Report for subscribers of The Tomkins Times

Team Assessment
Analysis for the Premier League match: Saturday 11th February 2017

Founded: 5th September 1882

Ground: White Hart Lane
Capacity: 36,284
Owners: ENIC International Ltd

Current league position: 2nd

Points: 50
Goal Difference: +30
 Tottenhams Strengths and Weaknesses

This report will look at various sources to see if theres any common
agreement. These will include all the outstanding analysis done in the
public sphere by Michael Caley, Paul Riley,Ben Mayhew, Dan Kennett,
Andrew Beasley, various authors at Spielverlagerung,Outsideoftheboot,
data from Opta and finally my eyes, which arent the best.

Strengths:

Attacking down the wings

Coming back from losing positions
Finishing chances
Counterattacks
Protecting the lead
Defending set pieces

Weaknesses:

Avoiding offside

Style:

Taking long shots

Attacking down the left
Possession football
Controlling the game in the oppositions half
Short passes
Playing the offside trap

Source: Who Scored

As well as the above weaknesses, heres the shot record outside the box
this season...
Unfortunately, this tells me Spurs are due one, so expect a goal from
outside the box at Anfield! From an analysis point-of-view though, it
suggests we can restrict them, but only if we sit deeper and draw them
onto us, rather than having eight players ahead of the ball if we lose it, and
allowing them to run at our centre-backs, especially as one of their
strengths is listed as counterattacking.

Long-Term Trend Analysis

Interesting Ben has Spurs running very close to their expected level
this season. After virtually two seasons of significant
over-performance. Maybe Pochettino has a secret?! Or the best
defence in the league, because based on their shot profile (see the
tweet above) it isnt the attack.
 Match by Match xG Data

Incredibly solid numbers across the board - with one caveat mentioned
earlier on, the shot quality going forward (every shot has an expected
conversion rate of 7.7%) - especially defensively. Theyre
over-performing their xGs conceded (conceding fewer than expected).
Building on that, bar one week in November when - shock horror - they
conceded two goals in consecutive games, their defence is exceptional.
Outside the Chelsea and Man City matches, only West Ham scored twice.
While their attack stuttered earlier on in the season, particularly after
European matches, they relied on not conceding anything. Only five
goals in three month in the league.
Once Champions League games finished, and Harry Kane returned to
their side from injury (their reliance on Kane being fit does seem like a
potential weakness and flaw in their set up/squad), the attack cranked
into gear. 5-0, 3-0, 4-1, 4-1, 4-0 wins against Swansea, Hull,
Southampton, Watford and West Brom highlights their excellent record
against teams outside the top six.
Defeats away at Chelsea and Man Utd, plus a rather fortunate point away
at Man City shows you their primary struggles have come on their travels
against other sides in the top six. (Although they also beat Chelsea and
Man City at home!).
 Individual Shot Maps

Virtually all of Kanes goals are from the central danger

zone.
16 of the above shots were big chances
14 goals from 57 shots, and 38 inside the box, 28 on target
Try to restrict Kane to shots outside the box
 A similar map to Kane, with all of his 11 goals coming
from inside the penalty area
These goals are from 56 shots, 12 big chances, 33 shots
inside the box and 24 shots on target
Alli is strong at arriving late into the area, or finding
space at the far post for a header, targeting the opposition
full-back (usually from an Eriksen cross; see the first goal
against Chelsea)
 Eriksen is the long shot culprit for Spurs poor shooting
map and shot quality. Attempting 88 shots, but only 23
inside the penalty area
Only two of his huge number of shots were big chances
From those 65 shots outside the box, hes only scored
once
From those 23 inside the box, hes scored four
 Tactical Analysis

Spurs pressing registers first City defeat by Tom Payne

By far the biggest talking point in the battle between Pochettino and Guardiola,
was the formers pressing approach to the game. One of the more notable
disciples of Bielsa, Pochettino has instilled an aggressive defensive approach
at White Hart Lane as he had once done at St. Marys and at Espanyol before
then. Capable of a press which has caused many opponents issues in the past,
the young team were a prime candidate to be Peps biggest challenge yet, and
they clearly were.

In typical Bielsista fashion, Spurs were once again man-oriented in their

pressing of Citys first phase. The two highest players, Alli and Son, would often
split onto either centre-back and Christian Eriksen would move up to cover
Fernando in the defensive midfield position. From this starting shape, the
forwards would then use their cover shadow to block passes whilst pressing
Bravo, with the intention of forcing an error from the goalkeeper.

Behind them the wide midfielders, Sissoko and Lamela, would support the
press. The ball-near winger would often cover the full-back with the possibility
of moving higher to increase the pressure whilst the ball-far winger came inside
into a central City player. Although this strategy left Wanyama with a large
amount of space to cover, he did so fairly well and made the tackle to win
possession before Kolarovs early own-goal. At times he was aided by the
ball-far winger, or even the full-back who would sometimes come inside to help
win balls. Sissoko was particularly able to shift inside to support due to the
inside nature of Kolarov, who played as a false full-back once again.

A guide to Pochettinos tactics by Jake Meador

Pochettino believes in a 4-2-3-1 base with a high defensive line. He

typically wants one of his midfielders to sit deeper than the other in order
to protect the back line and to create multiple passing levels in the
teams shape.

He favors the use of aggressive pressing high up the field both to disrupt
the opposition attack and to create chances for his team. P ochettino
essentially agrees with Jurgen Klopp that the high press is the best
playmaker in the game. That said, Pochettinos approach to pressing is
actually much more conservative than that of his former coach Marcelo
Bielsa, Pep Guardiola, Roger Schmidt, or Klopp.

Pochettino wants his striker to work hard in the pressing game,

particularly with closing quickly on the keeper when given the chance,
 and will also ask him to d
rift out wide on a regular basis to receive the
ball. The attacking three behind the striker are given a large amount of
freedom to move across the front three largely because the pressing
system makes it difficult for them to be too rigid in their positioning on
the field.

Conclusion
Its easy to look at Mauricio Pochettino and see in him a disciple of two of the
most established managers in world footballMarcelo Bielsa and Pep
Guardiola. Yet when you take the time to better understand his system, you find
that though Pochettino owes many debts to many different managers, he is very
much his own man and has developed his own system.

His pressing is not a straight copy of either the German school or the more
aggressive approach of his former coach Bielsa. His use of his strikers is
innovative. And his indifference to possession sets him apart from both
managers who demand high amounts of possession (Guardiola, Louis Van Gaal),
and managers who actually want to avoid possession (Jose Mourinho, Diego
Simeone). When you add his commitment to youth to this tactical picture, you
get a manager who doesnt have any real parallel in world football.