Ange Postecoglou is playing £20m Tottenham player in the wrong position and it was obvious vs Fulham – opinion

Tottenham Hotspur headed to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in fairly good mood having just knocked AZ Alkmaar out of the Europa League.

However, all good feeling soon evaporated for Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham side when they fell to a 2-0 defeat in west London, their 15th of the season.

Now, after 29 games played, Spurs are at risk of dropping down into 16th place when they travel to Chelsea after the international break.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	28	10	9	9	36	33	3	39
13	Man UtdManchester United	29	10	7	12	37	40	-3	37
14	TottenhamTottenham	29	10	4	15	55	43	12	34
15	EvertonEverton	29	7	13	9	32	36	-4	34
16	West HamWest Ham	29	9	7	13	33	49	-16	34

It’s a perilous situation and even with more players fit, Postecoglou isn’t necessarily enjoying a big up-turn in performance.

Tottenham still have the same issues, and there’s actually a new problem emerging with Djed Spence at the back.

Ange Postecoglou is playing Djed Spence in the wrong position

Whilst it’s difficult to decipher Spurs’ strongest XI right now, Postecoglou seems to prefer Destiny Udogie and Spence as his full-backs, leaving Pedro Porro on the bench.

James Maddison has been impressed with Spence this season and rightly so, but it now seems as if the £20m defender is being played out of position.

READ MORE: Lucas Bergvall makes promise to Tottenham fans after 2-0 loss vs Fulham after issuing 16-word statement

It’s an odd statement to make given that Spence has played the majority of his career at right-back, but his success and renaissance in N17 has been on the left.

Spence looks so much more comfortable cutting inside on his strongest foot, rather than being forced to head down the line to stay on his right.

It’s a difficult scenario for Postecoglou because he evidently doesn’t want to leave Udogie on the bench, but if Spence plays, it needs to be on the left.

Moreover, this should be seen as a ‘positive problem’ for the Spurs boss, one he’s supposedly been craving for during the club’s injury crisis. 

Pedro Porro deserves another chance

Porro gave Spence some advice at Tottenham recently, but it might actually be time for the Spaniard to return to the team in place of his teammate.

In the good old days under Postecoglou, Spurs’ strength was said to come from their full-backs, Udogie and Porro.

And it now feels like a lifetime since the pair played in the same team.

After the international break, there’s a realistic prospect of Postecoglou’s strongest defence being available again, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven joining Udogie and Porro.

And despite Spence’s excellent form this season, the Spurs boss surely has to give his familiar four another go.

Postecogou is running out of time at Spurs, and it increasingly feels as if he doesn’t know his strongest XI.