Victor Wanyama's Good Form Is a Dilemma Tottenham Boss Pochettino Cannot Shake
Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League title challenge last season came to an end with their 2-2 draw with Chelsea in May, but the repercussions of the bad-tempered derby match have proved more far-reaching.
Mousa Dembele's eye gouge on Blues striker Diego Costa was not witnessed by referee Mark Clattenburg at the time. The subsequent violent conduct charge cost Tottenham his services for the next six games.
Already without another dynamic midfield presence in Dele Alli (suspended for a similarly impetuous loss of cool against West Bromwich Albion a week earlier), Tottenham missed Dembele in their final two matches and missed out on a runners-up spot to Arsenal, too.
While Alli was available again for the start of 2016-17, his team-mate would miss the first month of the new campaign. This absence has led last season's norm for Dembele and others giving way to a selection dilemma Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff will have to give considerable thought to figuring out.
This headache chiefly centres on Victor Wanyama.
Signed by Pochettino from his old club Southampton in the summer, the central midfielder has arguably been Tottenham's best player since late September.
Without Dembele for the start of the season, he was utilised immediately. "It's true that Mousa was important for us last season. It's a big loss for us for the first few games, but we need to deal with that," Pochettino said on the eve of the opener with Everton.
Paired with another 2015-16 standout in Eric Dier, the Kenyan performed adequately enough at Goodison Park that afternoon. He gave away the free-kick that led to Ross Barkley giving Everton the lead, but as expected for a player already familiar with the English game, he was well-versed in basic functions asked of him.
Still, that afternoon and in the weeks following, it was hard to get away from the view Wanyama and Dier were a little too defensively inclined as a duo.
Given Spurs are a strong side likely to enjoy the majority of possession, two players prioritising protection and obstruction duties felt superfluous. There is more to both than that, but their more creative qualities usually emerge in support of or conjunction with others, less as the lead conductor from midfield.
In the second half at Everton, Wanyama had looked more free when Dier was withdrawn for another debutant in Vincent Janssen. Again, hardly all action but clearly benefiting from his choices being those to shape play in the middle third.
That half or hour so proved a flavour of things to come.
The first occasion of Pochettino having to accommodate came against Sunderland, five games into the new league campaign.
Dembele had made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in the Champions League loss to Monaco a few days prior. Naturally a little rusty that evening at Wembley, it was deemed enough to bring him back against the Black Cats now that he had served his sentence.
Wanyama kept his place in the team, and Dier started too, except he was playing at centre-back. The versatile England international had not played there for Spurs since an FA Cup win over Leicester City in January. Making way for him were Ben Davies—already covering for the injured Danny Rose, he was now dropped to the bench—and regular central defender Jan Vertonghen, switched out to left-back.
The origin of this specific story was a what-if moment, how things might have turned out for Dembele and Spurs had they kept their cool. In this 1-0 win came another, as injuries to the Belgian and Dier denied us from seeing what Pochettino would have done right then with both them and Wanyama available.
Instead, like during that second half against Everton, the 25-year-old was given the run of the Spurs midfield.
Back in August in the 0-0 draw with Liverpool, Dier had been switched to right-back and Alli had joined Wanyama as the 4-2-3-1 formation was maintained (albeit the usual attacking midfielder still had licence to get forward). A similar strategy was anticipated here, but Pochettino went on the offensive with a 4-1-4-1 that looked even more to harness his team's instructions to shut opponents down in their own half.
Wanyama revelled in the responsibility handed to him. He was not alone in patrolling the midfield and protecting his defence, but with the likes of Alli and Christian Eriksen also required to push forward, the onus to ensure Spurs did not have a soft centre was on him.
In the 2-1 win at Middlesbrough, he provided solid backing for the attack. Until a late spell of pressure saw him unavoidably bypassed, little got beyond him either.
He was even better at CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.
An early booking raised concern he would be left impotent trying to avoid a second. As it happened, Wanyama grew into the contest and did valuable work as a conduit for his team's buildup while still breaking up play with his usual vigour.
Five days later he was just as vital in Spurs' significant defeat of fellow title hopefuls Manchester City. Things, though, have become more complicated since.
That afternoon marked Dier's return, coming on late to help see out his side's victory. Dembele made his own comeback from injury after the international break with substitute appearances of his own in the draws with West Bromwich Albion and Bayer Leverkusen.
The issue of trying to slot Dier in has been negated for the time being by Toby Alderweireld being unfit. The former has dropped back and thus far is doing a decent job maintaining the team's good defensive record.
But with Dembele's return has come a switch back to 4-2-3-1 and his partnering Wanyama as the midfield two.
They played together against Sunderland before the 29-year-old got hurt and looked more suitable together than Wanyama had with Dier. Although a little tentative in what was in general an off-colour Spurs display against Bournemouth, there were shades of how this balance could work against Leicester City, too.
Dembele is a fluid player. He can veer between defensive and attacking without it looking too strictly pronounced.
Leicester had to deal with both him and Wanyama getting forward and, if one was further up field as they advanced, could count on running into the other in Spurs' half.
They could be paired in the return Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley and then versus Arsenal at the weekend.
If so, we could see a full realisation of one of the Premier League's most powerful and destructive midfields, the last few games serving as practice for their truly establishing themselves.
Then again, to say Tottenham's struggle in the final third in this mini-period could have been the fair warning, a little more nuance is required. The greater issue has been the attacking midfield's creative rut, but so much of what they do is reliant on promptings from behind them.
Pochettino has plenty to contemplate.
Dembele and Dier were so good together last season, but they have not yet started together in midfield this time around.
When Alderweireld is available, one could have to miss out if Wanyama remains as effective. Dier's case was not helped by the new man outshining him against Liverpool in the EFL Cup when he replaced him.
Add to that the variables offered by Harry Winks' potential use (the more pass-minded academy man has impressed in his cameos) and the possibility of switching again to a 4-1-4-1 formation. Pochettino described it as a "plan B," but given its greater success, perhaps it should be Tottenham's go-to setup.
All of this will add up as a litmus test of Pochettino's management.
Half-measures and compromise rarely work. But it is easier said than done disappointing players who have served you well.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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