Anna Howells, content creator for Spurs XY and long-suffering Tottenham fan, bristles at the term ‘Spursy’ being used about her team – but admits it is an apt description.
“Yes, not a fun word but an accurate one,” she tells BBC Sport. “We have been incredibly inconsistent. Somehow both really good and really bad.”
‘Spursy’ has become shorthand to describe Tottenham’s wildly inconsistent form, an ability to snatch draws or defeats from the jaws of victory, and put their supporters through the wringer.
Last week was one of the most Spursy of all – a thumping 4-0 victory at champions Manchester City, followed by conceding a last-gasp equaliser against Roma, and culminating in a deeply frustrating 1-1 draw at home to mid-table Fulham.
All that came amid worries about injuries and fitness of key players, the quality of their replacements, and an ongoing existential crisis about balancing the innate Tottenham identity of attacking football with being able to see out tricky games.
The debate between idealism and pragmatism is one on which fans differ.
“Following Spurs this season has been a tonne of fun – that was the narrative in the WhatsApp groups after Roma,” Chris Paouros, co-chair of Proud Lilywhites, tells BBC Sport.
“We’ve spent a lot of time saying we want our Tottenham back. We have it back. This type of football is our identity.”Ange Postecoglou is the man – his football is irresistible. We are the league’s entertainers. I’m happy with that.”
‘Angeball is risk and reward’
That insistence on entertainment shows in the stats. Spurs are the Premier League’s top scorers, with 28 goals from 13 games – yet they sit seventh in the table, with six wins and five defeats.
The Roma match was Postecoglou’s Spurs in a nutshell – taking 24 shots to Roma’s 18, putting together some brilliant attacking play but unable to see out the win as Mats Hummels equalised in injury time for a 2-2 draw.
Following the thrashing of City with a draw against mid-table opponents Fulham, who played the final 15 minutes with 10 men after Tom Cairney’s red card, is also typical. No wonder some supporters are irritated.
“Frustrating mainly,” Alison Speechly, Spurs fan writer for BBC Sport, said when asked to sum up the fan experience this season. “We keep getting glimpses of greatness.
“Angeball is risk and reward, and we are seeing that – rewards at times, but also risk of performances like against Ipswich and Crystal Palace [sides in the bottom four who have beaten Spurs this season].
“In football you can plan, but you also need to react. Sometimes your plan might not always work, and you need to be able to adapt. There has to be some flex in there. They say to the media: ‘We take every game seriously.’ But do you?”
Her frustration comes from Postecoglou’s commitment to attacking football at all times. Goals are usually not difficult to come by – in all competitions, they have 14 different scorers this season, Brennan Johnson the leader with 10.
A star-studded forward line includes several players – including Johnson, Son Heung-min, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski – capable of playing in multiple attacking roles.
It can be greatly entertaining, but also explains why Spurs have strung together three successive wins in all competitions just once in 2024.
‘It’s in our DNA to be forward thinking’
“It has been frustrating,” says Howells. “The highs are really good. When things click, we are unstoppable like against City.
“Equally, when it’s bad, it’s schoolboy errors, unable to pass to each other. I would trade highs for consistency, a middle ground.
“Against Roma, we should have seen out the 2-1 but we didn’t come out for the second half. We need to be fully switched on. But it’s in our DNA to be forward thinking.”
There are concerns among supporters that there is a psychological issue among Tottenham players, for them to be so impressive against the reigning champions only to fail to win their following two games. Spurs have not won back-to-back league games since the end of September.
“The shift in mentality has to happen among players,” says Paouros. “You feel like you are entitled to win against Brighton and Ipswich, but no-one is entitled to anything. No-one wins every match.”
Speechly, however, thinks the issue lies with the coach.
“I’ve been battling with thoughts on Ange. When he came in, I was fully on board and he had an amazing start. This season I have become frustrated with his stubbornness.
“But there is no point being frustrated with his tactical approach, as he has made clear that is how he will play, that is wasted energy.”
Ultimately, Spurs fans will hold out hope that Angeball can produce success this season.
Spurs are still in all three cups, and are in touch with the Premier League top four. Postecoglou has spoken about how he always wins a trophy in his second season – fans now must hope that comes true in north London.
“This stuff takes a lot of time, to get used to running and pressing in this way, only playing out from the back,” says Paouros.
“Look at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp had to put everything in place – in the first two seasons they finished outside the top four.”