Football is a results business. In light of that, it is easy to get carried away with the joy of victory, or more pertinently, the frustration of defeat.
In his post-match press conference, the one consolation Mauricio Pochettino took from Tottenham’s 2-1 reverse at Watford was that, having suffered such a disappointing slip-up so early on in the season, it would serve as a wake-up call to his players against complacency.
The Argentine will not want to make rash judgements on the basis of one loss, especially considering the form Javi Gracia’s men are in.
Yet, the Hornets are not on some inexorable march towards glory. More could have been done to prevent such an upset, starting with the team selection and ending with the failure to make substitutions at the right time.
Following the 3-0 victory away to Manchester United on Monday night, the decision to revert to three at the back and leave Mousa Dembele relatively isolated in midfield raised eyebrows - not only in hindsight, but before kick-off too.
To make matters worse, Ben Davies in particular struggled as a wing-back and Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane were uncharacteristically blunt in attack.
As for Dembele, however, the concern will be that the kind of performance he put in was not unforeseeable at all.
The Belgian has been one of the most vital components of Pochettino’s system in his five seasons in north London and it is a pity that his persistent injury problems have finally appeared to take their toll. For a period between 2015-2017, Spurs’ ability to keep possession and to make effective runs through the middle depended on him.
Last season, his nadir came in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United, when he was bullied off the ball by Paul Pogba in the build-up to Alexis Sanchez’s equaliser.
Perhaps he was a little fortunate that against Watford, the three centre-backs took much of the heat for failing to prevent the hosts’ two headers from set pieces, but it was the 31-year-old who was at fault.
Dembele is mentally unwavering; failing to jump up with Craig Cathcart for what proved to be the winner was another unmistakable sign that his body now struggles to keep up with the physical demands of the Premier League. Tellingly, Pochettino has been reluctant to play him for a whole 90 minutes, or twice in a week, for quite some time.
Had Eric Dier been employed alongside him, it might have changed things. The England international would have been able to mop up in front of the defence, allowing Dembele greater expression going forward. That would have given Spurs a much better chance of winning the midfield battle and carving Watford open, which they struggled to do.
Given the responsibility of providing defensive cover and creating balls for Eriksen, Dembele couldn’t do either. In the early stages, the strategy was to bypass him completely with Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld making a series of effective long balls into Dele Alli and Kane.
Whether through negligence or prudence, Tottenham failed to attend to their midfield conundrum in the summer. It was all the more surprising given Harry Winks’ own battles with a persistent ankle injury.
That ultimately means that between now and January, when the club have another chance to rectify the situation, Dembele must be managed very carefully.
Speculation is already gathering pace that the former Fulham man will head for the Chinese Super League in the New Year and sad though it may be, it feels a natural conclusion to his time at Spurs. Serie A is another possible option, with both the Milan clubs having expressed an interest in the past.
All week, Pochettino warned that three wins from the opening three league games had masked Tottenham’s problems, evidently fearing a result like this was just around the corner.
The midfielder he once hailed as a “genius” was at the heart of those issues and it seems unlikely they can persevere with him much longer.
