Mauricio Pochettino's Use of Alli and Carroll Highlights Tottenham Title Claims

Tottenham Hotspur supporters may understandably be hesitant to believe their side are genuine title contenders. Just over half of the Premier League season is still to be played, and they have been burned before by failures in decisive moments—notably the Champions League qualification near-misses in recent years.

Following Tottenham's 3-0 win over Norwich City on Boxing Day, however, there is legitimacy to the notion Mauricio Pochettino's side have a title claim.

That's most obviously in the fact they currently sit in fourth place, just six points behind table-toppers Leicester City. But it is also in how their head coach is making good use of his squad in procuring the results informing their lofty position, notably seen against the Canaries in his deployment of Dele Alli and Tom Carroll.

Pochettino prefers to prize a team ethic before highlighting individual or specific positional contributions. If asked about one player or area, he will acknowledge them but looks to bring it back to the whole if possible, whether praising the positive or discussing the negative.

Spurs' victory over of Norwich was a good team effort first and foremost. The establishment of strong title credentials will come from this remaining the case through to May.

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Nonetheless, Pochettino knows collective health cannot be reached without individuals doing their parts. Alli and Carroll's involvement on Saturday—the former helping create Harry Kane's opening two goals, and the latter scoring the victory-sealing third—emphasised how their boss is looking to harness both consistency and selective impact in pushing his team forward.

Alli is a captivating, fascinating player.

A precocious League One star with Milton Keynes Dons last term, he has made the jump to the top-tier and delivered an Olympic-grade landing. There are some slight wobbles in the form of a hair-trigger temper and resulting disciplinary issues, but he's mostly impressive in terms of technique and overall performance.

In his final-third impact, the 19-year-old brings to mind ex-Spur Rafael van der Vaart (see above statistic), sharing an eye for goal, impressive skill that compensates for average speed and good understanding for linking up with his team-mates.

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Unlike the Dutchman—a key attacking contributor around the time of Tottenham's last Champions League experience in 2011—Alli has attributes that make him valuable to other areas of Spurs' play. Where accommodating Van der Vaart could affect the balance of the side's shape—he was a passenger at times—the England international's adaptability helps facilitate the flexible, multi-faceted approach that makes Pochettino's team so challenging to contend with.

Alli worked the channels with purpose against Norwich, stretching the play and creating space while also ready to help constrict and link up in tight areas.

If the latter was seen in the positioning and through ball that led to Kane's lead-securing penalty, Alli's creation of the second showed his comfort in the thick of battle.

Excellently maneuvering himself out of a seemingly inescapable Norwich squeeze in his own half, he proceeded to face them down on the break with no shortage of nerve and rhythmic understanding. A perfect exchange with Erik Lamela was followed by a well-placed pass for Kane to take on and finish.

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Pochettino knows he can rely on Alli to provide a consistency of performance. He is not the only constant in this Spurs side, but right now he is arguably its most invigorating—the kind of difference-maker who even on his off days does not shirk from the battle.

Carroll is coming from a different place.

A few years ago, the 23-year-old academy product might have thought himself set for the kind of prominence Alli has earned. Instead, his route to securing even a bit-part role at Spurs has had to negotiate fluctuating playing time amid several loan spells.

This season Carroll has needed patience. The lack of minutes initially was evidence he was not doing enough to warrant more game time in Pochettino's eyes. On loan at Swansea City during the Argentinian's first year in charge, the midfielder had to prove he could participate in the team's new more lung-busting style.

Seemingly satisfied Carroll had reached a sufficient level, Pochettino has used him to good effect in recent weeks.

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After sealing the Europa League win against Monaco with an exquisitely finished goal, Carroll was kept in the team for the Newcastle United game at home on Dec. 13. It was a typically tidy but ultimately quiet afternoon, and he was withdrawn midway through the second half.

Rather than the tepid display drawing a line under his first-team prospects, Pochettino has used it as a motivational tool. Brought on a substitute against Southampton and Norwich, Carroll eagerly made the most of his opportunity against the latter.

In praising Carroll's contribution—his finely taken strike and hard work maintaining Spurs' clean sheet—Pochettino unsurprisingly used it as an example for others to follow. Per Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas, he said: "This is what we want when players come on from the bench. Tom made a real impact for the team and we are very pleased for him. He deserves this moment because he works hard in training. He deserved to play today."

As impressive as the likes of Alli are right now, Tottenham having something to play for come spring is going to require players like Carroll augmenting things, coming in and making an impact off the bench or maximising a starting chance—left-back Ben Davies is another to do well here in the last couple of games.

Through injury or general minimal opportunities, there are others such as Nabil Bentaleb and Nacer Chadli who have not yet really got their seasons up and running. There is a long way to go, but if those spending time on the sidelines can come in—whether off the bench or from the start—and perform as well as others have, Tottenham may be onto something this season.

A title challenge is going to require Pochettino getting a lot out of his squad. But there are encouraging signs he may be able to do just that in a Premier League where no one great team has yet emerged from the pack.

If Spurs can continue to record wins heading into 2016—a trip to take on an in-form Watford side is next up on Dec. 28—the White Hart Lane faithful may be able to start believing their team could be it.

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