Are we there yet? Has Tottenham finally reached rock bottom?

After losing four out of five matches in the Premier League and getting knocked out of the FA Cup, it felt like Tottenham had hit rock bottom. However, following an embarrassing defeat in Croatia Thursday night, one has to start wondering just how far Tottenham Hotspur may still fall this season and ask, have the Spurs hit rock bottom yet?

Tottenham Problems are Clear

It was not really that long ago that it seemed like Tottenham Hotspur was exactly where they are right now. Left to sit and wonder what might have been and asking the question all too familiar to Spurs fans, “how did that happen”.

Many times that question is difficult to answer, however, during the latest two-game mini-slide that has likely cost Tottenham any realistic shot at the Champions League the answer is quite clear. Over the last two matches, the issue has not been the talent on the field or the quality of the opponent, as Spurs had more talent on the pitch than both Arsenal and Dinamo.

The issues over the last two games have been one of desire and effort.

Over the course of months, Tottenham had worked to put themselves in a position to achieve something this season, despite a prior tough stretch. If the Spurs had beaten Arsenal they would be playing to draw level with Chelsea for fourth place on Sunday against Aston Villa. If the Spurs had simply scored once or lost by only one goal, they would have gotten a draw for the quarterfinals on Friday.

Those two ifs became busts because, in the two biggest games of the season, Tottenham simply did not show up. During the previous losing streak, it had become clear Tottenham needed to play from the front foot to help a suspect defense. However, against two very different opponents, Tottenham did not play with enough energy or desire to dominate the possession and the match and got beat as a result.

Arsenal has a suspect defense and we let them off the hook

Tottenham completely played into Arsenal’s hands last weekend. Arsenal has bigger issues at center back than Tottenham – David Luiz is not to be trusted – yet the Spurs never tested them. At no point during the match did Tottenham have David Luiz one-on-one in space trying to defend. Nor were they playing a player on his shoulder trying to work in the space over the top.

Instead of pressing and pressuring a suspect defense, Tottenham sat back and got smacked. Arsenal did to Tottenham what Tottenham should have been doing to Arsenal thought-out the match, which is attacking their defense and putting them on their heels. Instead, Spurs were passive and paid the price, which we will hear about for the next year.

Tottenham went full Spursy against Dinamo

We know the story of Thursday evening in Croatia. Tottenham played okay in the first-half but did nothing with a lot of possession giving the Croatians a world of hope. Then in the second half, as the team sat back neither pressuring the ball nor possessing it to any extent, Dinamo Zagreb, slowly grabbed the game and let the Lilywhites hang themselves with their own noose.

The fact Tottenham has failed to develop any real two-striker play all season meant that throwing Carlos Vinicius on late was never going to work. The inability to adapt in the midfield and make changes that impact the match, as opposed to being prescribed prior to it is quite obvious. For all of Harry Winks‘ shortcomings as a midfielder, the effort for the shirt is not one of them, yet off came Winks as Sissoko let in two more goals with minimal effort.

While it is easy to pick on Sissoko, he was far from alone in not giving 110% for the coach or the club. As a fan that is really the toughest part of accept. It is one thing to lose to a team when you are giving 100% and total effort. It is another thing to lose to a team when you know your team did not leave it all on the pitch.

In neither of the last two games has Tottenham Hotspur left it all on the pitch. Regardless of what the players think of the coach or what is going on inside the club, we as fans deserve more. At a minimum, fans deserve real effort from the players. If Harry Kane can’t run for 90 minutes play Scarlett or Vinicius. If Sissoko will not run, play Jamie Bowen. If Aurier is not fit, play Tanganga.

At this point, I would rather see youth players running hard, trying, and losing, than seeing professionals lose by not trying hard. Ultimately that is the most damning point, the two biggest matches of the season, and it is like the team did not even try.

Thus, while the answer to the first question is really simple, what happened is Tottenham did not show up. However, that then spurs a new question, why, which at this point is simply inexplicable.