It's certainly fair to say that Tottenham Hotspur have served us up a mixed season so far and it's time to rate the players and Ange Postecoglou for their efforts.
Spurs have now played 17 games this campaign in all competitions and could be sitting third in the Premier League table during this international break were it not for a dismal performance against Ipswich on Sunday. There have been highs with big wins against Aston Villa, Manchester City, West Ham, Manchester United and Everton, but also lows like the displays against the Tractor Boys and Crystal Palace in particular.
Ange Postecoglou's side have won 10 of their 17 matches so far, drawn one and lost six. Now as an international break staple at football.london, it's time to rate the Tottenham players and the head coach for the performances so far. Any player who has played fewer than 90 minutes will simply have a review by their name and as usual, these ratings are more about expectations versus reality for each player rather than a tool to compare them all with.
Let's start with the goalkeepers.
Guglielmo Vicario
On the whole Vicario has made a solid start to the season, but has just three clean sheets to his name from his 14 matches. He had a couple of wobbles against Brentford and might have done better for Arsenal's winner amid a couple of shaky moments from set piece this season, but in the main he's been one of Spurs' more consistent players and he's played the most minutes for the team with 1,260 so far. His distribution with his feet has also been good on the whole and often helped Spurs get around the opposition press. 7.5
Fraser Forster
Three games for the experienced keeper with very different performances. Against Coventry he looked shaky with one poor pass early on, a complete mess when he collided with Dragusin when running out and was beaten easily by Thomas-Asante's goal. Dropped a few crosses as well before gathering at the second attempt. Against AZ in the Europa League, Forster was very good and looked much better but then against Galatasaray, while he made a number of saves to keep the score down, he also looked wobbly and hesitant again in moments. 4.5
Pedro Porro
Headed home Spurs' first goal of the season and has provided some good attacking performances mixed in with some defensively shaky ones. Too many goals have come from that space in between him and Romero. He's played in 13 games and his form has got him back in to Spain's international squad. He's got two assists and probably should have provided more with his quality on the ball, while his set pieces have been mixed, with more like the one for Bentancur's goal on Sunday needed. 7
Cristian Romero
The Argentine has had some good moments, including a thumping header to score against Everton in his 100th game for the club and he was excellent against United and Brentford, while his passing out from the back has been key to getting Spurs up the pitch. However, Romero has switched off a number of times in key moments this season and by his own standards, the World Cup winner has not had the impact he would have wanted so far on the whole. 6.5
Micky van de Ven
Ten appearances for the Dutchman and two fantastic assists for Son and Johnson. There have been a couple of occasions when the young centre-back has looked a bit shaky, like at Brighton, but otherwise it's been another strong start to a season for the young centre-back. However, this current hamstring injury will be a concern as they're starting to mount up since he arrived. 8
Radu Dragusin
Nine appearances for the 22-year-old Romanian. He was solid against Newcastle and Coventry in the main but made a complete mess in the seventh minute against Qarabag and got himself sent off. Then he was very good against Villa and City before struggling against Galatasaray and Ipswich. His up and down performances are reflected in his score. 5
Destiny Udogie
Hadn't played since April so missed most of pre-season and has often looked like a player trying to regain his sharpness since. He's played in 15 games but hasn't really hit the heights yet despite putting in plenty of shifts for the team. He's played more minutes (1,207) than any other Spurs outfield player. Still only 21 - for another couple of weeks at least -so there's plenty more to come from the young Italy international and like Porro he needs to contribute more in the attacking third. 6.5
Djed Spence
It started off as a positive reintroduction to life at Spurs for Spence and he should have got more game time. We won't even talk yet about him being left out of the Europa League squad which still makes little sense. He changed the game at Coventry, scoring a good goal, and was excellent in replacing Udogie at United amid another couple of positive cameos from the bench. He got a new contract but a groin injury interrupted his chances and while he's now back, he hasn't played since. However, on the whole it's a world away from where he was at Spurs before this season began so that's reflected in his score. 7
Ben Davies
Seven appearances for the Welshman but just 29 minutes in the Premier League. Considered a centre-back now by Postecoglou, he's got better as the season has gone on and he's got sharper. He played well against Villa when he came on after doing well against City in the Carabao Cup. It feels like we're potentially seeing his final year in a Tottenham shirt with the lack of game time overall. 5.5
Archie Gray
We're putting the 18-year-old here because he's played at right-back or left-back whenever called up on and once as a centre-back. Had a lot to deal with at Coventry, worked really hard against Qarabag and was excellent at Ferencvaros. His performance against City brought a bit of everything with a tough job on his hands and he was one of the few to earn credit from the game at Galatasaray. He's got 11 games under his belt so far and he's got a great engine, terrific technique and tactical intelligence. It would be great to see him used in the midfield at some point and Bentancur's impending absence might deliver that. 6.5
Pape Matar Sarr
Started the season slowly but back-to-back goals in the Europa League and an assist against United followed by an assist against West Ham and a stunning goal against Manchester City has shown his growth this season. He's keeping Maddison out of the team right now and he's still so young. 7.5
Yves Bissouma
Suspended for the game at Leicester after his own indiscretion, but bounced back with a rocket of a shot in off the crossbar for his first competitive goal for the club against Everton. Was one of Spurs' better players at Newcastle as well and scored against West Ham, but has found himself to be second choice behind Bentancur in the bulk of the Premier League games. Recent displays have suggested he's finding his groove again and he'll be needed in the weeks ahead. 6.5
Rodrigo Bentancur
A painful start to the season for the Uruguayan. He was playing solidly at Leicester before suffering that head injury and then missed the Everton game through the concussion protocol. However, he soon became a key part of Spurs' five-game winning run and was particularly excellent against Brentford and United, before impressing in more recent games and netted his first goal of the season against Ipswich. He's looked more like his pre-ACL injury self but Spurs now appear set to lose him until the end of the year to suspension and he's also on four yellow cards in the Premier League so another absence could be in the offing after he returns. 8
James Maddison
A really strong start to the season in the early weeks. He's got three goals and four assists and was excellent in many of the first 10 or so games but since being taken off at half-time against West Ham, he's struggled to make an impact, that free-kick against Villa aside. His score reflects the credit he'd built up before that. 7
Lucas Bergvall
Still adjusting to the step up to Premier League football. There have been glimpses of just how good he's going to become for Spurs and also moments where you can see where he has to learn and adapt. Was really unfortunate to come off early against Qarabag due to Dragusin's red card and that lack of game time showed as he tired at Ferencvaros. Really looked off the pace against Galatasaray and he's still got plenty of adaptation to do despite his obvious talent. 5
Dejan Kulusevski
Spurs' best player this season without a doubt. He's excelled in the deeper role in midfield and while he's got five assists and two goals, he's contributed so much more earlier in moves and created chances aplenty for his team-mates. Full of confidence and his link-up play and strength has been remarkable. Postecoglou believes he's got a huge ceiling in the deeper position and that's clear to see. Spurs look worse for it when he's not on the pitch. 9
Wilson Odobert
A promising start to life for the teenager at Tottenham. but the injury at Coventry has been a major blow and other than a brief return against AZ, he's already been out for two months. 4.5
Son Heung-min
Three goals and three assists for the captain around a hamstring problem that seemed to linger after returning against West Ham with a goal. Not at his best yet compared to his high standards, but he's still contributed. 7
Timo Werner
The German has been through it so far this season. He grabbed an assist at Brighton and his goal against City felt like a big moment after a real crisis in confidence. He's just fluffed too many big moments in front of goal for Spurs and has been carrying a groin injury which has been dogging him. 4.5
Mikey Moore
A really bright full debut against Ferencvaros and was involved in both of Spurs' goals and has appearances in half of Tottenham's games so far this season. Maddison remarked that he thought Neymar was on the wing during a great spell in the second half against AZ. The teenager got his first Premier League start against Crystal Palace and has got 288 minutes to his name. Hit hard by a virus in recent weeks but it's been a really bright start to the campaign in that respect for that 17-year-old and that's reflected in his mark. 7
Brennan Johnson
Struggled in his first two games before coming to the fore again in an impressive second half at Newcastle, forcing the own goal. Then after a tough day against Arsenal and the subsequent social media abuse, he deactivated his Instagram account for a spell and hasn't looked back since with a goal in each of the next six matches plus another for Wales. He might drift in and out of games at times and his defending can still improve - Sunday was a good example of of that - but he's Spurs' top scorer with seven goals and has been there in big moments for the team. At just 23, there's much more to come as well and the way he bounced back so strongly from the abuse and criticism deserves plenty of respect, which is all shown in his rating. 8
Dominic Solanke
Took a little while to get his sharpness after a pre-season injury, the late summer move to Spurs and then an ankle injury suffered early on at Leicester. He's found his groove now with six goals and two assists. There's so much to his game with his hold-up play, pressing, dribbling and finishing. He's going to be a major player for Tottenham this season. 8
Richarlison
Had a big late chance from Bergvall's free-kick at Leicester but headed it over unmarked and then had a longer cameo against Everton in which he worked hard before getting a muscle injury in training. He came back and provided a great assist for Solanke's goal against Villa only to injury his hamstring badly in the process. A familiar story for the unfortunate Brazilian. 4.5
Will Lankshear
Made his debut at Ferencvaros and did well in a battling performance. Could have grabbed himself a couple of goals with better connections with the ball. The 19-year-old then had his dream moment with his first senior goal against Galatasaray only to get sent off for a second yellow card in the second half, which also robs him of the chance to play against Roma. However, it's still been a big start to the season for the teenager. 6.5
And the boss
Ange Postecoglou
The fine lines in football are summed up perfectly by the fact that right now we should be talking about Postecoglou's Spurs side sitting in third place in the Premier League, above Arsenal and Chelsea, while in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and in a strong position in the Europa League with three wins out of their first four matches.
However, that woeful display against Ipswich on Sunday, coupled with the defeat at Palace a couple of weeks before, has taken the shine off things and showcased the rollercoaster nature of the results under the Australian despite much better performances on the whole.
Spurs have won nine of their past 13 matches in all competitions but just 10 of the 17 so far this season and the key for Postecoglou is help his team play his football for complete matches rather than in spells.
The Ipswich defeat clouds the fact that there is a better structure within the team and how they play. Spurs are the Premier League's top scorers and have recorded the second most shots on goal per game in the Premier League (17.2) as well as the second most off target (6.3). They have created the third most chances in the league this season with 137 and have duly missed the joint-third highest number of big chances (24).
They have the second highest XG in the Premier League (20.28) and have allowed the second fewest amount of shots per game in the competition (7.8). They have still only conceded from two set pieces in the league all season and scored from four (the joint second most in the Premier League). Going into Sunday's game, only three teams had conceded fewer goals than Spurs.
Yet Tottenham have lost too many games in the Premier League, more than anyone else in the top half of the table, and have fallen 1-0 behind in 13 home Premier League matches in 2024, which just isn't good enough. The away form is also poor with not enough performances turned into the results they probably merited - Palace and the second half at Brighton aside.
Postecoglou isn't blameless and while he's affected some games with his changes, he's also failed to alter them in others. The decision to leave Spence out of his Europa League squad was also a strange one.
As part of a major rebuild, the signs of improvement on what was there before are to be found but there's still so much to do to remove the inconsistency in the performances and Postecoglou needs his team to find their groove again because the run of fixtures are tough after this international break. This rating is very much based on probably how the Australian himself sees the inconsistent results in the Premier League. 6.5
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