12 hours Ago By Oliver Young-Myles
Tottenham fans haven’t had much to feel optimistic about of late and when the starting XI to face Bournemouth was announced, many will have felt a pang of apprehension.Ange Postecoglou‘s midfield three favoured industry over ingenuity: Pape Matar Sarr (who, in fairness, went on to score), Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur were the chosen ones.The plan was presumably to match Bournemouth’s physicality.
However, Spurs lacked the technical level (not just in midfield) to bypass their opponent’s relentless press, with passes frequently going astray.if(window.adverts) { window.
adverts.addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }The Cherries forced 38 turnovers, the eighth-highest total in a Premier League match this season, scoring from one such situation and going close on numerous others.#color-context-related-article-3505215 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square FOOTBALL The Spurs gift shop item that sums up the club’s dismal situationRead MorePostecoglou responded by replacing Bissouma with Lucas Bergvall at half-time and Bentancur with James Maddison by the hour mark, changing two-thirds of his starting midfield by the final third of the game.
It was an admission that his gameplan hadn’t worked.Sunday’s game was by no means a one-off. Postecoglou has struggled to find the right balance in midfield since being appointed 21 months ago.
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addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }It is an area of the team that he has tweaked and tinkered with constantly, like an amateur chef experimenting with spices in search of KFC’s top secret mix.The midfield turnover has been vast. Postecoglou has made 68 changes to his starting midfield in 44 matches, which equates to 1.
5 changes per game. He has named the same three in back-to-back matches just four times.Rotation has been a factor, with Postecoglou using the early rounds of the Carabao Cup and Europa League to give players a breather and others game time.
The odd suspension, such as Bentancur’s seven-game ban, have also complicated matters.Postecoglou has apparently abandoned his Maddison and Kulusevski experiment (Photo: Getty)But Spurs’ fluctuating form has tended to have a bigger impact on Postecoglou’s decision-making. At different points throughout the campaign, the Australian has seemingly landed on the right combination only for a bad result to persuade him to try something else.
In September and October, Postecoglou picked an exciting trio in keeping with his front foot “Angeball” philosophy, with Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski flanking Bentancur for four successive league games.A 3-2 defeat to Brighton after leading 2-0 at half-time brought a swift end to the experiment. Maddison and Kulusevski have only started together in midfield once since then, a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace on 27 October.
For all of the accusations that Postecoglou is too dogmatic in his approach, his acceptance that a combination including both Maddison and Kulusevski was too adventurous triggered a more pragmatic approach.if(window.adverts) { window.
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adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l2"}); }#color-context-related-article-3559319 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square FOOTBALL .inews__post__label__interview{background-color: #0a0a0a;color: #ffffff;}InterviewArchie Gray: I don't know my best position yet - but I trust Ange 100 per centRead MoreSarr replaced Maddison in statement wins over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup and Aston Villa in the league.
The limitations of that ensemble were exposed in a 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich in which Maddison’s creativity was badly missed.A Maddison-Bissouma-Sarr trinity showed great promise in the 4-0 thrashing of City at the Etihad, before faltering against Bournemouth and again in a 6-3 humbling by Liverpool in December.Those losses to Brighton, Ipswich, Bournemouth and Liverpool rank among Spurs’ most dispiriting performances this season and it seems no coincidence that Postecoglou modified his selection in response.
Injuries have plagued Spurs’ season, but the midfield has been far less disrupted than other parts of the pitch. According to data from Premier Injuries, Spurs’ central midfielders (that is the six that have played there this season: Bergvall, Bentancur, Bissouma, Kulusevski, Maddison and Sarr) have missed a combined 17 games in all competitions due to injury.By contrast, Spurs’ forwards (including wingers and strikers) have been absent for a staggering 100 games, and their defenders (including full-backs and centre-backs) 97.
Even goalkeepers, Guglielmo Vicario and Fraser Forster have sat out more with 22.Despite generally having a deeper pool of players to pick from there than elsewhere, Tottenham’s midfield has been a Rubik’s cube that Postecoglou has been unable to manipulate into place. if(window.
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adverts) { window.adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l3"}); }He has generally picked one No 6 (either Bentancur or Bissouma), one playmaker (Maddison or Kuluevski) and one ball carrier (Bergvall or Sarr) in an attempt to find the right structure.
#color-context-related-article-3540805 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square FOOTBALL .inews__post__label__big-reads{background-color: #0a0a0a;color: #ffffff;}Big ReadTottenham's secret diplomat tasked with weeding out 'Spursy' cultureRead MoreThe fact that it remains a problem position, though, doesn’t reflect brilliantly on his methods. Technical director Johan Lange’s recruitment last summer and in January has also attracted criticism.
It was clear last season that neither Bentancur nor Bissouma were natural fits to play as press-resistant, ball-progressing, defensive midfielders in a Postecoglou team.Despite the lack of chemistry and cohesion, some midfielders have enjoyed excellent individual campaigns. Kulusevski is likely to win the club’s Player of the Year award; the teenage Bergvall has been a revelation since the turn of the year; Maddison is the club’s top league scorer with nine goals.
Archie Gray has also excelled despite being shunted across the back four. The 19-year-old deserves a chance to play in his favoured defensive midfield role. Bergvall and Maddison are the form options ahead of him.
In theory, their skill sets could complement each other nicely.Postecoglou needs to do something to salvage Spurs’ season in the upcoming win-or-bust tie against AZ Alkmaar. Maybe trying yet another new combination is the way to do it.
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