There is an age-old adage that goes – ‘Numbers don’t tell you the full story’. In some cases, they maybe do, even if not the full story, it gives a clear indication of where to probe when something isn’t going right. The numbers surrounding Tottenham this season paint a sorry picture.
22 games played – 7 wins, 3 draws, 12(!) losses, 15th in the Premier League table. 45 goals scored (second most in the Premier League). 35 goals conceded. 1 win in the last 10 games in the English top-flight. 4 clean sheets. Do we need to keep going?
Well, we don’t need to continue. As such, our purpose is not to rub salt into the wounds of Tottenham’s already wounded fans. Instead, this is an objective attempt to take a look at “What followed Angel Postocoglou and Tottenham and is there hope?”
With a list of that you can read here?
At least six, or if you stretch it, seven, the players on this list would start for Tottenham when they’re smart. No team can compete with so many Get Starters to not be for the selection, especially in 4 other competitions simultaneously. This is the apparent elephant in the room we need to get out of the way.
It is not an attempt to apologize, but it is not imaginable to a wave of such devastating injuries through the team without consequences. It is not as if the other groups did not have injuries, however, no other Premier League team has experienced so bigger than the Spurs in recent weeks and months.
Let’s say that, for example, part of the last 10 Premier League games that Tottenham played if Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven started as central defenders, surely, the effects were obviously different?Of course, this is a hypothetical scenario, but it is assumed.
Ange Postecoglou, driven more by need rather than desire, has tried to make the best of the tools that he has at his disposal. He has been trying to plug a lot of holes and the issue for him is that most of his solutions have been akin to plugging round holes with square pegs.
Playing Archie Gray in the central defense would possibly be the most productive example of this. Do not be mistaken, the 18 -year -old is a sensational qualifiability for one of the most productive cash circles of the Premier League in intelligent time. However, there are, in the N17, thrown into depth, he asked to play as a central defender.
Against Everton, in Tottenham’s recent maximum adjustment, Ange Postcoglou forced to replace the team’s form in 3-4-3, to welcome 11 fit players he had in the box and the boy, did not turn around. With Royally! Only in the moment part, the Spurs returned to a 4-2-3-1 that even began to threaten in the adjustment.
There is a very famous theory going around in the world of football about Ange Postecoglou that he isn’t a manager who has plan Bs, with his plan B being to make plan A work. This has in turn earned him the tag of being stubborn, especially with results not going his way.
However, digting deeply, anyone who follows Tottenham enough this season will realize that Angel has tried many things. What has bad luck for him has been that maximum of his ideas, exciting on paper, he has not literally translated into action in the action of pitch, which worsens things.
Postecoglou started the season with two attacking #10s, deploying both Maddison and Kulusevski but quickly realised that he didn’t have the number 6 in his squad who could hold the fort down when playing with two extremely attack-minded midfielders. Eventually, he reverted to the double six.
So, this season, the two derbies in northern London tell a story. During the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, the Spurs lost 1-0, however, their side butt got up here, embodying the attack spirit of the postoclou angel, placing themselves at the top to cause overloads.
When Tottenham reached the leg of the moment in the Emirates, Posttecoglou realized that he wants to protect his vulnerable central defense. Neither Pedro Porro nor Spence in this case ventured a lot, instead of hunting to supply a shield in defense. The fact that it does. No paintings is another story.
The post-coglou angel formula is firmly based on the serendipitous creation of giant zones and doing so like an elite club, at least one of Tottenham’s wingers on the floor will have to be dribblers of 1v1 global elegance, able to take his guy and shape the chances of nothing.
We are talking about Lamines, Dokus, Dembeles, Nicos and Leaos du Monde and, with the exception of Wilson Odobert, who has been perpetuated since his move from Burnley, no one else gives this ability in the Tottenham team. Heung-Min’s son turns out to have lost a beat, though it’s been decent, if not excellent.
Dejan Kulusevski has been Tottenham’s best player so far this season, whether he plays in midfield or on the right wing. Brennan Johnson is a lot of things but a 1 vs 1 dribbler is not one among them. Timo Werner runs fast but that’s about all that he does on a football pitch.
Therefore, the fault will be Daniel Levy and Postecoglou for making poor plans through the team in this regard.
A giant number of players who played for Tottenham last season have collapsed real this time. It is a surprising performance, which in fact is nothing that one can set in postocoglou.
Papa kill Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur: all those players were pale shadows of their former self, however, the greatest sadness would have been possibly what James Maddison turns out to have fallen.
The midfielder who attacked England that once leaned for a normal importance of three lions is no longer a guaranteed initiator for Ange Postcoglou.
There are many arrows aimed at Ange Postecoglou at the moment. He walks around the N17 with an Awl waiting to fall on his head, but in all likelihood, the same Awl falls on Levy’s head.
The president of Tottenham must open the checkbook and indicate to the players in January to attend the Occolou Angel Occolou.
In fact, it’s quite unexpected to see Levy persistent with Postcoglou, but it’s an absolutely different story. With just 10 days to move to the Move window, it’s time for the Tottenham president to accentuate and put cash where his mouth is.
Yes, Tottenham is full of all those problems. Yes, the Premier League season is a virtual cancellation. Yes, Ange Postcoglou is not being able to motivate his players and see to avoid this crisis. However, is there a gentle at the end of the tunnel?
For the first time in many years, Tottenham are very much alive in the Domestic Cup and UEFA Europa League competitions. They have a 1-0 lead that they would take at Anfield when they face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-finals at the time of the leg.
Tottenham also have a date with Aston Villa in the FA Cup, not soon after. The big one though is the Europa league. Spurs are in a largely comfortable position and should they find a way to win their remaining games, they would finish in the top-8 in all likelihood.
As long as they can skip the punishment round of this revamped competition, they should have a number of their first-teamers back in action by the time the Round of 16 comes about.
This item first gave the impression on the track and back and syndicated with clearance.
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