Tottenham Walking on Tightrope with Loss to Southampton

Tottenham Hotspur had a chance to lock up second place with a win today over Southampton, but after taking a 1-0 lead, Steven Davis would lead the Saints to an upset win at White Hart Lane.

Today’s loss against Southampton marks the culmination of Tottenham’s form in the past couple of months since losing to West Ham United back on March 2nd. In key match-ups where Spurs needed points to close a fluctuating gap in points against Leicester City, Mauricio Pochettino’s side couldn’t get the job done.

In 37 league matches, Tottenham lead the league with the best offense, best defense, best goal difference and the most points dropped from a winning position. With 20 points dropped — seven in the past three games now — it’s apparent that Spurs aren’t there mentally anymore.

There was fight in last Monday’s London derby with Chelsea, than what was shown today against the Saints, but both matches ended in a draw.

When Southampton drew level in the 31st minute after Kyle Walker went down at midfield with an injury, Tottenham’s level and pace, even their desire to win, appeared to be sucked right out of them.

It was uncharacteristic for a team who has prided themselves on being fit for the full 90 minutes and pushing their opponents to their limit since the season started all the way back on August 8th.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 08: Son Heung-Min of Tottenham Hotspur and Danny Rose of Tottenham Hotspur in conversation during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at White Hart Lane on May 8, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

Even though Mauricio Pochettino, the players and supporters won’t like this latest loss — Tottenham’s fifth of the year — there’s nothing to do now except move on and look forward to winning at St James Park when Spurs take on Newcastle United.

What’s done is done and while Tottenham still can claim second place even if Arsenal win against Manchester City today, the final fixture is what could end up being the major difference.

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Newcastle might be relegation candidates this year but they’re not a big mess like Aston Villa is.

And to expect the Lions to somehow beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium would take a miracle to give Spurs their rightful spot as the second best team in the Premier League this year.

Otherwise, Tottenham’s season which is still a success, could be summed up in a couple of different sentences: “Close, but not close enough.”, “Slow start, terrible finish.” and “Too many points dropped.”

There’s plenty of more sentences out there that could describe Spurs’ season now that the campaign is down to their final fixture next week.

But in general, “That’s so Spursy.“, still remains on the tips of everyone’s tongue to describe a missed opportunity — or plenty of them when Tottenham’s expectations included a chance to lift the league title.

Games like today against Southampton, mean that Tottenham are walking on a tightrope to finish in second place. Regardless of the outcome between Manchester City versus Arsenal, it’s up to Tottenham to get the job done against Newcastle.

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Another loss to the Magpies could set some doubt in the players’ minds.

There’s no doubt that Tottenham will be title contenders next season and in the League and FA Cups — the Champions League is hard to decipher — but if this season has shown everyone something, it’s this. Spurs might not be able to get over the hump when they lose or draw games they’re currently winning.

Winning every game is hard, losing only five games is difficult, but dropping points is what has hurt Tottenham and that can’t happen again if they want to win some trophies. Especially the Premier League title.