Is Postecoglou any closer to ending Tottenham's wait for a trophy - ESPN

LONDON — We are 11 games into the Premier League season, and it is still impossible to gauge the merit of Tottenham Hotspur.

Are they the side that orchestrated a 3-0 dismantling of Manchester United at Old Trafford, a 4-1 triumph over high-flying Aston Villa and knocked Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup? Or are they the unit that contrived to lose 3-2 to Brighton & Hove Albion after being 2-0 up, and gave Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town their first — and so far only — wins of the season?

The simple, if frustrating, answer is that Spurs are both: capable of reaching soaring highs or crushing lows on any given day. And while the underlying numbers suggest that more of the former should be on the horizon, it's this inconsistency that is the biggest threat to manager Ange Postecoglou's unbroken career record of delivering silverware in his second year.

There is probably no better fixture to speak to Spurs' Jekyll and Hyde-like nature than their trip to face Manchester City on Saturday. A fortnight ago, not many would have anticipated that Postecoglou's side would fall to Ipswich at home but, at the same time, few would have been outright aghast at the concept. It just felt like the type of game that Spurs would drop.

Conversely, few will be anticipating that they will take something off Pep Guardiola's men this weekend; but it also wouldn't be completely shocking if they returned to London with all three points. Spurs have become something of a bogey side for City in recent years, and it is well-known that Postecoglou relishes the opportunity to test himself against the best in games such as this.

Given the tight nature of this season's Premier League, Tottenham enter the weekend sitting 10th, just three points back of