Pressing Issues

• Having won 5, lost 5 in the Premier League this season, have a look into why Tottenham Hotspur have been so inconsistent.
• Delve into why Tottenham can be easy to play against.
• Analysis of what Ange Postecoglou might need to change about his side.

A Spursy Start

Fans voiced their frustrations as boos rang out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou has undoubtedly done an incredible job in his opening 18 months as Tottenham manager. Yet he hasn’t managed to erase the persistent acts of Spursiness which has put a dampener on fans’ enthusiasm and inhibited the club from making any tangible progress – at least from the perspective of league position.

If we look back to the start of the season, warning signs were clear on the opening night as Tottenham squandered a 1-0 lead to draw at Leicester.

They then lost to Newcastle and Arsenal in successive weeks, but these were narrow defeats and performances which demonstrated the potential of the team.

They won 5 in a row after this. Spirit and optimism for the season was growing. They were 2-0 up at halftime during their visit to Brighton, and looked set to make it 6 in 6. They then demonstrated how not to defend in the Premier League, and managed to lose 3-2.

A few weeks later they lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace in a game where they were genuinely outplayed.

The bipolar nature of these results are largely reflective of performances. One week, Tottenham can look a nightmare to play against: aggressive, intense and relentless. Others, they appear disconnected both in and out of possession, and they lack cutting-edge in attack.

This is partly attributed to Postecoglou’s high-risk, high-reward style of play. While Tottenham tend to dominate possession, they are prone to conceding set pieces, very vulnerable on the counterattack and can struggle to create high quality chances at times. ‘Angeball’ has been exemplified at its very best, and very worst so far this season.

What Can Postecoglou do?

In an ideal world, Ange Postecoglou would have a team talented enough to bully teams into submission – much as he did as Celtic boss, and not dissimilar to how Pep Guardiola has approached management in the past. However, with the Premier League being so competitive, there isn’t a team that will simply ‘bow down’ to a bit of pressure. The gulf in individual quality is not enough.

This puts the Australian between a rock and a hard place. He can either change his principles to try and rescue some better results, or stick to them as a show of strength, while knowing that there are things he could do differently.

The reality is likely somewhere in between. There are tweaks to be made that don’t completely compromise the style.

Postecoglou can be criticised for not being effectively pragmatic in the face of adversity.

Improved defensive solidity would probably be the biggest thing Spurs could look to employ. This could be achieved by honing the Pape Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur double pivot, by having his full backs play slightly less high to avoid being caught in transition, or even through acquiring a different goalkeeper in January to help with defending set pieces.

As for what Postecoglou will do, probably nothing at all. A compromise of style could be interpreted as a sign of weakness from players or fans, and could lead to further issues down the line. This kind of pragmatism can be attributed in part to the sacking of various Manchester United managers of the past decade. The strength to stick to his principles should be supported and respected – but this choice better yield some results.

Postecoglou will likely maintain absolute faith in his methodology, and feel confident that the results will come.

What’s gone wrong at Tottenham?

If there was one game which perfectly summed up the Whites’ season so far, it is their 3-2 defeat to Brighton. They were sensational in the first half, blowing Brighton away even without Son Heung-Min. Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski simply proved too much for the Seagulls’ left hand side.

In the second half, they came out and looked immediately unsure of the game plan. At 2-0 up, they relaxed and seemed to switch off. Without pure concentration, Spurs’ style is highly vulnerable. Yankuba Minteh capitalised on this to make it 2-1 at 48 minutes. What followed was nothing short of a meltdown. Tottenham looked completely devoid of ideas, didn’t create any big chances in the second half, then were hit by Brighton’s fluid and fast break.

As well as having periods of pressure that they have failed to negotiate, set pieces have been a weak point of Tottenham’s for some time. Goalkeeper Vicario is prone to flapping and flailing without any authority when set pieces are delivered. It cost them derby defeat against Arsenal, and has impacted games numerous times this season.

All in all, a lack of game management and at times game awareness has led to Tottenham frequently fighting uphill battles this season – conceding first in 9 out of 17 games in all competitions. And while they have dug themselves out of difficult positions a few times, this has proven unsustainable. They are in desperate need of a good run of form.