Inconsistency in their results deprived Tottenham of a top-four finish during year one of the Ange Postecoglou era.
This time, they are offered fewer quarters, and yet their inconsistency continues. Their recent loss to Ipswich has made it three defeats in the last five game for Spurs, and something’s got to give at this point.
Now, we know what Ange Postecoglou is like, and we know he won’t change his style of play, but for curiosity’s sake let’s engage in a hypothetical and look at some formation tweaks the coach from Down Under could look at in an attempt to get more consistent results.
3-4-3
Not too different from what we saw during the first half-season of Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, with the midfield pivot and wide forward/midfielders creating a mid block higher up the pitch for numerical superiority and wingbacks offering both overlapping and underlapping runs. Players like Dejan Kulusevski, whom Postecoglou likes using centrally as well, could be offered a bespoke task in this system: coming back to help with the first build-up phase in the central areas while drifting out wide as the move progresses. An asymmetric setup would let someone like Timo Werner or Brennan Johnson take up the role of a runner off the left, with either Son Heung-min or Dominic Solanke pressing from the middle.
3-4-1-2
This could come in handy particularly against sides playing three at the back, with Spurs’ front two being two runners (like Johnson and Son) both looking to get behind the centre-backs between the lines supported by an industrious number 10 in James Maddison or Kulusevski, who would be allowed to take hold of the situation in the middle of the pitch the way he sees fit and support both the midfield pivot in early build-up and deliver that unlocking pass to the two runners up front.
In both these aforementioned formations, more numerical superiority in the first build-up phase would reduce the players’ anxiety in passing the ball up the pitch, while the defensively-minded wingbacks offering width instead of the wingers is the current setup would offer more solidity.
4-4-2
The only major change this would entail from Postecoglou’s current system would be deploying a “runner” forward alongside a central striker in Solanke like Johnson or Werner instead of using a creative midfielder like Maddison or Kulusevski, the latter of whom could still be used out wide as a winger. With both fullbacks and wingers (starting a further back than you usual wingers in a 4-3-3 setup) offering width, Spurs could choose to have their wingers hold the width both while pressing from the front and in their team’s final build-up phase or have them drop into the half spaces and have their fullbacks tackle the width depending on how the opposition would set up.
More Tottenham News:
Of course, we know that the likeliest outcome is Ange Postecoglou not willing to budge from his current preferences, which will result in just enough stumbles in results for Spurs to miss out on their targets for the season.
What do you make of our tweaks? Do you think they would work? Would you rather the Lilywhites lined up in another shape? Let us know in the comments.
