The narrative surrounding Spurs’ defensive approach is that it is Postecoglou’s fatal flaw. The North London outfit concede an alarming number of chances and goals, so today we will be evaluating the main causes of Spurs’ defensive woes.
A ‘suicidal’ style of football
Since Ange Postecoglou‘s arrival in North London last summer, he has effortlessly implemented his distinct style of football. The Australian’s impact on the club was immediately clear, with Tottenham going on a ten-game unbeaten run to kickstart the Postecoglou era.
Over the course of last season, teams began to exploit the flaws in Spurs’ system – whether that be utilising the wide space afforded by the advanced full-backs, or overloading the midfield to subdue Spurs’ lone defensive midfielder.
Critics argue that the reason Tottenham concede so many goals under Postecoglou (74 Premier League goals and counting) is because of the ‘suicidal’ style of football governed by the Australian. Despite the exciting front-foot football, creating a plethora of chances, Spurs also give up chances easily, with opponents always having the feeling that there will be opportunities to score against The Lilywhites.
Ange’s persistence with his infamous high line, even without recovery specialist Micky van de Ven, has proved to cost Spurs at times, as clinical teams take advantage of the space in behind which quite often leads to goals.
An example of this would be Tottenham‘s home game against Chelsea, where the hosts were left with nine on the field, camping on the halfway line. This undoubtedly supports the argument that Postecoglou‘s impudence will be his undoing, as his team went on to lose that game 4-1.
A problem with personnel
It could be argued that a great deal of the goals conceded by Spurs come subject to individual errors paired with issues regarding the fragile mentality of much of the dressing room.
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Just this season, Tottenham have lost a number of games purely due to defensive stupidity, with the result against Brighton springing to mind instantly. In that game, Spurs’ backline capitulated, conceding three goals in eighteen minutes.
Unfortunately, it’s an ongoing theme amongst Spurs defenders this season that when they have their backs against the wall, they crumble, nullifying all of the good work the team had done beforehand. The worst part about that result at The Amex is the fact that all the goals conceded were so avoidable, however individual errors from Udogie, as well as sloppiness from the centre-backs, decided Spurs’ destiny.
The roots of Spurs’ defensive issues may also stem from the lack of quality depth in the squad, particularly the rearguard. Should Spurs lose one of their defensive stalwarts, the decrease in quality is painfully obvious. In recent weeks, Dragusin has been found out, and while Davies tends to be reliable, he’s no Van de Ven and he is certainly ineffective when inverting as a full-back.
What the Spurs stats suggest…
From the naked eye, we may judge Spurs’ defence to be abysmal. Beyond bad. Depressing to watch. Call it what you like. But some of Spurs’ defensive statistics may surprise you…
Ange Postecoglou’s men have conceded the fourth least xGA (expected goals against) with 14.36 (Understat.com) and have conceded the sixth least goals in the Premier League this season with 13. This means that Spurs have conceded the same number of goals as Premier League champions Manchester City, and one less than the ‘best defence in the league’ Arsenal. Makes you think…
These stats do not invalidate my earlier points, but they rather reinforce the idea that Postecoglou and Spurs are heading in the right direction, and with a few more transfer windows and a bit more investment in the defence, the issues will resolve themselves.