Five points out of a possible 18 and suddenly Mauricio Pochettino’s first season at Spurs does not look as impressive as it did just a month ago.
And that is the thing with football, the dynamic changes so quickly, it turns into a game of ever-changing opinions. Pochettino himself said so.
“When you’re coach, you have all information. If you win, you’re best and if you don’t, you are a shit who made wrong decision,” Pochettino said back in December.
And Spurs’ season really has descended into that “S word” that Pochettino used. It is not a terrible season – this season has had its highs. There was a good run between December to February which saw wins over Chelsea and Arsenal as well as the Capital One Cup semi-final win over Sheffield United.
Through all the ups and downs this season along with the constant rewriting of the “script”, there has been a constant at Tottenham Hotspur this season: a poor defence. Some may argue that it is not only this season but many seasons, even decades, before but looking at it in the context of this season only, Tottenham’s defence has been, in the nicest way possible, deplorable. If this team wants to ever challenge for the top four, whether next season or any after, Pochettino and his coaching staff have to solve Spurs’ defensive issues.
What causes even more concern is that of the six signings brought into White Hart Lane last summer, five were defenders and the one midfielder – Benjamin Stambouli – is a defensive midfielder. Eric Dier, Ben Davies, Michel Vorm, Federico Fazio and subsequently D’Andre Yedlin were brought in to shore up a defence that conceded 51 goals the previous season. It is fair to say, they failed.
These are not bad players. Eric Dier has captained England Uner-21s, Davies was a Premier League regular for Swansea, the same goes for Vorm and Fazio had just won the Europa League with Sevilla. The problem isn’t mainly the players although they do have a part of it.
Below is a look at Spurs’ defensive record in comparison with the other 19 clubs in the league.
It does not make for good reading. Fifty-three goals conceded is only better than already-relegated Burnley and QPR as well as relegation-threatened Leicester and Newcastle. Sixth in the league they may be, but Spurs possess the defensive record of a team which is fighting relegation. They concede 1.47 goals per game. That, is dreadful. In comparison to the other top six teams, Spurs have conceded 25 more than Chelsea (28), nineteen more than Arsenal (34), 17 more than both Manchester clubs (36) and 14 more than Liverpool. How can Spurs challenge these clubs when they are conceding a lot more goals? The simple answer is that they can’t.
Things would have been much worse for Spurs should they not have the magnificent Hugo Lloris in goal. Tottenham Hotspur simply cannot challenge for any sort of honours next season if its defensive situation is not resolved. The club is linked to players such as Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer, Benedikt Howedes and a raft of central defenders but it is more than just the players. Having the best defenders in the world is pointless without a solid defensive unit. Pochettino, who was a defender himself, has to coach these players into a strong defensive unit.
Another reason for this poor defensive record is the lack of a true defensive midfielder at Spurs. Every great team is characterized by a great defensive midfielder; Real Madrid with Claude Makelele, Barcelona with Sergio Busquets, Chelsea with Nemanja Matic and the list goes on and on. Spurs’ midfield this season has consisted of the home-grown duo of Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason. However good they may be, none are true defensive midfielders and that leaves the centre-backs unprotected. Unprotected centre-backs is a cause for disaster at it means that when the opposition gets into the defensive third, one of those players has to go, leaving space in behind for the opposition to exploit.
The last thing Spurs need to do in order to improve their defensive record is learn to defend crosses and set pieces!
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Despite the desperate plight to secure strikers for next season, the one true area that requires attention is defence. The backline is responsible for ensuring that the number of goals conceded are minimal. If we had defenders who were tough tackling, thinking ahead and fully aware of where team mates were positioned, would we really need Hugo Lloris?
Firstly, it is as a result of our defensive weakness that we have to rely on Hugo Lloris so heavily. Having a goal keeper as captain can present obvious problems. Stationary set pieces like free kicks are easier for a goal keeper to assess and organise his defence, as opposed to actual movement of attacks inside the box. It is these instances where the captain is traditionally a central defender, where he shares the line with his full backs. A strong defence breaks down the attacking play of the opposition before it reaches the last defensive line – the goal keeper. So, for me, instead of worrying about whether Hugo Lloris will stay or not, now is the perfect time to rid ourselves of players such as Younes Kaboul, Vlad Chiriches, Fazio, Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies and Kyle walker. We need defensive players who understand how to read the game and physically strong with pace. Players such as Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer, Mateo Musacchio and Benedikt Howedes represent better options than we currently have.
Secondly, our midfield is not strong enough. Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason have, indeed, done well but are not equipped to assert the qualities needed to challenge for the Premier League title. Benjamin Stambouli was brought in as a cheaper option for Morgan Schneiderlin. We need the real thing, so we need to secure Morgan Schneiderlin before Chelsea or Arsenal do. Controlling the play in midfield is imperative. It is no good having run of the mill players and expect to win trophies and titles. Whether Spurs like it or not, we have to compete. There is no choice. It is made all the more difficult by deep pocket clubs like Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd being able to buy the very best players first. The gap is widening whether we accept it or not.
Thirdly, Spurs would do well to invest in a defence coach, to discipline and organise the backline. It would be equally important to bed in new arrivals this summer, as I believe Mauricio Ponchettino will be considerably active in other areas on rebuilding.
Its not just Spurs defence that are to blame . Time after time I witnessed midfielders giving the ball away and just watching as the opposition attacked the defence often outnumbering Spurs defence when they should be running back as fast as possible to help out .