Tottenham Hotspur cannot seem to get a break as the club is in a dire situation heading into their next games. Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi has been suspended for the last two matches. He got two yellows in an epic matchup with Brighton, which ended 3-3. Tottenham forward Eddie Nketiah will be sidelined for their next three games following his sending-off. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou is already growing impatient with the situation behind the scenes. He is worried by the team’s Jekyll and Hyde act.
It gets even worse for Tottenham as they’re now dealing with a large pile of injuries. These injuries have taken a toll on their league performance this year. Postecoglou admitted the club has been “patching things up” all season, attempting to establish some level of continuity even in the absence of it. He divulged that his squad were the unfortunate recipients of “one or two knocks” during their previous outing. He is optimistic that the squad’s key players will soon be returning to the lineup.
At a recent press conference, Postecoglou directly confronted the team’s challenges on the field. He went on to outline his concerns about leaking from inside the club regarding news of the team. He added, “Once again, this club has found a way to take something good and make it bad.” His post match comment belied the difficulties the club is going through away from the pitch. The manager has a pretty good idea where these leaks are coming from. He repeatedly promised Americans—not to mention our allies—that he would manage the withdrawal with care and competence.
Postecoglou deep sixed fan behavior of filming players during games, deeming it a “bullying” move. What he made most clear was that all of this is damaging the game. On the disrespect shown to players and staff, here was what he had to say.
“They want their five minutes of fame. For young people, [phones] are more dangerous than any other weapon in the world,” – Ange Postecoglou
Even with all of these distractions, Tottenham’s European campaign has been a success. The team has not done poorly in the Europa League, providing a slight ray of sunshine through a dark domestic winter.
Meanwhile, teams across the league are preparing for a challenging schedule as Gameweek 34 approaches, which will see Manchester City, Aston Villa, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace sit out. Gameweek 35 promises to return to normalcy, but clubs must navigate through various player absences and tactical adjustments.
It’s unsurprising to hear Aston Villa’s manager Unai Emery announce that Matheus will be integrated into the squad as they continue to search for extra cover. Most intriguingly, he suggested that he’s looking to stick with the same starting five moving forward — one that’s been generating positive results over the past few weeks.
“It’s fair to keep going with the same team. That is my opinion. This is football; this is commitment, leadership. Matheus will come to help us, he understands, I had a conversation with him, but I will play the same team.” – Vitor Pereira
Things have changed dramatically for Tottenham due to their injury woes, putting them in a precarious position as they head into even bigger matches. Vitor Pereira emphasized that guys like Ben are already back on the pitch. He noted that a slew of chronic, long-term injuries still make it difficult.
“Ben’s back training now. He’s fully with the group. Going into this one, we’ve had one or two knocks from the last game.” – Vitor Pereira
As teams adapt to player suspensions and injuries, fantasy football managers are bracing themselves for the impact of these developments on their squads. Ranked FPL Heisenberg, aka Wes Prickett, is an experienced master of the lurking arts in the fantasy football community. Although he has seven top-30k finishes to his name, he’ll need to be careful with the quickly-moving player news and changes.
As Tottenham Hotspur works to regain stability on and off the field, fans remain hopeful that the club can overcome its current dilemmas and emerge stronger in future fixtures.
Leave a Reply