to naturally suit him as the No. 10, replacing the struggling James Maddison.

He failed to impress.

Why Spurs must drop Dejan Kulusevski

Kulusevski has been a star member of Postecoglou’s squad this season but he’s not producing performances of sufficient standard of late and suffered one of his worst efforts on Thursday night as the No. 10.

Spurs were both spineless and toothless and the lack of creativity stemmed from the Swede’s struggles, completing 90 minutes and creating two key passes but enduring a wretched evening on the whole, winning just one duel despite contesting 11 and committing four fouls, as per Sofascore.

Moreover, Kulusevski conceded possession 15 times, took just one shot – blocked – and failed to attempt a single dribble, proving that he was at the heart of a disjointed, weak team performance.

Writing in his post-match player ratings, football.london’s Rob Guest branded the £110k-per-week Lilywhite with a lowly 5/10 match rating, writing: ‘Handed a start in his favoured No.10 role with James Maddison on the bench but did very little in the first half to influence things in the final third when in possession. Had more of an influence in the second half with some good runs forward before he shifted to the right wing following Maddison’s introduction.’

Such words do highlight his improvements when moved into his natural position but it’s clear that Maddison must reclaim his starting spot henceforth, with the pace of Brennan Johnson preferable on the right flank against the style of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

Tottenham will need to think fast to find some restorative powers and hit form against Liverpool on Merseyside. But, indeed, Kulusevski must not be placed in the No. 10 role again. The dynamic midfielder has many strengths and was at the heart of Tottenham’s early-season success, but he failed his audition in a deeper, central creative role and it’s evident that Postecoglou must shuffle the pack once again on Sunday.