Tottenham Hotspur 1 Fulham 1: Solanke misses, Forster impresses but Spurs remain inconsistent

In keeping with their inconsistent form this season, Tottenham followed up their stunning win over Manchester City last week with a 1-1 draw against a Fulham team that played the latter part of the second half with ten men.

Without summer signing Dominic Solanke, who was sent home due to illness on the morning of the game, Spurs initially struggled to break through Fulham’s defence. A second-half volley from Brennan Johnson gave the hosts the lead, but Fulham soon equalized as the visitors deservedly scored – Tom Cairney’s great curling effort leaving Fraser Forster no chance of the home goal.

The fact that Tottenham got a point had a lot to do with Forster’s good performance. The goalkeeper, making his first league appearance since May 2023, was instrumental in helping the home team go into the break 0-0, making two fine saves from Issa Diop and Alexander Iwobi at the start of the second half .

With Fulham down to 10 men following Cairney’s red card, Tottenham were unable to make the most of the advantage. Cairney initially received a yellow card, but after referee Darren Bond turned to VAR, the Fulham goalscorer was shown a red card for his foul on Dejan Kulusevski.

Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jay Harris break down the plot.

How did Tottenham cope without Dominic Solanke?

This was always going to be a difficult day for Tottenham as Solanke was too ill to play. This meant Spurs had to turn to Son Heung-min to lead the line inside. It was only the second time this season that Son started as number 9.

Much of this game was a reminder of how important Solanke is to Tottenham. His ability to hold the ball under pressure and connect with his teammates is an integral part of Spurs’ style of play. And Son, despite all his strengths, can’t do that.

Spurs struggled to keep the ball in Fulham’s half and Son often lost it in the tackle. This made it difficult for Spurs to create anything and their best chances came from set pieces or on the counterattack.

One of those breaks early in the second half led to Spurs’ goal when Johnson volleyed in a cross from Timo Werner. But Spurs could never truly be themselves without reference point Solanke at the helm. You will need him back and fit as soon as possible.

Son Heung-min led Spurs in Dominic Solanke’s absence (Henry Nicholls /AFP via Getty Images)

How did Fraser Forster do?

A few things have changed since Fraser Forster’s last appearance for Tottenham in the Premier League. Back in May 2023, Ryan Mason was interim head coach following the dismissal of Antonio Conte. Five of the players who started the 4-1 win over Leeds United are no longer with Spurs, while the style of play has completely changed under Ange Postecoglou.

Forster might have returned to a familiar contest, but he had to play very differently against Fulham. As Guglielmo Vicario recovers from ankle surgery, Forster is expected to help Spurs build their attack. The 36-year-old has taken part in cup competitions, including Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Roma in the Europa League, but implementing that in the Premier League would be a much more difficult challenge.

Against Fulham he was able to receive the ball from his defenders on several occasions, but in the 39th minute his pass to Yves Bissouma was intercepted and resulted in Raul Jimenez having a shot saved.

Fraser Forster parries Fulham’s Raul Jimenez (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)

A draw against Fulham was disappointing for Spurs, but without Forster it would have been even worse. While the rest of the team struggled, he was one of their best players and made a number of impressive saves.

Within two minutes at the start of the second half, he prevented goals from Issa Diop and Alexander Iwobi from close range. He failed several times against Jimenez but was unable to do anything against Tom Cairney’s powerful attack.

Still, Forster has shown enough in the last week to suggest that Spurs should be fine while Vicario is absent.

Why are Spurs so inconsistent?

James Maddison hit the woodwork in the first half against Fulham (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

After Tottenham’s stunning 4-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad, the entire fanbase knew that only by beating Fulham could they really start to look forward to this team’s further development.

Spurs have been exceptionally good at times this season, including in wins over Manchester United, West Ham United and Aston Villa, but have often performed sluggishly thereafter. On Sunday afternoon they had the opportunity to break this frustrating habit and prove to everyone that they are on the right track. A win over Fulham would have put them a point behind fourth-placed Brighton.

Instead, the cycle continued. Club record player Solanke was unavailable due to illness and Spurs missed his appearance in advance. Son struggles to hold onto the ball and harass opposing defenders as effectively as his teammate. Dejan Kulusevski was placed on the bench to manage his workload and without his driving forward runs Tottenham were less threatening.

Postecoglou is not one to complain about injuries, but he was without four of his regular starting XI (Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Solanke and Vicario) while a fifth was on the bench. Perhaps the rigors of competing in the Europa League, Carabao Cup and Premier League are taking their toll more than he would like to admit.

The counter argument is that Postecoglou took too long to make substitutions against Fulham. Pedro Porro struggled in the second half after an awkward slip but stuck with it, while Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall only came on in the 83rd minute. Kulusevski, their best player this season, came on as a substitute after Fulham’s equalizer but operated up front rather than in central midfield where he has been so influential this season.

Tottenham continue to confuse everyone and there is still plenty of room for improvement.

What did Ange Postecoglou say?

We will let you know after he speaks at the post-match press conference.

What’s next for Tottenham?

Thursday, December 5th: Bournemouth (A), Premier League, 8:15pm GMT, 3:15pm ET

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(Top image: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)