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Explained: Two people to blame for the ‘negative atmosphere’ at Tottenham

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Mauricio Pochettino’s problems at Tottenham have been laid bare by Gary Jacob of The Times who says a ‘negative atmosphere’ is to blame for Spurs’ woeful form this season.

Pochettino believes a mid-season exodus of players could be the answer, but it could actually make matters worse if adequate replacements aren’t brought in. Nevertheless, drastic change is needed as Spurs’ season is on the brink of collapse.

How bad is the damage?

Pretty bad after just two months. Tottenham are currently ninth in the Premier League with 11 points from eight games. They’re 13 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, have already been eliminated from the EFL Cup and have just one point from two Champions League group games this season.

Spurs’ away form has been a problem too. Since January’s 2-1 win at Fulham, the Lilywhites have picked up just two wins on the road in all competitions (17 games, two wins, three draws, 12 defeats). Since the last international break, Tottenham have won one of their last six, losing four.

In October alone, they’ve lost 7-2 to Bayern Munich and 3-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion. The FA Cup is arguably the only attainable trophy left for Spurs, so they couldn’t be doing any worse this season.

Who’s to blame for Tottenham’s poor form?

The Times says Serge Aurier, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Victor Wanyana and Christian Eriksen are on a list of unwanted players as they’ve contributed to the ‘negative atmosphere’, but the blame must be shared between Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino.

Levy failed to sell every player that was on the transfer list this summer while Pochettino has inexplicably thrown former outcasts back into the starting eleven – Rose, Aurier and Wanyama.

The squad has been half-filled with players still angling for a move, so it’s hardly a surprise results haven’t gone their way this season.

Will five first-team players really leave Tottenham in one transfer window?

Probably not. It’s hard to see a turnover of 10 players in 30 days given Levy’s history of tough negotiating. Tottenham may want Aurier, Rose, Dier, Wanyama and Eriksen gone in January, but they may have to focus on which players are more important.

Eriksen is the only player out of contract next summer, so resolving his future is vital. He wanted a move to Real Madrid but doesn’t have an obvious destination lined up anymore. Tottenham don’t want to lose him for nothing, so they need to find a suitor in January willing to pay or offer a player in exchange.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.