Alasdair Gold thinks Postecoglou has made a ‘very risky decision’ at Spurs

Alasdair Gold believes that Ange Postecoglou has taken a big risk by leaving Djed Spence out of the Europa League squad as Tottenham are short of options at the back.

Tottenham leave Spence out of Europa League squad

On Thursday, Spurs confirmed their Europa League squad but instead of the 25-man squad that is allowed, the club only named 23 players, with Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon missing out.

While Reguilon’s absence was expected, Spence’s omission was surprising since the right-back had battled his way back into Postecoglou’s plans over the summer after it seemed like his time at the club had run out.

A couple of days ago, Gold explained in his column that Spurs only had two club-trained players in their squad rather than the required four, thus meaning that they had to name two players less than their allotted 25.

A risky decision for Ange Postecoglou

However, the journalist believes that it would have been useful for Postecoglou to have Spence at his disposal, given the versatility that the Englishman offers.

When asked why the Australian decided to leave the 24-year-old out of the squad, Gold said in a Q&A on Football.London: “Spence has done really well this summer and impressed everyone inside the club, including Postecoglou.

“I think he’s just been really unfortunate in that the squad choice would suggest the Spurs boss does not trust his backup goalkeeper options enough to leave out the experienced Fraser Forster. That means Spence was the odd man out.

“It’s a very risky decision because it leaves the defensive cover very light for the group stages. Romero is suspended for the first game against Qarabag and an injury or two more and there’s going to be some problems. Spence was able to cover both right and left-back spots.

“How the 24-year-old will react is going to be interesting. He’s come on in two of the first three Premier League games and will likely play in the Carabao Cup, so he should still get game time. It’s just a massive shame because he would have played a lot in Europe.

“Overall it’s a big red flag against the squad management Spurs have overlooked in recent years with not a single outfield club-trained player in the first team now. They have made moves to change that but it’s been a problem they should have sorted a long time ago.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I do not understand the panic among Spurs fans about the lack of defensive options. In Gray, Porro, Udogie, Davies, Van de Ven, Romero and Dragusin, the seven options can be rotated and used interchangeably in the group stages.

Ange always has the option of playing Spence in a Carabao Cup or a Premier League game to give others a rest.

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