Every time Tottenham Hotspur look to have turned a corner of late, it comes crashing back down and prevents Ange Postecoglou's squad from cementing a spot in the top four.
The club's ebb and flow in the Premier League has been a repetitive theme since the start of the season and defeat on home turf against Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier today could prove to be a detrimental blow after Aston Villa won at Fulham.
There has been much to cheer about down at N17 since Postecoglou's appointment last summer and there has clearly been progress, Tottenham have relied on late magic too often this term but it wasn't to be against a resilient Wolves side that have now completed the double over their opponents.
Heung-min Son's ineffectual display
Last weekend, Heung-min Son returned off the bench after missing most of January while at the Asia Cup, with the South Korean deftly placing a late assist into Brennan Johnson's path to hand Tottenham three points against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The skipper failed to relive those lofty heights and produced one of his most ineffectual showings of the campaign, branded with a 5/10 match rating by football.london's Rob Guest after starting at left wing against Wolves.
The correspondent wrote: 'Back in the starting XI after coming off the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion in the previous game. Swung a couple of decent balls in but just couldn't influence things for Tottenham in attack.'
Apps
Goals
Assists
12
0
2
Source: Transfermarkt
It was indeed more misery against the Old Gold, a team that the 31-year-old is still yet to score against, having failed to take a single shot, winning just one of his four contested ground duels and losing possession on 16 occasions, as per Sofascore.
He certainly wasn't the only culprit on a measly afternoon for Spurs, however, with James Maddison's unwonted lack of creativity in the centre hindering the squad's fluency.
James Maddison's game in numbers
Spurs have a favourable run of fixtures ahead in the Premier League but will be dispirited by the failure to defeat Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Maddison lacking his usual spark as the playmaking gem.
The 27-year-old certainly wasn't awful, creating two key passes, completing 85% of his passes and starring in the thick of the action with 83 touches, but there's no shirking away from the fact that he was unable to control the flow, losing possession 22 times and completing just two of his 11 crosses.
The aforementioned Guest also marked Maddison with a 5/10 match score and wrote that he 'created an opportunity for Kulusevski after a quick pass in the first half but struggled to really make things work in the final third with Wolves frustrating Tottenham.'
The England international has been one of the Premier League's standout stars this season and has been the attacking centrepiece on multiple occasions so far, but he was nullified by a tenacious Wolves performance and will hope for brighter displays going forward.
While this loss comes as a big blow and a setback for a side that had returned to the top four recently, there is ample time over the coming months to ensure that a purple patch is created.
Now Postecoglou must engineer such fortunes and put this one in the past.