Jamie Carragher has said that even though Tottenham Hotspur have been poor defensively, all of their first-choice back four have had pretty good seasons.
Some of the early optimism surrounding Ange Postecoglou’s project at N17 has now dissipated, with some Spurs fans now starting to question the Australian’s methods on the back of the poor results of late.
The Australian made it clear to Football.London on Friday that he will not change his philosophy, insisting that there is nothing he has seen over recent weeks that makes him doubt that Tottenham can be successful playing this brand of football.
However, Postecoglou also acknowledged for the first time that significant changes would have to be made to the squad this summer if Spurs want to challenge for major honours, confessing that the club needs players who are better suited to this approach.
Carragher thinks Tottenham’s defensive record is strange
Carragher identified that Spurs have to improve defensively if they are to close the gap with the best sides in the division, but he suggested that it is the team’s defensive organisation that has to improve rather than their personnel at the back.
The pundit said on The Echo of Glory podcast: “I think there’s a lot to improve, certainly defensively. When you look at the defensive record, the strange thing about your defensive record is you would probably say all your defenders have played pretty well.
“You are probably happy with your two full-backs, you are probably happy with Van de Ven who has come in at the back, Romero is a World Cup winner, but you still have a really poor defensive record. So, that probably tells you it is more about the set-up of the team and maybe the make-up of the team higher up the pitch. That will have to improve next season.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Carragher’s point is spot on as one cannot say that any of our back four have had bad seasons. What perhaps has to improve is our ability to counter-press effectively and win the ball back as soon as we lose it so that our high defensive line is not exposed as often.
That might be why Postecoglou wants players like Conor Gallagher and Ederson, who are not only technically sound but are real athletes with a superb engine.
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