Jack Pitt Brooke

Spurs concede again from a corner (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

An away performance like so many others

Don’t be fooled by Tottenham’s impressive wins over Manchester City and Manchester United this season. Away games are the exception to the rule.

Postecoglou’s side have lost eight of their last 12 away games in the Premier League. This defeat can be put in the same category as the trip to Crystal Palace in October. It was the same end result and both goals came midway through the first half. And from that point on, Tottenham hardly threatened their opponents anymore.

When Tottenham concede their first goal at home, it seems to shake them up. They react aggressively and storm around. For example, Bryan Mbeumo scored a goal for Brentford in the first minute, but after half an hour Spurs won 2-1. They have beaten Villa and West Ham 4-1 this season after falling behind on their own ground. On her travels it’s a completely different story.

Tottenham’s confidence has been weakened and they appear to be out of ideas. Postecoglou tried all sorts of tricks in the second half this evening. In the last 15 minutes, Son Heung-min slipped into the role of central midfielder. Spurs were then top-heavy but came no closer to a goal, while Bournemouth missed several chances to see the game out. If anything, the end result flatters visitors.

If Tottenham want to seriously challenge for a place in the top four this season, they will need to perform consistently better away from home. Those defeats at Brighton, Palace and now Bournemouth more than negate their five-star performances against the Manchester clubs.

Jay Harris

Solanke is a shadow of his usual self

It was definitely good news that Dominic Solanke has recovered from the illness that kept him out of tonight’s 1-1 draw with Fulham on Sunday. Spurs looked lost without him at the weekend because he is so important to their functioning, both with and without the ball.

But although it was better to have Solanke back, he did not appear to be back in his physically confident condition on his first return to the club he left in the summer. He had the two best chances in Tottenham’s poor first half, but was unable to capitalize on either of them with conviction. And although his work rate was as good as ever and he used his back on every run he made without the ball, he understandably appeared to be below his normal physical level.

This meant that Spurs struggled to put enough pressure on Bournemouth when they had the ball, with Solanke being the man leading the press. And that meant they could barely gain a foothold in the opposition half because it was difficult to keep the ball.

When Solanke gets it right, he makes the entire Tottenham team function. It’s good that he’s playing again, but with the other attackers lacking confidence at the moment, Spurs need to get him back to his best soon.

Jack Pitt Brooke

What’s next for Tottenham?

Sunday December 8th: Chelsea (Home), Premier League, 4:30pm UK, 11:30am ET

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(Top photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)