Tottenham: Comeback too far poses serious questions for Ange Postecoglou and Spurs

Tottenham’s inconsistent form continued as they were beaten 2-1 by Ipswich in north London.

Goals from Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap put the visitors 2-0 up at the interval before Spurs rallied after the break, Rodrigo Bentancur halving the deficit with 20 minutes remaining.

But Ange Postecoglou’s side could not find an equaliser, leaving them firmly entrenched in mid-table going into the international break.

Here are three Spurs talking points from the match…

A comeback too many

For any Tottenham supporter, there was a frustratingly familiar pattern to this game.

Spurs were ponderous and predictable in the first half as they attacked the Paxton Road end, and went in at the break trailing 2-0 to a well-drilled opponent.

Predictably, Postecoglou’s side improve after the interval in front of their single-tier South Stand, and scored the only goal of the second half without completing a trademark comeback.

Szmodics’ well-taken overhead kick to open the scoring made it 13 times under Postecoglou that Spurs have fallen behind at home in the League in 2024 - one short of a Premier League record for a calendar year, jointly held by themselves (in 1994), Ipswich and Crystal Palace.

To their credit, Spurs have come from behind to win eight of those games, including last weekend’s 4-1 thrashing of Aston Villa, when they trailed at the interval but were outstanding in a second-half blitz.

This, though, proved a game too far for a jaded-looking Spurs and the game felt similar to the 2-1 home defeat to Wolves back in February, which directly followed comeback wins over Brentford and Brighton.

Making a habit of recovering from deficits is obviously useful, but constantly having to recover from behind is emotionally and physically exhausting, and not a sustainable approach indefinitely.

If Spurs want to be considered a serious team, they need to learn to start games better and not constantly leave themselves with an uphill battle.

Perhaps if they had not conceded a second goal before the interval or if Dominic Solanke’s disallowed effort at the start of the second half had stood, Spurs would have had enough to recover and eventually overwhelm the visitors.

But another comeback win might only have papered over the cracks in Postecoglou’s side, who looked predictable going forward and error-prone at the back.

For the third time this autumn, the head coach will be left to stew on a big defeat over an international break, and his side’s costly habit of conceding first will surely be at the front of Postecoglou’s mind.

Spurs struggling for consistency

The upshot is that Postecoglou’s Spurs continue to lurch from one extreme to another, following up last week’s wins over Manchester City and Aston Villa with back-to-back defeats to Galatasaray and Ipswich.

Every time they seem to have turned a corner or earned a landmark result, they hit new depths, and after 11 League games they have lost five and won five, underlining their inconsistency.

While Spurs can be brilliant in bursts, they remain wide open at the back and often ponderous on the ball, while there are increasingly too many players in Postecoglou’s squad for whom the jury remains out.

It was difficult to put a finger on why they were so passive against the Tractor Boys but they looked exhausted, and you wonder if the Thursday-Sunday schedule is proving too much for some of the squad, many of whom played just 41 games last season.

Given this is the second time in recent weeks that Spurs have failed to turn up against a previously-winless team, perhaps complacency was a factor, too.

Whatever the case, they are one of the top-flight’s least predictable teams, capable of the sublime and ridiculous from match to match or even half to half.

Maddison’s position increasingly feels uncertain

With Spurs desperately needing a goal at 2-0 down, Pape Matar Sarr was forced off after 66 minutes with a knock.

Sarr is currently keeping James Maddison out of the team but rather than turning to the England playmaker as a replacement, Postecoglou sent on Timo Werner.

It was not until the 83rd minute that Postecoglou finally turned to Maddison, leaving him with just seven minutes plus stoppages to make an impact - roughly the same amount of time as he had against Villa last weekend.

Given Spurs were short of a spark, it felt strange that Postecoglou did not look to introduce Maddison sooner and presumably the 27-year-old will have been frustrated.

Things can change quickly and the full picture of Maddison's situation is perhaps more complicated than it appears, but he is undoubtedly in a tough moment at Spurs right now.