There are days when it is tempting to wonder if West Ham will ever crack the puzzle at the London Stadium - and Saturday was one of them.
The vast bowl was virtually empty and lifeless for the last 20 minutes of another miserable home defeat and Graham Potter’s team reflected the intensity levels.
Beaten again by superior London rivals and worryingly much of the anger in the stands is making way for apathy.
Those who remember the Boleyn Ground at Upton Park will know the wall of noise visiting teams had to scale before they could parade their quality. Its replacement in comparison is no more than a gentle hop.
Just ask Mohammed Kudus. West Ham fans tried to intimidate the Ghana international who left them for Spurs played on the wing and took a series of corners and hardly came close to the hostility.
Imagine him on the right wing for Tottenham in front of the old Chicken Run. That would have been a test of character. Instead, Hammers boss Potter was the one left talking about an ‘uncomfortable’ evening.
Spurs dominated, took the lead early in the second half raced away after Tomas Soucek’s red card on 54 minutes before those in the away end taunted their hosts with songs about fire drills, libraries and relegation.
West Ham have lost both home games this season. They have not won at home in seven, a run stretching back to February against relegation-bound Leicester and it is not all the fault of the stadium.
Of course it isn’t. There were awful performances at Upton Park and there have been good times since.
David Moyes brought a measure of success to Stratford, although his teams generated their own fire. They scrapped. They weren’t afraid to win ugly. They had Declan Rice in midfield which was handy.
But still the football did not suit and twice Moyes was forced out. Both times West Ham have gone backwards. The quest for a purer playing style plays into the hands of teams with more quality and so does the venue. But there is no turning back time and other problems are in play.
Dominated at set-plays…
Thomas Frank’s Spurs are already formidable at set-plays. They have turned a weakness into a major strength. But you must know what to expect from them. They come with towering presence and exceptional quality on delivery from both flanks from Kudus and Xavi Simons.
They had 13 corners, swinging virtually all into a crowded goal area. Hammers goalkeeper Mads Hermansen could not cope under the barrage. He was pinned onto his line, unable to command his airspace.
He looked as if he might concede every time the ball came in. Potter wanted to stress how well they defended eight corners in the first half, although Cristian Romero had one ruled out for a foul which Frank thought should have been allowed.
And despite the barrage, West Ham failed to address the problem. The game’s opening goal was headed in by Pape Matar Sarr from the first corner of the second half. Sarr was unmarked at the far post, a mistake according to Potter.
The second was another header, scored by Lucas Bergvall who darted behind the central defenders to latch onto a simple pass forward out of defence.
Flimsy air defences?
Vulnerabilities in the air are clear. Sunderland made them pay on the opening day of the season, Spurs did the same and in the age of data analysis they can be sure Crystal Palace will target this next week.
Mads Hermansen does not command his air space and Potter is not blessed with players who are strong in the air and want to head the ball beyond his two centre halves and Soucek.
Painfully aware of the problem nerves soon take hold, they are jittery defending the high ball and it becomes self-fulfilling. Perhaps they lack a leader in defensive situations who can take control and remind everyone of their jobs.
It might be useful if they could get Niclas Fullkrug fit and keep him fit.
No centre forward...
West Ham flickered early on against Spurs but without Fullkrug lacked a target man to hold the ball and help them relieve pressure once Spurs assumed control.
Fullkrug was unused on the bench having returned from international duty nursing a minor injury and Callum Wilson is still not ready after his injuries to be relied upon for 90 minutes, according to Potter.
Overwhelmed in midfield…
More than ever the Premier League is about physicality. It is quick and muscular especially for those operating in midfield and Spurs overwhelmed James Ward-Prowse and Soucek with their trio of Palhinha, Sarr and Bergvall.
Ward-Prowse, a fine player for many years, looks increasingly lightweight, perhaps partly because of the team around him. And Soucek, never the quickest across the ground, paid for a poor touch and a late arrival into a challenge on Palhinha with a red card.
How he would love a player of Rice’s calibre. Or the £100million to invest again.
The front four - Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes - are far from idle. They make pressing runs, chase and track back, and Potter will want his most creative players on the pitch.
Fernandes might hold the key to the balance but not on this evidence against the strongest opposition. Potter may have to sacrifice one of those four get extra bite and security into his midfield and give his best players a stronger platform on which to perform.
Lack of depth
Options appear limited. When full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka pulled out feeling ill before kick-off he was replaced on the bench by Lukasz Fabianski so there were two goalkeepers on the bench, just as there were two centre forwards although neither of those were properly fit.
Potter decided not to start with Wilson, partly to provide an ‘impact sub’ although once his team went to 10 men and immediately conceded a second the best laid plans became irrelevant.
He could flex to a back three. At least it will add aerial power. These are meagre options if compared to Spurs. The Champions League elite have invested heavily and stretched further ahead.
West Ham are languishing, paying the price of previous mistakes in the market. They are painfully short of depth and balance and that makes it a difficult problem for Potter to solve in a hurry, especially when trying to play something like attractive football against opponents with more quality in a stadium devoid of atmosphere.