Same old story as Hoddle is baffled

Really? The phrase is one he used on several occasions last season to try to explain away several humiliating defeats.

This season the biggest shortcoming is the lack of a defensive midfielder. It is so glaring that everyone from the tea lady to the bagel sellers can see it.

Hoddle did try to land Emmanuel Petit from Chelsea but his failure to go back with a further bid may turn out one of his biggest mistakes. The other was to let Steffen Freund leave in the summer. The German may not be the best player but he provided the bite and tenacity so lacking in Hoddle's team.

Fulham were as excellent as Spurs were shocking, and in twogoal Barry Hayles, a Spurs fan, they had a player who knew where the net was.

Spurs' had £12million worth of new talent - Helder Postiga, Bobby Zamora and Freddie Kanoute - leading the attack in the second half but Hoddle should insist they watch a video of Hayles's display. He was outstanding, and Hoddle had no answer to Fulham boss Chris Coleman's 4-2-3-1 formation.

Hayles, who set up the third goal for Louis Boa Morte, said: "I wanted to get a hat-trick, especially as I'm a Spurs fan. I've got a lucky streak against them.

"I think I've failed to score against them only twice in about seven games. This is the last year of my contract, so hopefully they might talk about a new one now."

Hoddle claimed his side were "fatigued" but their plight was not helped by some suicidal defending from Darren Anderton and Dean Richards.

While Hoddle might believe that some of his team want a rest, Jamie Redknapp refused to blame tiredness for the defeat.

He said: "We got what we deserved. They packed the midfield and hit us on the break. Their plan worked well because we could not get the ball out. We never got going but I would never use tiredness as an excuse. We were not sharp or quick enough and we paid the price."

Richards, whose mistake led to Hayles's second goal, said: "To lose 3-0 at home to Fulham is not good enough for a club of our stature. We've got to put it right.

"When we think things are going in the right direction we always seem to get a setback like this. It was my mistake for the second goal and that killed us."