Liverpool’s confident, comfortable and ultimately, wholly deserved victory at Anfield underlined the fact that Spurs require a change in mentality and are still not fully capable of sustaining a lasting challenge for the Premier League crown. And, although regularly praised for his attacking style of football, his energetic pressing system and his emphasis on the development of youth, Mauricio Pochettino must assume the blame for what was a horrific performance from his Tottenham side.
As a great admirer of the extent of the work Pochettino has done for our football club, it is with great reluctance and unwillingness that a sizeable portion of blame must be apportioned to our Argentinian manager for the manner of the defeat, although both the players and the club’s recruitment policy must also be considered when reviewing the performance. Pochettino’s tactical naivety and his hesitancy regarding substitutions both contributed significantly to the defeat and highlight the Argentine’s managerial inexperience, particularly in comparison with his rivals Guardiola, Mourinho, Wenger, Klopp and Conte. However, it goes without saying that there is potential in abundance in this Spurs squad and with just Manchester United and Arsenal left to face of the top six in the Premier League, the club can now push towards securing Champions League football for consecutive seasons for the first time in the club’s history whilst also attempting to win a trophy, either the FA Cup or the Europa League.
Tactical Naivety
From the offset it appeared that Spurs had failed to prepare meticulously for the fixture. Pochettino, and his coaching staff, should have recognised that in the Manchester City and Manchester United away fixtures, playing out from the back isn’t an option for his Spurs squad who were constantly causing their own problems throughout the first half particularly. Hugo Lloris consistently sought to play the ball short to Eric Dier or Toby Alderweireld, completely disregarding Liverpool’s high press, allowing their opponents to assert themselves on the Tottenham defence and exploit it to good effect (this is accentuated by the stat that only four Spurs players made more passes than the keeper Hugo Lloris). In stark contrast, Liverpool looked to have prepared thoroughly, continually using the right side of the field, exploiting the potential weakness of Ben Davies, who was covering for Danny Rose at left back, and Eric Dier, who was covering in a central defensive position for the injured Jan Vertonghen. Furthermore, the decision to play Heung-min Son in conjunction with Ben Davies on the left side of the field saw the Welsh left-back repeatedly exposed with the South Korean forward reluctant to play a defensive role in the game. Contrastingly, Erik Lamela’s committed performances last season left the team in a much better position defensively, the Argentinian winger willing to play his defensive part.
Additionally, Liverpool’s main weakness, their defence, was left untroubled come full time. The midfield duo of Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli were largely anonymous for long periods of the game, leaving Harry Kane increasingly isolated up front. What must be particularly worrying for Pochettino is that Spurs only had two shots on target against what is a relatively poor defence in Clyne-Matip-Lucas-Milner.
When Pochettino sprung the surprise of the 3-4-3 system against Arsenal, it appeared that Spurs would stick with the system against the top teams as the Arsenal team struggled to play against it. Furthermore, the hugely impressive 2-0 victory over Chelsea was completed with the 3-4-3 formation in place. What was the requirement to conform with the 4-2-3-1 formation if the 3-4-3 suited our players, both offensively and defensively? There is an undeniable connection between the different formations and the results; since the team reverted back to the 4-2-3-1, we struggled to a draw with Sunderland and scraped a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough thanks to a Harry Kane penalty. Contrastingly, with three at the back, th team eased to comfortable results including the 3-0 win over Hull and the 4-1 away win over Watford. With confident performances from the players in the 3-4-3, you have to question why Pochettino chose to ‘play safe’ with a 4-2-3-1 system in a game of such significance at the summit of the table.
Hesitant substitutions
Pochettino’s hesitancy regarding substitutions is frustrating considering the poor first half the away fans had to witness. A half time substitution would have been far more suitable, to provide the extra energy, desire and spirit that is a requirement if you are to comeback from a 2-0 deficit. Instead, Pochettino waited until the 70th minute to introduce Harry Winks with Moussa Sissoko and Vincent Janssen only entering the fray for the final ten minutes. Introducing any one of these players at half time could have turned the contest around.
Remaining positive
With a two week break away from the Premier League offering the time required for the team to regroup, it is essential that confidence returns into the squad in the form of good performances against Gent in the Europa League and Fulham in the FA Cup. The current Spurs squad has a huge amount of potential and still remains in the top four, although Manchester United are now just two points behind in sixth place. We now wait anxiously for the return of Rose, Vertonghen and Lamela from injury.
Do you agree? – should Pochettino accept the majority of the blame for the Liverpool defeat? Will we manage to get into the top four this season? Can we fight for the FA Cup or the Europa League? Let me know in the comments section below or send me a tweet, @Hotspur_Huddle.
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It's down to personnel. If Jan, Danny and Eric Lamella had been fit, it would have been a different game. At full strength we are a match for anybody but most of the squad players apart from Harry Winks can't cut it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. MP seems to oversee small but important matters - the slow passing that makes them very predictable; no clue to taking corners or even defending corners, players play into congested areas rather than switch play to opposite sides quickly, unable to cope with speedy players always one player must have next covering to slow the speeding opponent, total lack of attempts on goal with power, players unwilling to put extra effort - sliding in when crosses go flying past the goal mouth..etc. I can go on. But Lloris's distribution is pathetic ! Another year of nothing but empty talks .. if only we had...
ReplyDeletelovespursbuttheyalwaysletusdown
Yes, in agreement especially with Lloris always trying to pass from the back. He should not be captain, ridiculous call by Poch. For every Bale, Berba, Ali,etc we buy - we also buy rubbish like hutton, paulinho, sissoke, soldado, janssen, etc. Consistently. Get the Saints scouts at Spurs.
ReplyDelete