Jamie Carragher says a couple of Tottenham players are being left exposed in Ange Postecoglou’s system, which is making them look worse than they actually are.
Tottenham’s defensive frailties
Tottenham were extremely poor defensively last season, conceding 61 goals over the course of the campaign, which was the same as Fulham, who finished down in 13th place.
Rather than shoring up at the back, Postecoglou has decided to go even more attacking this season, playing two number eighths in James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski together in the middle of the park.
Spurs have conceded five in five matches so far but they have scored nine, and the Tottenham boss will feel they should have scored a lot more, given the number of opportunities his side have created.
Centre-backs suffering?
Carragher believes that Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are paying the price for Tottenham’s hyper-aggressive approach as both defenders are being left exposed.
The former Liverpool man suggested that the Romero-Van de Ven pairing has the potential to be one of the best in the Premier League if they can get more protection.
The pundit wrote in his column in The Telegraph: “As a centre-back pairing, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven – a World Cup winner alongside one of the quickest defenders in the world – have the potential to be one of the best in the Premier League.
“It is a valid tactical discussion as to whether they are being left too exposed and might benefit from a more balanced set-up.”
Ange is all about the collective
While it is true that Tottenham would concede a lot fewer goals with Romero and Van de Ven at the back if they played a little more pragmatically, that also misses the point.
The Argentine’s and the Dutchman’s ability to defend one-v-one allows the Lilywhites to press higher up the pitch and create more opportunities.
So Postecoglou will argue that when things click, the team will benefit overall, even though his defence and the goalkeeper might not get as many clean sheets as they would like.