Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night ended their three-match winning streak and sparked a storm of criticism aimed at manager Ange Postecoglou. The match saw City take an early lead through Erling Haaland, and despite Tottenham’s second-half pressure, they couldn’t find an equaliser.
Fans Criticize Postecoglou’s Decision to Bench Djed Spence
The major talking point among Tottenham fans was Postecoglou’s decision to leave out Djed Spence, who had been one of the club’s best performers in recent weeks. Instead, Postecoglou opted to start Pedro Porro at right-back, a decision that backfired as Porro struggled to cope with City’s Jeremy Doku.
The decision raised eyebrows among fans, many of whom felt that Spence would have been the better choice to deal with Doku’s pace and skill. On Reddit, fans expressed their frustration with comments like:
- “Ange really watched Doku torment Trent on the weekend and said ‘yeah let’s bench our best full-back against him,'” wrote user coldseam.
- “Ange has really [swear word beginning with ‘f’] this one,” added Rowario11.
- “I understand wanting to give Djed a rest, but playing Porro against Doku is a total nightmare,” said Goalnado.
Fans Feel Postecoglou Missed an Opportunity to Shift Momentum
Tottenham fans also criticized Postecoglou’s decision to rotate the squad against the reigning champions, especially considering the team had a break coming up. Some felt that the decision to start Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski on the bench further weakened the team’s chances.
“It’s really getting the sense that Ange doesn’t understand the concept of momentum shifts within a match and how to influence them,” said user Minimum_Apricot_9658.
Many fans also expressed sympathy for Pedro Porro, who was given a tough time by Doku. “Pedro is gonna have nightmares about this match for a while,” said kjl8921.
Spence’s Absence Remains a Point of Controversy
Fans remained convinced that Djed Spence would have been a more effective choice for the right-back position. “All of us can tell Spence would have dealt better with Doku. Don’t really get the decision to start Porro with a good bit of rest coming up,” said lordymosh.
As the backlash against Postecoglou’s decision continues, it remains to be seen how the manager will adjust his team selections in future matches to keep Tottenham’s momentum going.
