Tottenham were hammered by Newcastle United today at St James’ Park as everything went wrong.
Ange Postecoglou looked on and saw his Spurs side deliver a disaster class defensively as Newcastle pounced on every error from the away side.
Alexander Isak netted twice while Anthony Gordon and Fabian Schar both got in on the act to complete a memorable day at the office for the Magpies.
Of course, for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou, it was an absolute nightmare performance.
Defensively, Tottenham were all over the place as Micky van de Ven had a nightmare.
While in attack, there was little on offer as well, as the likes of Heung-Min Son and James Maddison disappointed.
For Postecoglou, it was a case of trying to stem the tide best he could.
However, the Spurs manager didn’t pull the trigger at half-time when it came to substitutes and commenting on that matter for BBC Sport, pundit Pat Nevin admitted he was amazed the Spurs boss didn’t act sooner.
Pundit shocked at Ange Postecoglou decision at Newcastle today
In the end, Postecoglou was forced to make one change just minutes after half-time as Pedro Porro went down injured and was replaced by Emerson Royal.
However, Ange then waited until the 57th minute, and after the third goal had gone in, to make a triple change.
And commenting on the issue, Nevin admitted he thinks Postecoglou got it wrong in waiting so long.
“I am amazed Ange Postecoglou didn’t do it [make substitutes] at half-time. He has left it till they are three down and it’s probably too late now. I think Tottenham fans are in a state of shock.
“Tottenham haven’t played well and have not battled. We will see if these changes make a difference,” Nevin said.
Tottenham frailties on show for all to see
There’s been games like this all season.
We’ve seen how Tottenham can come back from being down in games but against the top sides like Newcastle and others, it’s easier said than done.
Today, Tottenham were simply well off the pace and the defensive issues on display were pretty alarming in all honesty.
Why Postecoglou decided to wait until the third goal had gone in, only he knows. But Nevin is right here in that the subs could have come earlier.
Ultimately, the game got away from Tottenham here and it’s another harsh lesson learned for Spurs.