Ange Postecoglou is reportedly under pressure just five games into the new season, with his Tottenham team selections and tactics being questioned by fans and the media alike, so TT has looked at changes he could make to give his XI better balance.
The north London club have won only one of the opening four Premier League outings to currently sit 13th in table and, going back to the end of last season, they have lost seven of their last 11 games.
There was a welcome win in the Carabao Cup at Coventry on Wednesday night, although the result did not match what was a disjointed display that produced yet more defensive errors while there was als no cutting edge to the attack. Yes, Postecoglou made eight changes to the side that lost at Arsenal but there was still enough quality on the pitch that Spurs should not have been relying on two very late goals to see off the Championship side.
Four of the back five were changed which led to some shambolic communication times and individual errors which could have ended up costing Postecoglou if the Sky Blues had not been so wasteful.
Dominic Solanke remains without a goal after his big-money switch, although Tottenham are not yet playing to the former Bournemouth man’s strengths, while skipper Son Heung-min is looking a shadow of the player who has been so reliable for so long.
But it’s in the midfield where the balance is seemingly all wrong and that was evidenced in the loss to Arsenal, where Spurs were fine when in possession but out of it they left the two centre-backs continually exposed with the full-backs pushing on.
To that end, it’s time for Postecoglou to go back to basics a bit and have a more solid foundation to launch attacks from and give Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven the protection they need in the process.
The centre-back duo will also benefit from another change at the back when it comes to the issue of defending set-pieces (as highlighted below), an issue that has plagued the team for a number of years.
So here is our take on how Tottenham should line up for the foreseeable future…
Best Tottenham XI (4-2-1-3)
Guglielmo Vicario
The Italian still has a big issue when it comes to commanding his area, especially from set-pieces, but the other option is 36-year-old veteran Fraser Forster and he looked all at sea in the Carabao Cup win at Coventry.
Vicario remains an outstanding shot-stopper but also needs to work on his distribution, with his feet getting Tottenham’s defence into sticky situations a bit too often.
Pedro Porro
One of the real plus points last season has started the new campaign in a similar fashion. His ability to get forward and be a real threat in the box is a real plus point and the defensive side of his game is steadily improving.
Going back to last season the Spaniard has 12 goal involvements in his last 41 games, including five goals and seven assists, and has emerged as one of Postecoglou’s most consistent performers.
Cristian Romero
The Argentine remains an unstoppable force for his country but can be a slight enigma at Tottenham, with lapses in concentration often leading to goals.
Just this season, he lost Jamie Vardy for Leicester’s equaliser in the opening game of the season and was then outmuscled in the box by Gabriel for Arsenal’s set-piece winner last weekend.
Despite that, links to Real Madrid refuse to go away for the World Cup and Copa America winner – although Spurs have other ideas on that front are keen to offer the player a new deal.
Radu Dragusin
The big Romania international has looked good in his rare starts for the club and bringing him in alongside Romero should have a massive benefit in terms of resolving the set-piece issue.
Having the former Genoa man alongside Romero (6ft 1in) and Van de Ven (6ft 4in) at the back should go some way to alleviating what has become a major problem for Postecoglou – despite the Australian admitting he is not overly concerned with the set-piece problems.
Micky van de Ven
Another of the more consistent performers at Spurs and his electric pace often gets the team out of trouble when their aggressive attacking play is hit on the transition.
The Netherlands international filled in superbly at left-back towards the end of last season due to Destiny Udogie’s injury and playing him gives that extra height to deal with those set-piece issues.
That is tough on Udogie, who looked so good through the first half of last season, but his form dropped off and he still does not look fully fit or back to the level that wowed many observers during his early days at the club.
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Archie Gray
The summer signing is the beneficiary of Yves Bissouma’s continued struggles to replicate the outstanding form he showed at Brighton and also in the first 10 games of last season.
Gray was bought off the back of his tremendous showings for Leeds in the heart of their engine room, playing well above his years and earning a £30million switch to north London in the process.
His game intelligence was also on show in pre-season, with Postecoglou often playing him in central defence and it’s time the Australian threw him in – especially with the lack of other quality options to protect the back four.
Rodrigo Bentancur
The Uruguay international is still not the player he was before his ACL injury suffered in February 2023 but he remains the club’s best box-to-box midfielder.
Having Gray alongside him to offer a bit more defensive stability would at least allow Bentancur to play a bit further forward and utilise his creativity a bit more.
That was on show late in the game at Coventry when he broke up play on the halfway line, drove forward and played a perfect through ball for Brennan Johnson to score the winner.
James Maddison
The England man was quiet in the loss to Arsenal but has otherwise started the new season brightly and looked more like the Maddison who was so good in that 10-match unbeaten run to start last term.
There is no denying the former Leicester man’s creativity but he needs to add more goals to his game, with only four in 34 appearances for the club so far.
Dejan Kulusevski
The Swede needs to be pushed back to the right wing for the foreseeable future as the experiment of playing him deeper leaves Spurs too open when out of possession.
Kulusevski lacks the pace to be a genuine winger but getting him in and around the box more where he does all his best work makes far more sense.
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Dominic Solanke
The club-record signing has had a difficult start to life in north London but he has at least looked a threat, without so far taking the chances on offer.
Solanke thrives on crosses and through-balls to utilise his pace and Tottenham have not really played to those strengths yet. However, there is a feeling that once the first one goes in, more will follow.
Son Heung-min
The South Korean remains a threat but that electric pace and finishing power does appear to have deserted him to a certain extent.
Son has been used out wide and through the middle so far this season, as he was last campaign, but has been perhaps overburdened by the captaincy.
After Harry Kane’s departure, Tottenham have become so reliant on their other superstar attacker and that weight of responsibility is potentially starting to have an impact – that and the fact he is now 32 years of age.