Opinion: Postecoglou Risks Sack by Dropping 71.6% Star as Tottenham XI is Confirmed for Southampton Clash

Tottenham Hotspur enter their match against Southampton on December 15 after being held to a 1-1 draw with Rangers in the Europa League, putting additional pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou.

While Spurs’ hierarchy continues to back Postecoglou (NBC Sports Soccer), a loss to Premier League strugglers Southampton could lead to a change in the decision-makers’ stance.

Spurs made five changes to their starting lineup from the Rangers draw, as announced on the club’s official X account.

Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, and Djed Spence all earned starts.

Notably, Brennan Johnson, who has been a standout performer this season, was benched, alongside Pedro Porro.

Yves Bissouma is suspended, while Rodrigo Bentancur was left out of the squad entirely.

Postecoglou’s decision to bench Johnson is a bold one and may cost him his job.

The Welshman had a poor performance against Rangers, failing to create a single chance and finishing with 0% shot accuracy.

His dribbling was lackluster as well, completing only 50% of his attempts, and he failed to complete a cross in the 60 minutes he played.

However, Johnson has been one of Spurs’ more reliable performers throughout the Premier League season, with seven goal contributions to his name.

He has been an attacking threat, creating 11 chances and completing 11 successful dribbles.

His dribble success rate of 55% places him in the top 71.6% of players in the league for that stat.

Additionally, Johnson has been a key player defensively, winning 52% of his defensive duels in 15 appearances.

Given his contributions both in attack and defense, Postecoglou’s decision to leave him out of the starting XI for such a crucial match against Southampton could prove to be a costly mistake.