Tottenham have enjoyed a largely successful first season under Ange Postecoglou, but there have been some symptoms of great concern recently and TEAMtalk looks at five issues the affable Aussie will want to overcome to make them real contenders next season.
Spurs started the new season as a workout and looked almost unplayable for the first 10 games when ‘Angel Ball’ took off, before the Chelsea debacle left them suffering injuries and suspensions.
Things never got back to that level, despite some encouraging effects along the way. But, more recently, symptoms of primary failures have given the impression of what Postecoglou is looking to achieve in north London – either tactically but, more importantly, with the players with whom he seeks to put his flashy style into practice.
Only two wins and four defeats in the last seven Premier League games have left Tottenham on the brink of missing out on next season’s Champions League.
In fact, Postecoglou’s men have lost 3 times in a row and will head to title-fighting Liverpool next Sunday, with Anfield in a position where they rarely succeed.
The sheer form of those defeats has meant that a modicum of doubt has begun to creep in over Postecoglou’s assignment and his stubbornness that his team will never replace the one he plays, no matter the scenario or the opponent.
But first we’ll concentrate on the player side. And with investments reportedly underway at Spurs, this summer may be critical for Postecoglou’s ambitions of his team to fight for titles and the Champions League in 2024/25.
The Tottenham captain looked like a shadow of the player who started the season so well and has scored just one goal in his last five games, whether in midfield or away from home.
Teams have understood that the South Korean relies on his area to run due to his smart moves, with low blocks leaving him with very little influence in matches, as evidenced by the last three defeats.
He returned to the touchline in Thursday night’s loss to Chelsea but has yet to be effective against a Chelsea defence that has barely forged itself this season.
Richarlison started the game at Stamford Bridge, but Spurs will most likely reduce their losses to the Brazilian, despite his innovations this season. The former Everton player remains injury-prone, but he’s also too dead as a No. 9 for a club that needs to fight for the most sensible honours.
A number of strikers are still linked with his move to north London: Newcastle tormentor Aleksander Isak, Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Bournemouth frontman Dominic Solanke, to name just a few.
All 3 characteristics are adaptable in the way they play, they have the speed to run or the ability to tie the game with their backs to the goal.
However, the best value of the three would be 26-year-old Solanke, who has taken his game to another point this season with 20 goals and four assists in 39 games in all competitions.
It’s not an affront to Son, as he’s just a casualty of the fact that the club rarely replaces Kane, but it’s just a factor that needs to be addressed and allowed to get the South Korean back to where he’s doing his most productive work. from the left wing.
Apart from the first 10 games of the campaign, Postecoglou has since had a real challenge with his national teams in midfield.
His taste for gaming desires a device space that can dominate and dictate the speed of gaming, but he doesn’t seem to have the ability to bring it out.
Brighton’s Yves Bissouma in that first quarter of the campaign, taking charge of games from sixth, has been largely useless since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, where he contracted malaria.
The skill is obviously there, but there’s a reason why he’s no longer worthy of a normal starting position.
Rodrigo Bentancur is still a classy performer, but there are times when it is evident that he is still recovering from the ACL injury he suffered last season. For that, he deserves a wild card and will be even better as he has completed a full pre-season Ange this summer.
It’s no secret that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will return at the end of the season. The Dane has bite and appetite for a midfield fight, but he is smart enough as an owner to play in front of Postecoglou’s top defensive line, although he made a mistake in the middle of the game.
Senegalese star Pape Sarr also remains a work in progress, having shown last season that he can be a solid player at Premier League level.
But all of this means that Tottenham have a player in the middle of the park who will dominate the opponent and take a game by the neck if necessary.
To be fair to Postecoglou, he knows it and deserves to check it out in the summer move window. The fact that he helps keep converting his midfield from one game to the next says it all.
Atalanta’s Ederson remains closely linked with a move to north London and he fully demonstrated that in the Serie A side’s upset 3-0 Europa League win over Liverpool.
Piotr Zielinski, Adrien Rabiot and Conor Gallagher have also been heavily linked with transfers to Spurs; The latter is more of a box-to-box player than a true midfielder.
But whatever happens this summer, if Postecoglou doesn’t bring in a true leader in midfield, he’ll have to trim and replace to check the right balance.
Tottenham fans were rightly very happy with Postecoglou in this first 10-match unbeaten run. The football was fluid, the defence looked solid and the levels of effort were off the charts.
“Angel Ball” also received praise from journalists and pundits, while Postecoglou applauded his team’s insistence that his team would continue with its high-stakes strategy regardless of the opponent, when things were going well, of course.
Although there are plenty of savvy strategists in the Premier League, Postecoglou has been absent from events since his incredible debut in north London.
Not all managers have figured out how to avoid the ‘Angel Ball’, but those who have tactically trained Postecoglou have, and what worries Tottenham from a point of view is the lack of adaptability when things go wrong.
Yes, there have been many home games in which Tottenham have largely dominated, but they have failed to take advantage of their opportunities and have taken hits; However, many of the recent encounters have raised alarming questions.
Spurs remain so open when they don’t have owners that quality groups can simply tear them apart, as demonstrated unlike Fulham, Newcastle and, to a lesser extent, Arsenal, where individual mistakes cost them dearly.
But despite the way the opponent lines up or adjusts their tactics in the game, Postecoglou refuses to change the shape of his team or the way they play with and without possession.
Fulham boss Marco Silva and Toon boss Eddie Howe tweaked what they do to fight Tottenham and beat them comfortably, and Postecoglou had no answer, probably not seeing what was going on in front of him.
That’s not to say that the Aussie is a bad manager, because when Tottenham have played to their full potential this season, they’ve been up there with anyone.
But if an opposition leader thwarts what you’re doing like that, then have a plan B or C.
Fortunately for Spurs, Postecoglou is still a true student of the game and it is hoped that by adding more players to the starting eleven he wants, he will allow him to make his team more adaptable to each and every situation.
It’s something that becomes more and more visual as the season progresses and wants to rectify itself for next season.
Postecoglou prides himself on his team’s fitness and ability to finish games strongly, and to be honest, they’ve proven that time and time again this season.
However, this comes at the expense of their pace, especially in the first half of many of their games this season and especially at home.
Tottenham have conceded first in many games this season and are averaging 0. 71 goals per game in the first half, compared to 1. 26 in the second.
There has been a genuine lack of urgency in the first forty-five minutes in many games this season and even when they have made smart starts, they can end up disappearing after 10/15 minutes before shooting from the blocks after the break.
This has also happened this season as not to be a form of control instruction and may not be a recipe for good luck next season.
Chasing Premier League games is difficult, especially when you’re backing the more sensible teams, and it just leaves you open to transition, as was once shown at Tyneside.
The only logical explanation for this is that Postecoglou needs his team to finish games with more power than they started them. But with another body of workers in the box later in the game and the prestige of any unknown late game before the ball is kicked. “That’s actually a problem. A risky tactic that needs to be reconsidered.
The statistics also confirm this: Tottenham have scored their highest number of goals in the last 10 minutes of matches this season (21%), compared to only 10% in the first 10 minutes.
Ironically, Spurs also concede their proportion of goals back, at 22% between 81 and 90.
So they don’t end as well as Angel would like.
Tottenham’s record of 14 goals conceded from set-pieces is worse than the Premier League’s other 14 goals this season.
That figure is now 12 more than Manchester City, 8 more than Arsenal and 4 more than Liverpool. Among the five most sensible clubs, Aston Villa are level with Tottenham with 14 goals conceded.
Their inability to recruit runners in a combined zone/man formula is very transparent and the warring parties are probably making plans for this every week.
Former interim boss Ryan Mason has been overseeing set-piece play lately at the Spurs and most smart teams, any hope of winning trophies can’t be so elusive in set-piece play.
In fact, Tottenham have the stature to take care of set-pieces, with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr all on all six feet.
However, it looks like they still have a lot of work to do on the pitch as we complete the five things Ange needs to turn Tottenham into a real contender.
If only football were that simple!