Tottenham verdict: Spurs start games like they are hungover — but they haven’t been exciting for months
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THIS hangover is not just your regular New Year's Day sore head for Spurs.
It has been lasting for months.
Every time Tottenham play it is like they haven't even got out of bed.
Today, they started slowly and barely got going by a Southampton side who basically out-fought them.
But it is not the first time they have started slowly this season — they have been doing it ever since Jose Mourinho took charge.
The post-Champions League final malaise is starting to look like outright rot and the top four chase is in serious jeopardy.
From the first minute at St Mary's it was the home side that took all the initiative, through the industry of Nathan Redmond, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Danny Ings.
In midfield, Chrisian Eriksen looks ponderous, bizarrely mis-placing passes, while Dele Alli spent too much of the game bickering with opponents and holding his arms out in complaint.
Before scoring a goal that was later disallowed, Harry Kane was completely anonymous and his injury will now be a huge concern for Spurs.
Ryan Sessegnon is a player Mourinho needs to keep playing and developing — and was Spurs' brightest player on the South Coast.
Meanwhile, Serge Aurier was the opposite, vulnerable to being attacked and fluffed opportunities to build-up attacks.
Right-back is clearly an area where Mourinho needs a long-term replacement for Kieran Tripper — because Aurier isn't that man.
They might also want to bring some strong coffee to wake themselves up for tricky away games.
It is also the fourth Premier League match in a row they conceded the first goal.
Against Wolves and Norwich they managed to get back into the games, but against Chelsea and Southampton, there was no such luck.
The writing was on the wall in the Champions League game against Olympiakos, where they went 2-0 down before winning 4-2.
One clean sheet in 11 games under Mourinho tells its own story, but their build-up play — something Pochettino's side was so good at — is ponderous and unimaginative.
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Part of the problem is is that Son Heung-min is suspended, but the movement of the front three has become so static.
Players have stopped changing positions and pulling defenders about as they did under Poch.
Festive fatigue could be an excuse and injuries to Tanguy Ndombele and Kane are going to be a real headache for Mourinho.
