Sports Chat Hub
Tottenham have been plagued by yet another season of poor results but they are playing football unlike any recent season. Tottenham have been revitalised through the arrival of ex-Celtic manager Ange Postecoglu. Deriving from Australia he has taken a Spurs team that was down and out after multiple poor managerial performances from the likes of Conte and Nuno Santos and turned them into a team that is reinvigorated with passion and seem to be on their way to a special few seasons, however, some tough results have left this up for question.
Tottenham Hotspur have been one of the most entertaining attacking teams in the Premier League and have dominated some top teams like Manchester City but have dropped points to teams like Palace and Fulham showing that despite their top performances they are still the same Tottenham Hotspur. Players like Brennan Johnson, Kulusevski, Porro, Udogie and Maddison have found incredible form under Postecoglu who’s attacking play allows for wing creativity as well as impressive passing play that has allowed Maddison and Kulusevski to explore their creativity with them both piling on assists and key passes from midfield. Multiple players have also become multi use, like Kulusevski who has found himself filling holes in midfield because of injuries to players like Odobert and Bentancur.
Postecoglu has yet again found a way to make signings that impact his style of play and work with what he is given like he did at Celtic. Brennan Johnson is one example, a man who was signed before the arrival of Ange and has been amazing this season after facing criticism for poor performances leading up to the North London Derby and in the game against Arsenal. Since then he has led the team in scoring along with Maddison who both have 15 goals and have shown they are world class and that there isn’t any doubt about their level. If Johnson can continue to grow he could be one of the best wingers in the Premier League thriving in Postecoglu’s fluid style of play or as its better known “Angeball.”
The style of play Spurs have made use of allows for the movement of the ball around the pitch especially in attack. Their build up play is incredible and normally leads to a direct pass through the lines of defence and a tidy finish from any one of their attackers or midfielders with them having 4 players scoring 10 or more goals this season. However, their high line that allows for players like Porro and Udogie to shine has also led to them conceding easy goals and making poor defensive decisions; as well as being weak on corners. When teams like Arsenal who game plan incredibly come up against them they are able to take advantage of these weaknesses which is something we have seen from smaller teams like Palace and Fulham this season who have been able to get results by exploiting Tottenham for being “Spursy.”
Despite this they have had some incredible high scoring games, one of which came this weekend against league lowest Southampton with Spurs scoring all 5 goals in the first half and dominating them creatively. They have also had high scoring games against Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Ham. All of these are respectable teams and Spurs were able to put 3 or more past all of them however, the defensive errors do seep through and the score-lines reflect it with all of these teams other than Manchester United scoring against Tottenham in one of their fixtures.
This is the issue with the club, they are elite attacking-wise but defensive mistakes and errors lead to them conceding and games becoming out of reach. But, if Ange can get the best out of them in a knockout competition there is no reason they cannot win and have already knocked Manchester City out of the EFL Cup and they are major competitors however, good teams still remain, teams that have beaten Tottenham even on their best days.
When Postecoglu can drive these men to success they are one of the most entertaining teams in the Premier League, however, if he doesn’t want to face similar treatment from the board as the past few managers at Tottenham Hotspur; he has to pick up some better results in the Premier League before faith is lost.