Tottenham are currently 14th in the Premier League. They have five games to play. A top-half finish, which seemed like a minimum requirement at the start of the season, is now genuinely uncertain. This is not just a bad run. It is a season-wide problem that nobody at the club appears to have a solution for.
Ange Postecoglou is still in the job. Whether he should be is a conversation that has been running since January and is not going away before the summer.
What has gone wrong
The squad has been available for most of the season, which removes injuries as an excuse. The defending has been poor enough to be a recurring problem rather than a temporary one. Spurs have conceded goals in ways that suggest structural issues — the same spaces opened up against different opponents, the same defensive mistakes recycled through the year.
Postecoglou's approach requires a level of control and organisation that Tottenham have rarely managed to sustain. When it works, it produces good football. When it breaks down under pressure, the team tends to fall apart rather than adapt. And this year, it has broken down more often than it has held together.
Son Heung-min and the contract question
Son is out of contract in the summer. He is 32. There has been no public confirmation of an extension. The most decorated player in Tottenham's modern era may leave on a free, which is a strange way for this era to end if it happens — and it looks increasingly like it will.
Several clubs in MLS and in Asia have been linked. There has also been reported interest from a couple of European sides. Whether Son wants to stay at Spurs in what could be a transitional season is the question Tottenham have not yet answered publicly.
The summer rebuild question
The board has backed Postecoglou in words. Whether that backing translates to signings that address the defensive problems this summer will tell you more about where the manager actually stands than any public statement will.
Spurs need defensive reinforcement badly. They also need to decide what they want from this team before they spend any money on it. Spending heavily into an unclear structure at this club has not worked particularly well in the recent past. Doing it again would require a lot of faith.
Five games left. The most they can finish is 10th. For a club with Tottenham's ambitions and resources, this season has been a significant step backwards. The real question is whether it will be treated as one.
Club context: Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, currently 14th | 5 games remaining | Manager: Ange Postecoglou (under pressure) | Son Heung-min: contract expires June 2026, future unconfirmed | Season record (PL): W9 D8 L17 | Goals conceded: 63 in 33 games. Source: Sky Sports, BBC Sport.
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