It was another example of how conspiracies against Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham continue to emerge. At least that’s how the coach wanted to put it after the 3-4 home defeat against Chelsea on Sunday. Things were looking good at 2-0, but these are Spurs, where stability has proven elusive and where problems can arise at any time. Often in the best of times.

So it happened that Cristian Romero left the game in the 15th minute with a thigh injury. The influential centre-back had passed a fitness test after missing the last four games with a toe problem, and of course he couldn’t help but feel the new setback after a very risky back-heel move in his own penalty area after eight minutes.

Romero tried to move on but suffered defeat and shortly after his departure Spurs tried to reorganize with his replacement Radu Dragusin on the field, conceding Jadon Sancho 2-1. Spurs had looked open before Sancho’s goal and that became even more evident in the second half. But no one knows how things would have turned out if Romero hadn’t gone down.

Postecoglou had other problems with things beyond his control. In his opinion, Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo should have been sent off in the 34th minute for a blow to Pape Sarr’s shin. It was still 2-1 and that might have given the game a different look.

The manager was thoughtful, sombre and even a little resigned about the state of things. Spurs, who are 11th in the table, are unable to gain traction or momentum, he said. “Every time it seemed like that, something came and disturbed us.” Take, for example, the 4-0 Premier League win at Manchester City on November 23, the best result in Postecoglou’s season and a half. It turned out that goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had broken his ankle and would be out for three months.

Postecoglou returned to the Romero situation. “These things come and you just say, ‘Let’s go.’ Another challenge for us. “Nothing’s really going right.” The crowd probably senses that too and it almost becomes a self-fulfilling thing where you almost expect something to go wrong.”

The Australian can be irritable after defeats, but not here. He wanted to get involved, to explain. It was almost a roll call. People needed to realize that injuries in certain areas – the central defense, the front three – had resulted in injuries that limited his ability to rotate. A break would be good for the players, but that is not possible. And at such a bad time as the schedule is relentless.

But one line from Postecoglou stood out. It’s not just, as he said, “the way our season has gone so far.” He added: “It went like this last year… since I’ve been here it’s no longer unusual territory.”

When the same things keep happening and the sample size is large, it’s time to look deeper. Postecoglou has previously admitted that his teams will suffer more muscle injuries than what can be described as normal as he competes at full speed in training and games. So what is the solution? Are there more players he can trust?

The other recurring and damaging theme is the lack of resilience and composure in difficult times. There’s a vulnerability on this team that won’t go away. Let’s take a look at the last few months, starting with the 3-2 defeat at Brighton where a 2-0 lead was squandered. That day, Postecoglou complained that there was no fight.

Examining conscience after the 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on October 27, Postecoglou said the team was “struggling in difficult moments” because it “lacked certain maturity and leadership”.

In the next game – at home to City in the Carabao Cup – they led 2-0, but a concession to 2-1 before half-time seemed certain. You could feel the nervousness in the stadium. It happened, the prophecy came true and at this point many Spurs fans feared another 3-2 defeat. To their credit, the team regrouped in the second half to win and signal a turning point. What does that look like now?

After last Thursday’s 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth, Postecoglou spoke of the need to “break the cycle of not showing faith and resilience in crucial moments”. Against Chelsea they didn’t show the necessary faith and stamina in crucial moments, missed chances and conceded penalties to make it 2-2 and 4-2. The mistakes didn’t happen in a vacuum. The Spurs were too easy to play through. Chelsea’s comeback was inevitable.

This is related to the transition that Spurs initiated in the summer of 2023 after finishing eighth. The focus is on bright young signings and these take time; They will make mistakes as they develop. Adding players in their prime (probably for high fees) is not part of the project.

There is also a tactical dimension that speaks for Postecoglou’s commitment to attacking football. If you use masterminds in the full-back positions and require them to push their way up the pitch, and if you rely on a strong number 6, this is likely to result in heavy swearing, back and forth movement and a lack of control.

There’s a lot that’s good about Postecoglou and his approach – the desire to entertain at all costs; to stay true to who he is and his principles, even in the face of a mistake. What do the Spurs want? What do they want to be? An important consideration is certainly having a team that ignites passions and that fans can get behind.

It’s impossible to miss the financial context. According to Deloitte’s latest report, Spurs had the fifth highest wage bill for 2022-23, well behind City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United – in that order. They were just ahead of Arsenal. It’s unlikely the numbers have changed much, meaning the Spurs should finish fifth or sixth by this key metric. Possibly Postecoglou’s biggest problem is that its supporters want more.