Spurs smashing Southampton isn't the end of their problems - worse could still be to come
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Most of the reaction to Tottenham Hotspur’s shellacking of Southampton on Sunday has, understandably, focused on the home side, now without a manager and facing an uncertain future as they stare up at the rest of the Premier League table – but at least some mention should be made of Spurs. After all, given all the injuries and the negativity, a 5-0 win should surely lift spirits a little. But does it give us reason to reappraise the club’s faults?
The travelling fans certainly didn’t seem to thrilled despite their team’s easy victory, which was used as a platform to protest Daniel Levy’s stewardship of the club. A first win in six might have allowed a bit of breathing room for Ange Postecoglou and a few of the players, but Levy’s dealings in the transfer market are firmly under the microscope.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe fundamental criticism is that Levy, after years of paying more attention to the club’s economic needs than its sporting ones, has again failed to give a manager what they actually needed. Postecoglou, it had appeared, wanted a more combative midfield and extra strength and depth in defence, but instead got youngsters like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall. One day, those may prove to be very astute signings, but it’s been clear that neither is really ready to be key contributors to a Champions League push, either.
With injuries biting hard – Spurs only had 15 first-team players available for Sunday’s game and Destiny Udogie was hauled off in the first half to add to the long list of potential absentees – a lack of depth has been exposed, but also a lack of clarity in the squad’s construction. There are good players there, but not enough of them, and too many of them have differing skillsets and playing styles to easily take one another’s places.
Perhaps because of that, Postecoglou’s squad has lacked a defined style and identity of late, and instead of playing as a cohesive unit there is the increasing feeling that everyone is freelancing a little too much. Tactical discipline has been poor.
By way of example, there is a massive difference between the ways that Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson interpret the right wing role. It’s the same dot on a team sheet, but Kulusevski plays narrow and close to Dominic Solanke and the rest of the midfield, while Johnson sticks to the right flank like glue.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdOn the one hand, that means the Spurs squad has two different ways to approach a problem, and the tools to unlock different defences. But when injuries force the manager to pick teams from a smaller pool, it also means a lack of consistency and identity in the team, and that begets a lack of consistency.
So Levy getting a barracking even while the team he oversees are on their way to a dominant victory isn’t necessarily underserved. The squad is too patchwork and low on strength in depth, and Postecoglou wasn’t backed with the players he actually wanted – but that doesn’t mean that the coach should be entirely absolved of blame for a very up-and-down season.
Postecoglou was rightly praised for his straightforward personal approach when he was first appointed, but there are flaws with his methods which are being exposed – in particular, the large gaps often left between the two centre-backs, who are in turn often isolated from the players around them.
With the midfielders and full-backs often high upfield hunting for the ball, Spurs are among the teams left most open to the counter-attack, a fact compounded by the fact that they also play with one of the league’s highest lines. That line supplements the pressing intent in midfield and up front by compacting the pitch, but also leaves them open at the back.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMany managers have compensated by moving their defensive lines back or by switching their formation in possession from a 2-3-5 to a 3-2-5, leaving an extra man back to cover the counter. Postecoglou has carried on regardless – two back with lots of pressure on the ball.
It’s hardly surprising given the Australian’s character that he would bloody-mindedness plough his preferred furrow, but it carries risks, and the ways that the defence and its positioning was exposed by both Chelsea and Bournemouth (who should have scored far more than one in beating Spurs at the Vitality Stadium) should cause concern. Levy may deserve the stick, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t constructive criticisms to be made about the coaching.
Nor did the 5-0 win over Southampton really represent and form of a departure. The positional maps still showed us a seemingly excessive gap between Gray and Drăgușin at centre-back, and acres of room for the opposition down the right flank with both Kulusevski and Djed Spence playing centrally. The soft spots were still there.
Even after being battered into a pulp within half an hour to the extent that fans were fleeing for the exits before half-time, Southampton still created several presentable chances and Fraser Forster was kept busy. Even with the opposition looking broken, Spurs only just edged possession and territory for the rest of the game. Some of that can be put down to a team in cruise control knowing the result was safe, but it’s also a testament to issues with the underlying structure of the team which caused them to go five games without a win.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdLevy likely deserves the lion’s share of the blame for failing to sign the players Spurs actually needed to compete for the top four this season, but Postecoglou can still do better with the tools he does have at his disposal. He may have square pegs in round holes, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t put those holes in the wrong places as well.
With so many players injured, the Christmas period could be challenging and even punishing for Spurs – but there is talent there, there is a capable manager who also made his side easy on the eye and lethal on the counter-attack (Spurs have scored four more goals on the break than any other team in the league).
He needs to be backed properly, and to be given the grace and patience to get through what end up as a rough run of results given his remaining resources. He just needs the awareness to know that he has some fine tuning of his own to do, too.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.