It wasn’t that long ago when Tottenham fans up and down the country couldn’t bare watching the opposition have the ball. The infamous Spurs defence over the years has been laughable and we as Spurs fans have had to endure some truly unforgivable performances down the years and have really been pushed to the edge as fans.
Yet we now sit eight games into the 2016/17 season with the second best defence in European football (behind Athletico Madrid & Bayern Munich) after finishing the previous campaign with the joint lowest goals conceded. Here, I am going to give my opinion as to how Spurs have managed to make such a huge change to their defence.
If we turn back time to 2014, the club announced the managerial signing of Mauricio Pochettino, and in an early interview conducted by SpursTV he said, “We will try to give you everything to make you proud of this football club”. He has lived up to his words and it has been a long and drastic process by our now manager and his coaching staff, where there have been some big decisions along the way. Poch understood that he was going to have to completely knock the house down and build from scratch. Removing and excluding some of the clubs deadwood players, including Emmanuel Adebayor & Paulinho, then replacing them with players that he believed would buy into his philosophy. Poch replaced these players with the likes of Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Hung-min Son, hardly your household names but these young players were raw and had something to prove with their introduction into the Premier League.
Through the use of players like these who are eager and willing to put the work into Poch’s philosophy, we could now see exactly how he wanted his teams to perform. Direct with the ball and a nightmare without it. The high pressing game that has been adopted by the players is really taking its toll on teams up and down the country, most recently in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over league leaders Manchester City. The win also showed us that through high energy levels and high pressing, even a great team like Manchester City could come away with their lowest percentage of passing accuracy all season. What does this mean? It means that teams are panicked and off put by Tottenham’s desire press and claim back the ball.
Of course there must be more to it than that, right? Right! When Spurs have the ball they love being direct and dynamic. A trait where the full backs Danny Rose and Kyle Walker love bombing forward, which could and should leave you short at the back. As the fullbacks head forward, the powerhouse at CDM, whether it be Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama or Moussa Dembélé, slip back to create a back three. This system often fell short last season when academy players such as Ryan Mason or Tom Carroll were called on because sadly they were just not strong enough for the job. Another example of our strength in depth now is that even Eric Dier can’t walk back into the starting XI without a fight for his place.
Finally, I’d like to give mention to two players who I believe don’t get nearly enough praise by pundits or anybody who doesn’t support Tottenham.
Hugo Lloris, captain of club and country. He is easily one of the best goalkeepers in the league. His “sweeper keeper” traits showing exactly how world class he can be. I’ve heard somewhere that even though he is a quiet man who keeps himself to himself, when he speaks in the changing room there is silence. Hugo shows what a captain should be, calm, collected, professional and world class.
There have been lots of discussions about who is the best central defender in the country, but for me there is no debate. Toby Alderweireld is the greatest we have had since Ledley King and he just gets better and better the more I watch him. He has brought solidarity to our back line and for the first time in my life, a degree of confidence at the back. He gives instructions and players listen. He is better on the ball than John Stones who apparently is going to be a world beater, and he has taken Jan Vertonghen to a whole new level, which works for both Spurs and Belgium. Maybe Roberto Martinez should take Poch out for a meal to say thanks for creating this fantastic pairing.
