This is truly overwhelming in being last.

Tottenham Hotspur lost 0-2 to Fulham in a 'London derby' in round 29 of the 2024-2025 Premier League (PL) at Craven Cottage in London, England, on the 16th at 10:30 p.m. (Korean time). With this, Tottenham has failed to win in three consecutive league matches, continuing their poor performance.

They remain at 34 points (10 wins, 4 draws, 15 losses), allowing Manchester United (37 points) to overtake them and dropped to 14th place. In contrast, Fulham jumped to 8th place with 45 points (12 wins, 9 draws, 8 losses). Head coach Ange Postecoglou rotated key players, including Son Heung-min, for this match.

Tottenham could not avoid another poor performance this time. Throughout the first half, they failed to find a breakthrough and did not create a single shot on target in 45 minutes. The only shot came from a header by Rodrigo Bentancur from a corner kick in the 15th minute of the first half. Instead, they made mistakes in defense, giving Fulham chances.

Head coach Postecoglou pulled out the Son Heung-min card right at the start of the second half. Son immediately made his presence known after being introduced. In the 2nd minute of the second half, he faked out the defense on the right side and then passed, but Bentancur's shot was blocked by the defense. Son also delivered a sharp free kick toward the goal in the 13th minute, but it did not reach a teammate's head.

Fulham broke the deadlock. In the 33rd minute of the second half, Wilson Odobert attempted a risky dribble and lost possession, giving rise to a counterattack. In the ensuing attack, Rodrigo Muniz broke through with a superb one-touch shot, piercing the corner of the goal and scoring the opening goal.

Fulham scored a second goal. In the 43rd minute of the second half, Ben Davies failed to handle a long pass properly, allowing Ryan Sessegnon to rush in and take it away. Sessegnon then fired a right-footed shot that found the back of the net, making it 2-0. In the end, Tottenham was brought to its knees by Sessegnon, whom they had let go last year.

In this match, head coach Postecoglou opted for a significant rotation. It seems he intends to focus all his efforts on the UEFA Europa League (UEL), where there is still a possibility of winning, rather than the demotivated league. Tottenham will meet Bundesliga's 4th place Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Comparing the starting lineup against Fulham with the lineup from the match against AZ Alkmaar on the 14th, a staggering 7 positions were changed. Son Heung-min, Odobert, James Maddison, Lucas Moura, Pape Sarr, Pedro Porro, and Mickey van de Ven were moved to the bench. Tottenham News analyzed that head coach Postecoglou has essentially given up on the league.

The media reported, "Many fans feel that Postecoglou's actions suggest that the players don’t have to pay much attention to the short trip across London. The starting lineup against Fulham is seen as a signal that Tottenham has completely accepted defeat in the PL."

For Son Heung-min, it is not favorable if head coach Postecoglou continues to rotate players in the league. While appropriate conditioning can help, starting from the bench consistently may disrupt his game rhythm. With the team crumbling, it would hardly be pleasant for him to be seated on the bench as captain.

Son Heung-min's remarkable record might also be at risk of being broken. Until last season, he had scored double-digit goals in the PL for 8 consecutive seasons. Even in the 2022-2023 season, where he struggled with sports hernia and orbital fractures, he scored 10 goals. However, he has remained at 7 goals in the league this season. With 9 matches left and continuing to come on in the second half, it will not be easy to add 3 more goals.

Above all, completely abandoning the league strategy could be poisonous. If defeats continue and fan dissatisfaction reaches a peak, the team atmosphere will inevitably deteriorate. A slip-up could naturally have a negative impact on the UEL tournament, where elimination occurs with just one mistake.

Tottenham News also pointed out, "While we understand Postecoglou's complete focus on the UEL, there needs to be some recovery of form in the PL as well. While the UEL might be the best option, if Tottenham continues to lose in the league, morale will drop and they will lose motivation. Therefore, significant changes should not be made until the end of the season."

Meanwhile, head coach Postecoglou clashed with fans once again after the match. He reacted harshly to fans who booed him, and in a post-match interview, he targeted critics of him again. He noted, "Those who criticize me fall into two categories: either they are armchair commentators or keyboard warriors."

He continued, "For some reason, they seem to enjoy the process of criticizing certain individuals. But those people have no impact on me. I don’t care." He added, "Honestly, I think I get criticized more because of my nationality (Australian). Some deny it, but it is clearly the reality."

With the shield of nationality, coach Postecoglou emphasized, "If someone has worked in a profession for over 30 years, they are already considered a veteran. Especially when doing a job that only the top 1% of the industry can do (Tottenham manager), respect is due. I am the one who made last season's 8th place team into a 5th place team."

Some argue that one reason Tottenham does not dismiss head coach Postecoglou is due to understanding the performance decline caused by 'injuries.' This is a rather questionable statement. Tottenham struggled with injuries in the second half of 2024, but the situation has worsened in 2025, even with the return of injured players led by Son Heung-min.

In 2025, Tottenham managed to earn only 10 points in league matches. This places them at 17th in the league overall. Only the relegation zone teams Leicester City (3 points), Southampton (3 points), and Ipswich (2 points) have earned fewer points than Tottenham. In the process, Tottenham also lost to Leicester.

In short, regardless of injuries, Postecoglou's regime is among the weakest in the league overall. Nonetheless, due to the Tottenham management's unconditional support for the coach under the pretense of injuries, the traditional prestigious club is at risk of collapsing.

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