With just one month away from the opportunity for Tottenham to win our first silverware since 2008, it is clear that there are plenty of issues within the squad that need to be ironed out before the League Cup Final.
There are underlying issues in the defence, attacking midfield and with the tactics that Jose Mourinho will be desperate to sort out in the next few weeks so that we hit a good spell of form heading into the game, because everyone knows that Manchester City are no pushovers.
Pep Guardiola will be aiming for the quadruple, a feat that seemed near impossible at the start of the season but with just one week until the start of April, it now seems achievable, so lets take a look at what Spurs need to focus on to avoid complete embarrassment and hopefully help us secure a trophy.
Defensive fragility
City will be extremely difficult to beat but as long as dier doesn't play we have a chance
— Churned butter enthusiast (@________78____) March 25, 2021
If we said that Spurs have the joint-third best defensive record in the league for goals conceded, would you believe us?
Miraculously, that statistic is indeed factual – but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that some of the defending this season has been Non-League level and there is massive confidence issues at the back.
Spurs have the joint third most errors leading to goals at four – still some way off the total of ten that current champions Liverpool, who are somehow below us in the table, have managed so far this season.
The calm, cool and collected displays from Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon at the weekend against Aston Villa were very impressive, and we believe it is important that they remain in the side for the rest of the season so that they can build on their performances and continue their growths in confidence.
Davinson Sanchez has also had a better few months than Toby Alderweireld and Eric Dier at the back, so with Tanganga on the right, we expect Rodon to build a partnership with Sanchez in the heart of the defence, with Sergio Reguilon on the left.
Creativity from deep
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been a revelation this season – a real fan favourite at the base of midfield, but we still need to see more of his creativity and vision that we have seen in parts this season.
We know he can play a delicious long through-ball but we don’t see it enough, and with Mourinho reverting to a two-man midfield, Tanguy Ndombele can’t be relied upon to provide all of the creativity from deep when our central-attacking midfielders aren’t in form.
If Giovani Lo Celso provides more assists and goals to the team, he could yet still prove to be a good replacement for the excellent Christian Eriksen, who without a doubt has been missed by the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dele Alli.
https://twitter.com/iamhaneulsky/status/1375070002085208071?s=20
But his role in the team is no longer guaranteed, after Lucas Moura’s last couple of months where he has been unplayable at times with his direct dribbling from the centre of the pitch causing problems for every team he has played against in that period.
Alli will also be wanting to return to the team and prove his worth in that position with the Euros coming up, but whoever takes up that role needs to be constantly working for the team and playing in-between the lines but also up their confidence enough to get them to start contributing goals and assists for the team.
Tactical tweaks
The inconsistency to the way Spurs play is very concerning – some games we look like we are parking the bus, some games we set up to press high and some games it’s a mixture of both and the players look caught up in two minds.
We competed in a Champions League Final two years ago, so why is it that we are parking the bus against teams that are in scraps for relegation – where is the bottle?
Not just Mourinho but also the leaders in this team need to step up and speak up for themselves and the fans because why should a team of this calibre be settling for 1-0 wins against the likes of Fulham when we have Son and Kane in our attack – it should be 5-0!
Hope José will Park a triple bus there
— Akj (@jaquet74321581) March 25, 2021
We should be setting up to press high and play attacking football every single game – like we did against Crystal Palace and Burnley, and then when we play the likes of City, we can go into the game and set up to hit them on the counter-attack knowing our forwards our on a hot-streak of form and are scoring from every angle!