Premier League 2024/25 team preview: Tottenham Hotspur

New Delhi: 2023/24 was a season of revival for Tottenham Hotspur, but their season didn’t hit the heights that the fans were expecting at the start of the campaign. Spurs had the best possible start to their campaign as they managed to go unbeaten in the first 10 matches. Ange Postecoglou seemed to have a good impact on players and the tactics were also working well as the squad adapted pretty well from the very start of the campaign. However, Spurs’ main problem has always been their inconsistency and after a run of ten unbeaten games, consecutive losses and just one point out of their next five games and possible 15 points saw them lose their early momentum.

Their season did have moments of brilliance while their inability to maintain that run of form couldn’t let the team reach their full potential. The entire season suggested that they couldn’t carry the form and add to their early success from the campaign which resulted in a massive slip up for Postecoglou’s side. However, this time the fans have high hopes as the team looks like they’re in a good shape, winning five out of their seven pre season friendlies and certain new signings that look set to perform.

Ange Postecoglou needs to sort this issue of inconsistency as last season’s outcome caused a sense of dissatisfaction amongst the fans and the coach. Tottenham are certainly one of the contenders for the title but at times they lack the maturity that every top club needs to have which eventually pulls them down, changing their priorities and aim.

Tottenham’s tactical prospects for 2024/25 season

Few names in the world of football management elicit as much interest and scrutiny as Ange Postecoglou’s. With his takeover at Tottenham, known for his dynamic and inventive tactical style, Postecoglou has brought in a new era for the North London side. Postecoglou has truly evolved the playing style of Tottenham as we the players look much more fluid with team’s build up play. One thing that remained constant throughout the season for Tottenham was their fullbacks’ involvement up front. Ange Postecoglou likes his fullbacks to move up the field as he prefers the inverted fullback role where his fullbacks are often found roaming in the middle of the park to help in the build up process.

This creates more space for the midfielders to run into or find more options with both the fullbacks playing in a much more progressive role down the middle of the park. Their usual formation last season was the classic 4-2-3-1 tactic where many players drop back into their own half to start the build up from the back. It takes some time to get the ball running but this build up tactic has turned out to be a major success for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side as they looked much more smooth with their on pitch game.

Tottenham are one of the best when it comes to threaten in the final third. Their creativity is on top as the team is able to creat more  chances, mainly by attacking the space between the opposition center-back and fullback. They are always looking to create spaces with their fullbacks running into the wider areas, and once they find that space in the opposition’s final third they usually do something good with that. Last season, despite the departure of Harry Kane, it was Heung Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski who took the charge to lead the forward line and both the wingers looked pretty good, adapting to Ange’s tactics.

However, one of Spurs’ major attacking prospects turned out to be their fullbacks, Udogie and Porro, who looked extremely good playing as inverted fullbacks, trying to create spaces and running into good attacking positions. This shows how well the team has adapted to the tactics and how well the team has improved their attacking play based on overlapping runs and creating spaces. One the space is found, players are left with a high chance of finding a player in the opposition box from wider areas.

The Centre backs also play a major role in Spurs’ attack as they tend to come up front once the build up reaches the opposition half, where the defenders tend to play a high-line that also creates spaces in the middle of the park. All these lead to Spurs pressing high up front which has brought them great success for them. The attackers press high up the pitch and this allows them to ponce on any sort of mistake that the opposition might make while clearing their lines. This also indicates the number of players in the opposition half is a big plus point for Spurs as these aggressive tactics allow players to get the numbers advantage in case of a counter attack or during a simple build up play.

When it comes to the defensive play, Tottenham have had their problems with defence in the past and last season was no different as they made certain silly errors that affected their overall play and costed them. However, there are a few areas where the players look much more comfortable as the team slowly switches to a 4-1-4-1 formation during the play, while the opposition tries to break their lines. They often set up in a mid-block, always trying to stay compact while closing the center, forcing the opposition out wide. This buys them the time to recover and get back to their initial positions.

However, Ange’s theory of playing a high line doesn’t change while defending as he demands the defenders to hold a high back-line to cut down any sort of space down the midfield. This is a risky approach but if used properly, can turn out to be a big plus point. If the opposition manage to reach the deeper Spurs territory, Ange’s men fall back to get the number up in trying to cut out the danger.

Tottenham’s tendency to abandon their tight defensive structure and let the other team discover open players between the lines is one of their flaws. In defence, the players on the other side of the ball may become less focused and reckless, giving the opponent opportunities to get past Tottenham’s defense.

Transfer analysis

Spurs have been pretty active this summer as they managed to make some decent signings including the likes of Min-hyeok Yang, Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and most recently, Dominik Solanke. The 18-year-old right back, Archie Gray had a solid Championship season with Leeds United last time around and he will be looking to make an impact for Ange Postecoglou’s side. A young South Korean winger Min-hyeok Yang, had a great season playing in the K-League while Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall also looks like a solid signing for Spurs.

However, the interesting one would be the signing of Dominik Solanke, who had a season to remember with Bournemouth, scoring 19 goals for the Cherries to help them finish 12th, well clear of the relegation zone. He will be looking to make an impact as the English striker has a lot of pressure considering the standards that Harry Kane has set for any striker that signs for Tottenham.

Early Predictions: Title contention looks possible for Spurs

Tottenham is a team that may not have had the best few years, but they are certainly one of the bigger clubs in Europe. They will be looking to get the best possible result this time around and if they can manage their problem of inconsistency, we might witness them doing pretty well as title contenders. Ange Postecoglou has a big task ahead as fresh ideas are very much needed. Last season’s inconsistency costed them a UEFA Champions League qualification, which suggests that the players need to do better and the coach needs to take the charge. However, Spurs might just be able to get the job done and a strong start to the season plus the consistent god results would make them straight contenders for the title.

 Tottenham’s inconsistency and patches of poor performances costed them a Champions league qulification last season suggesting that they need a new approach in order to get the job done next season.  Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today