Tottenham Hotspur’s season lurched further into crisis on Sunday as a shambolic defensive display saw them fall to a 4-2 defeat against Wolves, intensifying pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of a pivotal Europa League tie.
While the Australian tactician recently lamented a mole leaking inside information at the club, it’s Spurs’ porous backline that remains his most dangerous saboteur. Individual errors, poor organisation, and a comical own goal from Djed Spence all contributed to a 17th Premier League defeat—Tottenham’s worst tally in two decades.
Wolves struck inside two minutes through Rayan Ait-Nouri before Spence inadvertently bundled in a second. Mathys Tel briefly offered Spurs hope before defensive lapses allowed Jorgen Strand Larsen and Matheus Cunha to seal victory for the hosts, despite a late strike from Richarlison.
Postecoglou, who rested key players including Son Heung-min and Micky van de Ven with Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final second leg at Eintracht Frankfurt in mind, defended his squad post-match: “The goals weren’t lapses or anything… they were individual errors.” But the mistakes were too frequent, and too familiar, for comfort.
Supporters, growing restless, directed their fury not at Postecoglou but at chairman Daniel Levy, chanting for change from the Molineux stands. Yet, for all the vocal unrest, it’s the silence of results that now speaks loudest.
With Spurs sitting 15th and the Europa League their only remaining route to silverware, Thursday’s clash in Germany may determine not only their season but Postecoglou’s Tottenham tenure.
“It’s now or never,” one fan muttered as they filed out. And for Postecoglou, that feels painfully true.
