5 Issues Tottenham Hotspur Need to Work on During November International Break
Steady in cup games, inconsistent in the Premier League—Tottenham Hotspur's form since last month's international break has remained steadfast to what it was prior to it.
Subsequently, some of the same issues around head coach Mauricio Pochettino's team are still in need of addressing over the current interval.
With several players away with their national teams, much of the coaching staff's work here will naturally revolve around preparation.
The next couple of months will go a long way to defining the direction of Tottenham's season. It is a valuable opportunity to take stock while there is some downtime before the fixture-load intensifies heading towards Christmas.
First on the list of things to look at has to be Tottenham's continued problem leaking goals.
Tightening Up in Defence
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The signs of improvement in Tottenham's defensive work prior to the international break quickly gave way upon the team's return.
This writer has criticised the frequency with which Pochettino has changed his back four. Yet while a consistent line-up would help to a degree, it will not solely stop the mistakes and poor concentration that have plagued Spurs in the league especially.
The north London club's bright early attacking work at Manchester City was undermined by the looseness of their defence. After aiding the champions, Spurs hurt themselves further in home losses to Newcastle United and Stoke City. The goal they conceded in the 2-1 win against Aston Villa—still their only goal since September 13—could have been avoided too.
"At the start of the game we created a clear chance for Harry Kane but after that we conceded the first goal," Pochettino reflected to Spurs' official website post-Stoke. "The team started to make rash decisions, we conceded a second goal and made some mistakes. We need to change this."
Spurs have hardly been firing on all cylinders going forward (more on that later), but the team has still often found a way to score. The disadvantageous position they have been placed in through the "rash decisions" Pochettino described are not always going to be recovered, though. As was the case with Stoke.
With several of his defenders away, the head coach cannot spend the next fortnight drilling them into shape.
Some like Younes Kaboul and Danny Rose are around, however. They need to be reminded of the importance of positional awareness and the benefit of communication in ensuring potential threats around them do not catch anyone out.
As captain and apparently a mainstay of Pochettino's defence, Kaboul especially needs to take the lead on this. Spurs cannot continue to make things easier for their opponents.
Figure What Works Best Around Harry Kane*
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The asterisk in the headline acknowledges that Harry Kane might not be first on the list of who to feature up front when Tottenham reconvene late next week. This despite 10 goals to his name already this season. Not to mention a general standard of play that has largely put colleagues Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado in the shade.
Following his first league start of 2014-15 at home to Stoke, it is likely Kane will get a further chance to stake his claim for retaining his place at some point. With that possibility in mind, the issue could become what works best around the England Under-21 international.
Kane's comfort and intelligence using the ball outside of the box, as well as his ability to get on all manner of scoring chances within it, make him adaptable.
Dating back to last season, he has shown a decent understanding alongside both Adebayor and Soldado. A more frequent adoption of a front two could depend on who Pochettino is more concerned with starting. One of the aforementioned strikers, or one or more of the several attacking midfielders at his disposal.
The greater production of the likes of Nacer Chadli (six goals, one assist) and Erik Lamela (three goals, five assists) would suggest prioritising their inclusion is the way to go.
Again, with these guys away on international duty, the immediate focus cannot be working things out on the training ground. Ideas can start to be formed—or more likely tweaked—to prepare for what will be asked of Spurs' attackers when they are all back together.
Overcrowding in central areas has been problematic. Directions for movement and positioning that would accommodate each's tendencies (Lamela's driving runs, Chadli's instincts to head to the back post) would be a start.
The overall shape of the team and its collective work is a little trickier to arrange...
Pochettino Must Clarify What He Wants from His Team
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Pochettino has talked a lot about his "philosophy" for this team (a buzzword in general in football these days), as well as creating the "attacking football" he planned from the beginning of his Tottenham tenure—as told to the official club website.
Between getting to know his squad and deciding how to use it across three competitions, it has not always been easy to identify exactly what he wants from his players.
There was a moment in the build-up to Stoke forward Bojan Krkic's goal that typified the disconnect seemingly (and partially) felt between embracing an aggressive style while still retaining fundamental aspects of discipline and organisation.
As Spurs attempted to close the Potters down on the halfway line, defensive midfielder Etienne Capoue hesitated over whether to advance up the field himself. He decided to do so and ended up vacating a space from which Stoke passed into and Bojan successfully attacked.
Despite the frustration for fans caused by some poor performances and disappointing results, it should not be forgotten that Spurs under Pochettino is a work in progress. Ideally things would have clicked within weeks, but the changes around the club are evidently going to take longer to work.
The Argentinian wants his team to pass the ball, and if needs be, to take some risks. That is fine, and the hope will be that it will work for Spurs like it often did at Southampton.
For now, though, he and his staff could do with reiterating what is required of them underpinning all of that: The minutiae that form his greater philosophy—player to player, what they need to know to do their jobs.
It sounds obvious, and the Spurs backroom staff likely have been reminding their team of these things. Given Spurs' inconsistencies, though, further encouragement here is needed.
Public Relations
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The mood around Tottenham, sitting in 12th place, is not the nicest right now.
The fans are unhappy with the team; The players have shown some discontent with the lack of support they are receiving. As tracked by Bleacher Report's Nick Akerman, Adebayor—who has spoken about the latter—has since backtracked on the extent of his criticism and has now described it more as an encouragement.
Regardless of the exact public stance, there is truth in both parties' opinions.
The team have not been playing well enough, and that has needed to be acknowledged. While away from home the fan support remains strong, at White Hart Lane the atmosphere is as quiet as it has been for quite some time. But that in itself is a more complicated, deeper-rooted matter than just current dissatisfaction with the team.
The best cure for the former especially would be for Tottenham to start winning games consistently. In the meantime, though, it would not hurt for Pochettino and the players to try to clear the air at available opportunities.
The players have admitted to playing poorly—Hugo Lloris especially spoke to the club's official website in some depth (for a footballer) about it following the Stoke loss.
Further acknowledgement of this while encouraging the fans to get behind them moving forward would go some way to establishing a plan of action as regards to the short-term fortunes of Tottenham are concerned.
The Next Game
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The grander themes of the issues discussed so far are all important to Tottenham improving over the coming weeks.
However, in football, as in all sports, the most important game is the next one.
For Spurs that is Hull City away.
The Tigers are three points behind the north Londoners, with two points from their last four games. Those impressively came on the road at Arsenal and Manchester City, but against Spurs manager Steve Bruce will be keen for them to record what would be only their third Premier League win of the season.
For Pochettino a win at the KC Stadium would be a timely confidence boost for his side. It would likely see them back into the top-half of the table, and set them up nicely for a tricky run of games that includes meetings with Everton and Chelsea.
Having lost to sides Spurs would have regarded as below them last season—notably West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City—they will know Hull cannot be taken lightly.
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