2020/21 felt bad. 2022/23 felt bad. Many previous times in the history of [Tottenham Hotspur](https://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com) have felt bad. But something about this current campaign just stings in a different way. Maybe it is because Ange Postecoglou was supposed to be — and briefly was! — the palate cleanser after suffering through Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. Maybe it is because progress is supposed to build, not get worse. Or maybe it is because the football is just plain awful right now.
With one win (which now clearly seems due to City’s ineptitude more than Spurs’ success) in eight fixtures, Tottenham is in a dark place. Normally, a trip to the league’s worst side would offer a chance to get back on track, but instead this sets up to be the latest catastrophe in a season full of woes. Prove us wrong, Spurs; there is no benefit of the doubt until the results actually improve.
### Southampton (20th, 5pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (11th, 20pts)
**Date**: Sunday, December 15
**Time**: 2:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm UK
**Location**: St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
**TV**: Peacock (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)
Saints are all alone at the bottom of the table, having a lone win and two draws to their name. Last in goals scored, second-worst in goals allowed, and last in xGD, this side looks doomed for relegation. Paul Onuachu is due back after being injured the past few weeks, looking for his first goal of the campaign. 36-year-old Adam Lallana is also in contention to be back in the lineup; Lallana signed a one-year deal this summer. Either way, this is an unimpressive XI.
Spurs won the home fixture against Southampton to begin the 2022/23 season with goals by Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier, and Dejan Kulusevski in a 4-1 victory. The sides would not meet again until March, when the visitors went ahead 1-3 on the South Coast. However, a stoppage-time penalty by James Ward-Prowse led to a frustrating draw — and an infamous press conference rant that soon ended in Conte’s departure.
### Was Conte correct?
This is not really a rhetorical question I want to dwell on, but the similarities are striking between Tottenham’s last trip to St. Mary’s and this one. Against the 20th-place side there is zero margin for error, especially when the team is in desperate need of points, as both Conte’s side was on Postecoglou’s group currently is. Anything other than a win is going to cause even more unrest from the supporters — and more banter from the rest of the football world.
Following that draw two years ago, Conte threw his own players under the bus and criticized the chairman and the club as a whole. While Postecoglou’s assessment of Timo Werner is a one-off and Cristian Romero walked back some of his remarks...yea, this story feels familiar. To avoid going through yet another reboot, Spurs need to quickly reverse course, and this Sunday has to be where it begins.
### Step forward
Shocking, the squad’s struggles are not due to Fraser Forster, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, and Archie Gray right now. No, there is a huge problem with the attack that simply is not scoring nearly enough to keep this team afloat. Four of the past seven league fixtures have featured zero or one goals, and that includes contests against sides like Palace and Ipswich. Southampton seems to be an inferior team, but all that means is Tottenham must once again face a low block.
Spurs have the names in attack, but they are not producing right now. Dominic Solanke is not going to be a prolific goal scorer, Heung-Min Son is on a steady decline, James Maddison is inconsistent, and Brennan Johnson is cooling off; as good as Dejan Kulusevski, he only has four total goals this year. For this club to work at all, these players absolutely must get back into form. Maybe expecting all five to get hot is unrealistic, but there is enough talent here to avoid these frequent low-output contests. If not, then there is no chance this season amounts to anything.