Tottenham's Win over Brighton Shows Pochettino Must Gamble in the Premier League

WHITE HART LANE, LONDON—Tottenham moved into the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup with a 2-0 win over Brighton on Wednesday evening. 

Erik Lamela and Harry Kane scored the goals to make the difference after a turgid first half, but Spurs produced improved performances across the team following the break.

In the opening period, Spurs lacked dynamism, pace and intelligence, and Mauricio Pochettino responded by introducing Lamela at the interval.

Lamela's combination with Roberto Soldado has been evident since the pre-season friendly against Chicago when they produced some scintillating link-up play.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

His clever flicks open spaces for a an instinctive player like Lamela. For Spurs' first goal against Brighton, Lamela pushed a pass into Soldado's feet and the Spaniard immediately turned the ball into the space. Lamela never broke stride from the moment he played the pass. He knew where he wanted to go and Soldado understood.

Soldado is so much more effective in transition than Emmanuel Adebayor and offers more to the players around him. Even if he's not scoring goals, Spurs will win more matches with him in the side.

Some of Soldado's best performances have come as a creator rather than goalscorer. His assist at the Etihad brought Spurs back into the match against Manchester City and it was just part of an impressive performance. 

In fact, the defeat at City is demonstrative of how Spurs should approach their Premier League matches. Against City, Spurs were aggressive. They countered well and exposed City's midfield.

When Lamela was introduced, he gave Spurs everything they'd been missing. He has now given two excellent performances in his last three matches.

Lamela was poor against Newcastle, but he was hardly alone in that while he has been a match-winner in two important cup ties. Spurs now sit top of their Europa League group and in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Lamela is a large part of the reason why. 

It is vital that Pochettino draw the correct conclusion from the last three matches. Spurs have won twice, by taking risks and playing aggressively. They've lost once by playing somewhere between aggressive and conservative. 

Against Newcastle, Pochettino started two defensive players in midfield and omitted Kane despite his hat-trick midweek. Tottenham scored just once despite dominating the first half and paid the price when Newcastle improved after the break. 

Pochettino has been cautious in implementing his philosophy. Gradually, elements of his aggressive, high-tempo system have been incorporated. It's time to release the handbrake. 

A cautious approach to the league made sense at the outset.

A pair of victories was the perfect return from the opening two games, but defeat against Liverpool brought them back to reality with a bang. It seemed to chasten Pochettino and he drew the wrong conclusions.

Rather than sticking with the aggression that had blown QPR away in a 4-0 win, he withdrew. 

Admittedly, had Pochettino tried to do too much too soon, he would have been compared with Andre Villas-Boas who stubbornly stuck to his system despite evidence that it wasn't working. Instead, Pochettino pulled back and adopted a mixed approach, but it backfired. 

The team looked lost against West Brom and Sunderland, and a single point is simply not enough return from those fixtures. 

Conservatism made sense at the start of the season as Pochettino worked to build the high levels of fitness and tactical understanding that his system requires. With his side dropping vital points in the Premier League, it is no longer the time to hold back. 

Improved performances against Arsenal and Southampton saw selective aggression, but against Newcastle, Spurs returned to a patch-work philosophy. Unsurprisingly, after conceding an unfortunate equaliser, they were unable to find a response.

Pochettino has been more willing to take risks in the cup competitions. While they've floundered in the league, their form in the League Cup and Europa League has been far better. 

Undoubtedly, the opposition has been of a lower quality than that which is offered by Spurs' Premier League rivals, but the fact remains: Spurs are unbeaten in seven cup games. They've been prolific and consistently attractive to watch. 

In those competitions, Pochettino has largely liberated one his two central midfielders to get forward and pushed his full-backs up to maintain width. Against Newcastle, Spurs lacked drive from midfield and were impossibly narrow. 

Against Brighton, the introduction of Lamela for Aaron Lennon was a gamble. Lennon's defensive play is his major contribution so bringing him off in favour of the decidedly less hard-working Lamela could have backfired. 

Had Spurs slipped to defeat against Championship strugglers Brighton, Pochettino would have been under increasing pressure. He would have been crucified by the press, but he backed his philosophy. He introduced Lamela to give Spurs the intelligence they had been missing, and he was right to do so.

Twice this season Mauricio Pochettino has made changes for a league fixture against a big club and seen a positive performance from his players.

Unfortunately, whether by misinterpretation or design, he has failed to apply the same strategy against supposedly weaker clubs. Had Spurs attacked Newcastle the way they did Manchester City, they would have been in little danger of a Sammy Ameobi equaliser; they would have been out of sight. 

One of the central midfielders must be liberated as Ryan Mason was against City. Even against Arsenal, Mason was able to selectively push up and join in the attack. That has the added bonus of taking pressure off Christian Eriksen and giving him more space to play in. 

It is time for Pochettino to assume the same risks in the League as he has in the cup competitions. It is a gamble that is sure to pay off. His players are familiar with the system and have applied it effectively against the strongest and weakest teams that they have faced this season. 

Now is the moment for Pochettino to embrace his own philosophy to push Spurs forward and up the Premier League table.