Beefy Bites: woeful Tottenham Hotspur sink towards the Premier League drop zone
Ange Postecoglou’s days are numbered at Spurs but they’ll just do it all over again without change in the boardroom
We were treated to a very agreeable weekend of action in the Premier League and it felt full of consequence throughout.
Tottenham Hotspur might be the first to experience repercussions after a dreadful defeat at home to Leicester City, previously unable to buy a win.
This week’s Monday lunchtime recap takes us to North London as well as wins for Coventry City and St Mirren. There were big developments at the bottoms of League One and League Two too.
Spurs supporters enraged by Leicester defeat – for starters
While by no means infallible, Tottenham Hotspur have always seemed to me to be a football club with every conceivable advantage. Their failings in my lifetime have been their own and it’s no different now. It’s crazy that we’re having a serious conversation about Spurs going down but here we are.
Okay, not that serious. But it’s not ridiculous, and that’s certainly the mood among supporters who spent much of Sunday’s abject loss to Leicester City chanting their dissent towards chairman Daniel Levy. His next move will be to sack Ange Postecoglou. It might help. It won't cure.
Spurs were in front at half time. Richarlison’s movement in the box left him with a simple stooping header from Pedro Porro’s cross not long after an ambitious Son Heung-min effort had glanced off the crossbar.
They hit the bar again on the hour but they were 2-1 down by then. We could look into the data. We could talk about Spurs quietly rapping on the door in search of an equaliser. But, on this occasion, Spurs 1-2 Leicester really is the beginning, middle and end of the story.
Lampard gets the Sky Blues firing
Coventry City are currently on their best run of the season thanks to a third consecutive win in the EFL Championship. Frank Lampard’s team held on to beat Watford at the CBS Arena on Saturday after Victor Torp's free kick doubled his tally for the day and gave the Sky Blues a 2-0 lead.
Watford found a fortuitous way back in at 2-1 but Coventry banked the three points and find themselves in the top half of the Championship for the first time since August. Lampard’s appointment divided opinions, not least because he replaced a popular manager in Mark Robins, but there are some indications that he’s starting to find his way.
Coventry have lost once in league or cup since Christmas Day, a small but certainly noticeable improvement in their fortunes. With a raft of mid-table clashes on the way, they could strengthen their position still further if they maintain their progress.
Cambridge and Burton wins send Shrewsbury bottom
Saturday was a positive day for two of the struggling teams at the bottom of League One. Burton Albion scored four times, all from close range and two with a little good fortune about them, to beat Rotherham United.
Cambridge United also picked up three points and they had to sweat for them. They took the lead in the first minute through EFL veteran Michael Morrison and were 3-0 up not long after half time.
Mansfield Town pulled back first one, then another from the penalty spot, but there wasn’t enough time left to complete the comeback. It was only the second win since the start of November for the Us.
Those results created a big problem for Gareth Ainsworth and Shrewsbury Town, who dropped to the bottom of the table because of a defeat at Charlton Athletic. Thierry Small popped the ball through Jamal Blackman’s legs to win it in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Carlisle show some fight at Fleetwood
Carlisle United won their first game of 2025 at the fourth attempt, while they claimed their first away win in five by beating Fleetwood Town at Highbury on Saturday afternoon after two draws and two defeats on the road.
They had to do it the hard way and were rewarded by climbing off the bottom of the EFL. They’re five points behind Tranmere Rovers and Newport County but neither of those win with regularity – Newport’s have won once since October and Carlisle still have to play them twice.
Cedwyn Scott didn’t score in his brief spell at Brunton Park in 2021 but he’s back at Carlisle and gave them the lead with a tap-in on Saturday. Fleetwood pegged back the Blues but they dug deep and found a winner. Sam Lavelle bundled it in to rekindle Carlisle’s survival hopes.
Buddies batter drifting Dons
After losing four on the spin in the Scottish Premiership, St Mirren enjoyed a welcome return to winning ways on Saturday and jumped up a place courtesy of the postponement of Dundee’s visit to Celtic Park.
The Buddies were sent on their way to a 3-0 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie with a helping hand from the Dons, who suffered an awful mix-up at the back to leave Toyosi Olusanya with a straightforward finish into an empty net.
Olusanya’s blistering pace and tenacity made St Mirren’s second, neatly finished first time by Mikael Mandron to put the game beyond Aberdeen. The Frenchman added a third goal with twelve minutes left, cracking a left-footed shot across goalkeeper Ross Doohan to seal the victory for Stephen Robinson’s men.
St Mirren had 26% of the possession and scored with every shot on target while Zach Hemming made seven saves at the other end. The Dons had fifteen shots to St Mirren’s six, but the Buddies made the better chances and took full advantage.
Please share this week’s Beefy Bites using the button below.
I am available for writing commissions and freelance opportunities. Contact me directly and we’ll talk.
That’s your lot. Thanks for reading. Please subscribe if you enjoyed it and haven’t done so yet.