Ange Postecoglou was incensed after Tottenham Hotspur were defeated by Newcastle United down N17. It marks the fifth defeat from seven matches in the Premier League and condemns Spurs to a continued place at the bottom end of the table.
Context is key, for Tottenham are dealing with a shocking injury crisis that has effectively precluded any kind of consistency, but it’s still frustrating to watch capable players make blunders with deflating regularity.
While he’s been dealt a terrible hand, Postecoglou has been at fault for some of his tactical decisions, certainly not getting it right when opting to start Timo Werner on the left flank.
The German international was truly terrible. Again.
Timo Werner's performance vs Newcastle
Last summer, Werner was called back for a second loan spell in north London. Postecoglou wanted some added depth and enjoyed the 28-year-old’s pace last season, albeit not his finishing.
Heung-min Son was dropped against Newcastle after struggling against Wolves before the new year. He’s still a fantastic player but the South Korean skipper is 32 and lacks his one-time athleticism.
Werner flattered to deceive in his stead, only lasting an hour before being dragged back into the sidelines in place of his captain, who at least added some impetus with a completed dribble, a key pass and a 75% success rate in the duel, as per Sofascore.
It’s proof that Werner isn’t good enough, especially if you were to look at his performance through the lens of comparison, with Newcastle’s left flanker Anthony Gordon putting in a vastly superior showing.
Minutes played
62′
78′
Goals
0
1
Assists
0
0
Touches
22
48
Shots (on target)
0 (0)
5 (2)
Pass accuracy
10/12 (83%)
20/24 (83%)
Key passes
0
2
Dribbles (completed)
1 (0)
2 (0)
Duels (won)
4 (2)
9 (2)
As you can see, Werner’s opposite number outstripped him, not only chalking his name onto the scoresheet but taking plenty of touches and threading a couple of passes through to surging teammates.
Most importantly, he peppered the Tottenham goal throughout, showing Spurs that they missed out when signing Richarlison ahead of the England international in 2022.
Werner will hang his head and expect a return to the bench after this howler. He wasn’t, however, the most culpable Spurs star on the afternoon – not with Radu Dragusin continuing to knock his chances of a long-term future at the club into oblivion.
Ange must brutally sell Radu Dragusin
We’re almost exactly one year on from Tottenham’s standout signing of the 2023/24 January transfer window. He joined from Genoa in a deal worth £27m but has failed to break away from a bit-part role.
As Sofascore records: Dragusin completed a rather woeful 53% of his passes, taking 17 touches (fewer than the anonymous Werner) and failing with one lonely contested duel.
It’s no surprise that London World branded the Romanian with a 3/10 match rating, lambasting him for being incapable of defending. That, to be sure, is a rather important part of being a centre-back.
It is worth noting that Dragusin and Gray were among the Tottenham players to have caught a sickness bug in the build-up to the fixture, as Ange confirmed post-match, but it was more of the same from the natural centre-half and he was still overshadowed by his younger partner.
It’s a fair point that questions must be asked of Tottenham’s tactical team, for Dragusin is not showing the kind of technical game required for lasting success within Postecoglou’s system, and has instead fallen by the wayside and languished as an inferior part alongside an 18-year-old midfielder moonlighting as a defender.
As per FBref, Dragusin actually ranks among the bottom 24% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes (2.60) per 90 and only the top 50% for pass completion.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy may well be inclined to urge Postecoglou to cut the club’s losses and make the Romania international expendable, which is a pretty damning thing given that Spurs’ other centre-backs all lie injured.
From being sent off after seven minutes in the Europa League during Tottenham’s away victory over Qarabag to making a spate of errors during a run in the starting line-up, courtesy of various other injuries, it’s been a testing campaign.
And let’s just forget about his ball-playing foibles, why don’t we? Sofascore have logged that the 22-year-old has been the author of four separate errors in the Premier League this term, his purportedly steely defensive qualities deserting him at an outfit crying out for some authority.
We will go out on a limb and surmise that Postecoglou will not be starting his young defender when Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies make their anticipated returns at the end of January.
He’s young and has a platform for growth, but it’s unlikely that many Lilywhites supporters would bemoan the decision to cut him loose given his abject performances in white this season.
With a transfer value of around £21m, as per Transfermarkt, Dragusin’s stock might have taken a knock during his disastrous run at Tottenham, but he’s still got talent and many years of football ahead of him.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Some might say that that is a fact to direct toward persistence, keeping him on the books and investing further in his potential, but Postecoglou might view things differently, with Dragusin lacking the nous and wherewithal to prosper in his system.
Spurs target £30m+ Udogie upgrade with "an engine unmatched by anyone else"
The talented youngster could help make Spurs far more effective in defence and attack.
ByJack Salveson HolmesJan 3, 2025
