The battle of the Premier League’s two most tactically-stubborn managers had a resounding winner and left the loser facing increasing unhappiness from his own fans.
Much has been made this season of how Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou and Southampton’s Russell Martin are overly wedded to their principles and reluctant to change approach, even when results are going against them.
On Sunday, Postecoglou reaped the rewards of his attacking outlook, while Martin’s failure to opt for pragmatism meant he endured one of his worst days as Southampton manager.
Neither side entered this game full of confidence, but Tottenham blew the home team away in a blistering first half in which they scored five times and led 3-0 after just 14 minutes.
James Maddison set the tone inside the first minute, Son Heung-min doubled the lead after 12 minutes, Dejan Kulusevki added a third two minutes later, Pape Matar Sarr scored a fourth and Maddison got his second on the stroke of half-time.
To Southampton’s credit, they did not capitulate in the second half and managed to keep the score to 5-0, but the damage had long since been done and the implications could be significant for Martin and his side’s season.
Jay Harris and John Stanton analyse the key talking points.
Tottenham’s blistering start the perfect tonic for Postecoglou
Tottenham were in desperate need of a confidence boost so this trip to face the team at the bottom of the table came at the perfect time.
Southampton will have noticed that Spurs have struggled away from home this season and they have not fared well against sides that look to slow the game down and make it a physical contest. There was never any chance Martin would tweak his tactics, so Southampton were set up perfectly for Tottenham to destroy them.
It all started in the opening 60 seconds when Djed Spence spun away from his marker easily and poked the ball through a huge gap in the defence for Maddison to fire a simple finish past Alex McCarthy. A few minutes later, Maddison’s cross somehow looped over everybody and Son had an easy finish at the far post.
It was comical defending from Southampton and it resembled a training-ground exercise or something you would see on the school playground when the older kids would steal the ball from a younger year group.
Tottenham looked capable of scoring every time they went forward. When Southampton tried to press they were carved open.
It was a horrible performance from the home side but exactly what Spurs needed after five games without a win and sets them up nicely for Thursday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United.
Jay Harris
Southampton’s season sinks to a new low
For Southampton, this was the latest indignity in what is becoming a wretched return to the Premier League.
Martin was already under intense pressure going into this game and this new low point leaves them bottom of the Premier League with one win from 16 matches. They are nine points adrift of safety.
At one point shortly after going 3-0 down inside the first 14 minutes, Martin utilised a break in play to gather all his players around him on the touchline and he was frantically dishing out instructions. Whatever he said, it simply did not work and they could not stem the flow.
Russell Martin attempts to cajole his players after their disastrous start (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
The home fans had already been singing ‘Russell Martin, your football is s***’ at 2-0 down and the mood only deteriorated as the half went on.
Martin’s response to that early onslaught was to take off attacker Kamaldeen Sulemana after 15 minutes and bring on defender Nathan Wood but by then the damage was done. Sarr made it 4-0 10 minutes later.
By the time Tottenham scored their fifth in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, Martin was nowhere to be seen, having already returned to the dressing room. Perhaps he had seen enough, much like the home fans, some of whom left the stadium after that early flurry of goals. Many of those who were left let their frustration be known as the half-time whistle went, with boos ringing out around St Mary’s.
At that stage, it felt like time to check the record books. No team has ever scored 10 goals in a Premier League game and it seemed entirely possible that could happen.
Southampton do not have to go back too far for humiliations on that kind of scale, having lost 9-0 to Leicester City in October 2019 and 9-0 to Manchester United in February 2021.
But they found a resilience in the second half and, at least, did not find themselves on the end of the kind of hammering experienced by the club in previous top-flight campaigns.
John Stanton
881 days later… Spence’s first Premier League start
Two-and-a-half years, or 881 days to be exact, after Spence joined Spurs from Nottingham Forest for a fee worth up to £20m ($25m) including add-ons, he finally started a Premier League match.
Spence has endured a strange time in north London and at one stage it felt like he would never recover from then-head coach Antonio Conte’s comments that he was a “club signing”. When he struggled to make an impact on loan with Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa, everybody assumed the defender would leave.
But Spence knuckled down, made an infamous cameo appearance in the Carabao Cup against Coventry City and was rewarded with a new contract but still had to wait for his chance in the starting XI.
It took him less than 60 seconds to make an impact at St Mary’s. He received the ball just inside Southampton’s half with his back to goal, spun away from his defender and charged forward before setting up Maddison. It was a great piece of skill which will only make more people question why he has not been trusted before to perform at this level.
There were a couple of other moments which showed his quality, including a passing sequence with Maddison and Sarr while under intense pressure in their own box which led to a counter-attack and a goalscoring opportunity for Son.
On another occasion, he ushered the ball out of play right in front of the Spurs fans, who cheered in response. He then whipped his arms up in the air and urged them to make more noise. They have had to wait a long time to see his potential but clearly want more.
With Destiny Udogie picking up an injury in the first half which forced Spence to move over to the left, expect him to play a lot over the next few weeks.
Jay Harris
Levy the subject of fans’ anger
Postecoglou revealed earlier this week that Cristian Romero apologised for criticising the board over a lack of investment in the squad in the aftermath of Tottenham’s defeat by Chelsea.
The Argentina international’s comments appear to have struck a chord with the fanbase though. Before Maddison opened the scoring, the away supporters had already started chanting “we want (Daniel) Levy out”.
They briefly paused while celebrating Maddison’s effort and then quickly restarted. Levy, who has been chairman since October 2001, was constantly the source of their frustration and they sang about him all night.
At one stage they were drowned out by Southampton’s protests about Martin but that dissipated when Kulusevski made it 3-0. Tottenham fans then started singing, “I don’t care about Levy, he don’t care about me, all I care about is Kulusevski”.
Postecoglou has come under a lot of pressure over the past few weeks but this was an endorsement for him. The Spurs fans clearly still have faith in his project — there were songs of support for the Australian during this game — and do not want him to become the latest manager to be sacked by Levy.
Spurs announced earlier this year that they were seeking external investment and it is clear from Sunday’s trip to the south coast that the supporters are eager for significant change at the very top of the club.
Jay Harris
What did Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Spurs?
Thursday, December 19: Man Utd (H), Carabao Cup quarter-final, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
What next for Southampton?
Wednesday, December 18: Liverpool (H), Carabao Cup quarter-final, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
(Top photo: Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
