- Despite playing a neutral and friendly style, the Spurs are on a downward trend lately
- Ange Postecoglou has remained committed to his style of football at all times.
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Tottenham is such a torn club that the atmosphere risks becoming toxic if their next three games (all at home and starting with tomorrow's visit of Wolves) continue the downward trend they are on.
You can feel the division in the fan base, some dialing phones on the radio to point the finger at Ange Postecoglou, others calling for Daniel Levy's head, a dwindling number saying they are satisfied with the 100mph football being played. sample.
It's no use being seen as the Premier League's big cheerleaders if your play doesn't produce results and, at the moment, the fact is that Tottenham are closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
Spurs are determined to press high with a back four that is stationed on the halfway line to condense space.
They had 71 per cent possession at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day and yet Postecoglou's attacking plan was thwarted by Nuno Espirito Santo's more astute strategy as a single counter-attack inflicted Spurs' ninth defeat of the campaign in the Premier League.
Now it is Vitor Pereira's Wolves who come to the city. They no longer look like a softy after back-to-back wins over Leicester and Manchester United, but Tottenham could do with a convincing win to appease their fans.
Pressure is building on Ange Postecoglou after Tottenham suffered a poor run of recent results.
The Australian has refused to adapt his 100mph style of football despite suffering another defeat on Boxing Day.
I respect Postecoglou for trying to change the club's culture, and in some ways it's admirable that he's so optimistic in backing his high-energy philosophy.
I remember when Arsene Wenger first came to Arsenal with an “attack, attack, attack” approach. As an advocate, I was like, “Wait, let's show some restraint and strike a balance here.”
We even had an emergency meeting about it at the beginning of 1997-98, the season in which we were crowned champions.
But Tottenham appear to be a world away from achieving that balance now. Postecoglou should get more out of the group he has. Tottenham's front line looks good enough to get better results.
Dominic Solanke, Heung-min Son, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson carry that attacking threat. But as a team, they haven't been reading the game well enough to know when to retreat to deal with balls behind.
All it takes to beat the offside trap is for the opponent to make a smart run from deep, like Dominik Szoboszlai did for Liverpool before Christmas.
I sympathize with their injury problems, especially with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, both sidelined with muscle problems.
I'm sure it's a consequence of the crazy way Postecoglou asks his central defenders to maintain a false high line, as they are constantly forced to turn on their heels and run to sweep away danger.
Arsene Wenger found himself in a similar situation when he first took charge of Arsenal.
But with several defensive stars absent, Postecoglou appears to be a long way from finding the necessary balance.
He needs to show he can adapt in the coming weeks with his future at the club potentially on the line.
A study of Tottenham's team and that of their latest opponents, Forest, would suggest that Spurs are better equipped on paper to finish in the top four.
In fact, in the preseason I predicted the Spurs would finish fourth this year.
Ahead of this big game against Wolves, former Tottenham players turned pundits are putting pressure on Postecoglou, saying he should leave. You have been very determined with your particular set of beliefs up to this point.
But he needs to be brave and make adjustments to his philosophy and overall team style for the sake of short-term survival before returning to his long-term vision once he emerges from this turbulent period.