Tottenham lost yet another game on the weekend, this time at home to Ipswich Town, who incidentally bagged their first league win of the season. They have now lost three of their last five games.
And so continues Spurs’ stop-and-go run. Longtime followers of football know exactly where this story is headed, but the Lilywhites’ head coach Ange Postecoglou is not the kind of man who will give up until the day he is given his marching orders.
Here, we take a look at three tweaks he can bring to his starting XI to shake things up and look for a win on the other side of the International break as they face Man City at the Etihad.
Substitutes
Spurs have not been using their full quota of five substitutes in recent games. Yes, making changes just for the sake of it often does not help either, but industry and concentration are two crucial pillars of Postecoglou’s football, so using the full set of players available to him in a game will only help him eke out those marginal gains—the fresher the team, the likelier the team will be to keep their shape and their collective head.
This will become particularly important going into the festive period. Changes to the starting XI will need to be enforced not just ahead of the game, but in the middle as well, and whether he likes it or not, Ange Postecoglou is going to have to turn to the bench more often and trust his substitutes to get the job done.
Archie Gray over Radu Drăgușin
Radu Drăgușin was reportedly unhappy with his playing time. He has received some playing time now and has left much to be desired.
On the other side of the international break, Micky van de Ven may return to the starting XI right away, or he may not. Either way, Drăgușin cannot be given the impression that injuries would make him indispensable by default. Postecoglou needs to keep the wheels spinning by offering his spot to the likes of Archie Gray and Ben Davies, both of whom have occupied the centre-back role this season, to keep the Romanian on his toes.
More runners in midfield
Tottenham’s front men are able to tear oppositions apart on the break. Creativity is not what the team are currently crying out for more than industry in attack-to-defence transitions, and this is where reducing the reliance on the likes of Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison in the middle of the pitch comes into play.
Postecoglou may want to go with more industrious operators at the expense of creativity in the central midfield to help his defence feel a bit more secure.
Ultimately, consistency in results is what Tottenham need right now. Their football remains refreshing and exciting, but that has been the case more for the neutrals of late than their own fanbase.
