It is too soon for Tottenham Hotspur fans to panic over the season

After consecutive losses by 3 goals and with a dismal xG, it may feel like the sky is falling, however, it is far too soon for Tottenham Hotspur fans to panic.

Maybe nine points out of a possible 15 are masking all the problems Tottenham Hotspur has. Just as likely, the glut of injuries and absences has left the team thinner than it should be and struggling to stay afloat. Although some of the problems for Tottenham are quite real, it is far too early to panic and give up on the season, just five matches into the Premier League campaign.

Tottenham issues are real problems

There is no doubt that the overall depth of the Spurs is problematic as are the injuries making the lack of depth quite obvious. While a long-awaited rebuild is well and truly underway from this summer, there are still a lot of holes in this team and several areas where the squad simply is not good enough or deep enough to compete across 50 matches and four competitions.

The lack of a senior-level backup for Harry Kane is borderline criminal given Kane’s history of issues and the fact he could be leaving as soon as January. It is understandable that finding a top-tier player to compete with Kane is difficult, however, finding a serviceable striker who can play in the Premier League is not the impossible task the club has made it out to be.

Besides, striker, there is clearly a lack of depth and talent in the attacking positions, with few playmakers in the team and only three real senior wingers in the group. Add in the lack of depth at left fullback and the imbalance in the midfield and this team truly has its issues but there is still enough talent – when healthy – to compete.

As has been made clear over the last 10 days, if players are out and the team gets tired, there simply is not enough cover to hang with top sides. All this said it is not time to throw in the towel as a fan.

Tottenham have had a tough start to the season

The reality is injuries and then self-inflicted wounds from players on and off the pitch have left the team scrambling for cover. With Son injured there is no cover for Kane whatsoever and worse, there was never cover for Son to begin with.

Add in injuries to Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn, which leaves Tottenham without ANY of the three starting forwards from their opening weekend win over Manchester City. Teams have depth but not that much depth.

Chelsea is able to overcome not having Christian Pulisic good enough but take away Kai Havertz, and Mason Mount at the same time, and suddenly even the European Champions are not as deep as you would think. The point is when you lose three players at one position, it is hard for even deep teams to cover.

Worse, the wing has not been the only position to lose three players. If you look at the center-half position, the three best players at this position on the team have all missed time and it has been simultaneous. Eric Dier, Cristian Romero, and Davinson Sanchez all being unavailable for a game was not something that was originally planned for this season. One injury is one thing, even two injuries, but three players from one position will almost always leave the team short.

This is not an excuse for Nuno

While head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has clearly made some tactical mistakes, like his set up against Palace and his inability to respond against Chelsea, so he is not without fault. However, the situation at N17 is currently messy and will remain that way as long as several starters are out.

Even once everyone is back, the team still needs time to gel. Harry Kane was absent for much of the preseason and several other players have had limited time with the coach and system.

The bottom line is that things are going to take time for Tottenham to get it right and without their best players it will be almost impossible to do so. The good news is that players will get healthy and return and we will finally see what this team is all about.

Of course, trying to keep goodwill and positivity is one thing following two straight defeats, lose to Arsenal 3-0 this coming weekend and likely all bets are off. While it is too early to panic or freak out, there is a fine line between playing it cool and being a fool. The next week will tell us how close we are as Spurs fans.