Tottenham suffered more frustration at Wembley in Saturday’s goalless draw with Swansea.
Mauricio Pochettino’s surprise team selection and tactics were always going to come under scrutiny after his men failed to break down the visitors despite enjoying 75% of the possession.
Perhaps ‘enjoying’ isn’t the right word. This display was a world away from the spirited counter-attacks in the 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund and with the boot on the other foot, Spurs didn’t quite know what to do to overcome Swansea’s resolve.
Without a recognised winger, the wing-backs are supposed to be an essential part of the plan going forward. Ben Davies was dropped to the bench, with Pochettino revealing only in his press conference after the game that the Welshman had suffered a knock in the Champions League, hence why he didn’t feature against his former club.
Six months ago, before talk had materialised of Kyle Walker’s potential departure and when the idea of the club’s longest-serving player Danny Rose leaving was laughable, the full-back positions were well down the list of concerns.
Pochettino found himself with a dilemma in Davies’ absence, and this was one test he struggled with.
What are the options?
Spurs could have operated with a more conventional four at the back, or used Eric Dier as a centre-back and switched Jan Vertonghen to the left. The Belgian plays there fairly regularly for the national team. Jose Mourinho’s latest dig is suggesting teams like Everton, Chelsea, and Spurs are playing ‘five at the back’ rather than three, but Spurs didn’t need to pack the defence tightly against a Swansea side who made very little attempt to mount many attacks of their own. On the right, it was a choice between Kieran Trippier and Serge Aurier, the latter having earned the nod – and excelled - in the BVB game.
The left:
Using Heung-Min Son as a left wing-back brings back haunting memories of the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea last season, when he conceded an albeit soft penalty against Victor Moses. Not only does the South Korean struggle to recover his position, using him there is a waste of what he has to offer playing behind Harry Kane. Moving Moussa Sissoko in the second half at least allowed Son to play more centrally.
The right:
Aurier and Trippier are the two options, although Kyle Walker-Peters may get his chance in the Carabao Cup. All offer bursting runs down the right, and it’s the PSG man whose final ball is most lethal. Rather than bring Trippier off, Pochettino bizarrely moved him to the left, which inevitably meant he had to keep cutting inside, slowing down Spurs’ rhythm in the process.
The major problem with using Sissoko at RWB, apart from the obvious, is that he’s clearly been told to go back to basics. On quite a few occasions against the Swans, Christian Eriksen would play the ball to the France international, only for him to look for the simplest pass and take the sting out of the attack. There were fewer glaring errors, but his presence wasn’t conducive to creating anything that really tested their opponents.
The verdict:
Pochettino needn’t be forced into any knee-jerk reactions and he’s earned the right to experiment. Spurs are undergoing their typically slow start to the season and there is no cause for alarm regarding his formation. After all, this was the first time in 30 league home games that they haven’t scored. What is clear is that the return of Danny Rose will be welcomed, even if there’s no sign of when he’ll be back. If his long-term future isn’t to be in north London, then the club may already have one eye on a successor, most likely Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon. Tuesday night’s game against Barnsley isn’t going to tell us too much more as Pochettino has promised to rotate, yet this is a conundrum that will no doubt be ticking away at the back of his mind.
