After a result like Tottenham’s 2-0 Premier League defeat by Chelsea it is commonplace to turn the focus on the manager and, goodness knows, Antonio Conte had offered the ammunition. There was a new 4-4-2 starting system from the Spurs manager, featuring full-backs in front of full-backs and not much creativity in central midfield.
The messages appeared everywhere. There was no Sergio Reguilón, despite the overload of full-backs – or Emerson Royal, for that matter. They would kick their heels on the bench. But at least they were inside the stadium, which is more than could be said of Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli.
