Walters adds to Spurs’ woe

Tottenham 1 Stoke 2

The sequence of events that led to the Ireland striker finding himself unmarked and able to place the ball beyond Hugo Lloris in the 33rd minute summed the problems confronting Pochettino less than six months after he took charge at White Hart Lane. A poor clearance by Danny Rose was returned with interest and the full-back was unable to recover to prevent Mame Biram Diouf finding Walters unmarked.

What made it worse for Pochettino was that his side had been similarly spineless in allowing Bojan Krkic to advance unchallenged before firing Stoke ahead in the fifth minute. Nacer Chadli’s 76th minute reply did nothing to disguise the shambles that was brought into focus by Kyle Naughton’s 85th minute dismissal for a trip on Victor Moses. Brought in as the latest man charged with translating Tottenham’s potential into success, Pochettino is in danger of adding his name to the lengthy list of managers who have seen their reputations damaged by a spell at White Hart Lane.