Tottenham looked tired in loss to West Ham ahead of Ajax UCL clash

As Tottenham slumped to their first defeat in their new ground at the hands of West Ham, you couldn't help but think of the contrast between them and their Champions League opponents, Ajax.

Ahead of Tuesday's fixture here at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Dutch FA has postponed an entire round of Eredivisie fixtures to allow Ajax the opportunity to rest ahead of the Champions League semifinal. They might not have spent the day with their feet up -- more likely they've been working on tactical plans on the training ground -- but they will go into the two-legged tie considerably fresher than Spurs, who looked dreadfully fatigued throughout this disappointing 1-0 defeat.

Mauricio Pochettino has soldiered on with an undermanned squad this season, but this match was a fine example of Spurs' lack of depth. Without Harry Kane, they were depending upon Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura to provide a penalty box presence; Son couldn't time his runs to meet the through-balls his 

teammates attempted, with both Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose expressing their frustration with his movements. Lucas was barely involved.

There were suggestions after Spurs' dramatic quarterfinal second leg at the Etihad, where they scored three goals, that this side can be better without Kane. That's an understandable argument in matches where Spurs are allowed to play almost exclusively on the counterattack, but against deeper defences when they dominate possession, they desperately miss him. There was nothing similar to Christian Eriksen's long-range winner against Brighton this time around.