Why do Tottenham Hotspur win so many football matches?

On the face of it, this question has a simple answer, Tottenham has a young squad filled with talented players who are hungry to play well and succeed. Thus, they win football matches. Unfortunately, it is not that straight-forward. My case and point for that would be Manchester United’s results under José Mourinho, compared to now under Ole Gunner Solskjaer. It really does make you question – are those the same players? My answer to that would be yes, of course, they are the same players, but it is the role of tactics which has ultimately influenced their results. Betting sites around the world like BetEasy are showing off the team from a positive light. We suggest that you read more if their odds stay the same this season.

Throughout Mauricio Pochettino’s career, he has consistently stuck by his philosophy. This is, having personnel who are adaptable to various formations which will change according to the opposition or the players at his disposal at any given time. Throughout his time at Tottenham, he has preferred the 4-2-3-1 formation or variations on a formation that uses three defenders. Pochettino likes his teams to press high up the pitch, this is a tactic used by many top sides in order to try and get the opposition to make unforced errors. Though in a match where both teams press high up the pitch, Pochettino’s Tottenham prefer to revert to a more counter-attacking style of play. This fits in well with having fast full-backs like Kieron Trippier on the right, or Danny Rose on the left who have the pace to turn defence in to attack in seconds.

Utilizing full-backs who can provide width for attacking players in essential to Pochettino’s style as well as Tottenham. A great example of this was Dele Alli’s opening goal at Wembley against Real Madrid in the Champions League last season. The ball was played out to Trippier who because of his advanced position was able to play the ball across the penalty area where the on-rushing Dele Alli could tap the ball into the back of the net. Dele Alli’s position in that match and for Tottenham, in general, is made way for by how Pochettino wants his strikers to play. We often see Harry Kane drop into a central-attacking-midfielder role to allow Spurs’ three front men Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, and Heung-Min-Son to make runs beyond him to support the attack and give the full-backs more targets to cross the ball to.A great example of how Pochettino’s style worked against one of the top sides was when he used his tactical proficiency to good effect to end Maurizio Sarri’s unbeaten run at Wembley at the end of this past November. From minute one Spurs pressed Chelsea’s back line in a way which forced them to pass the ball back to their goalkeeper Kepa. However, when Kepa went to clear the ball due to Spurs’ high and tight press all possible options were closed off. This highly increased the chances of him giving the ball away. Also, if he was able to find a Chelsea player because of Tottenham’s front men pressing, players from the midfield could also push up and outnumber the Chelsea players in a way which increases the chances of them misplacing a pass. In that match Spurs played with a narrow midfield shape. This shape meant that Chelsea’s full-backs had space to run in to. In turn, this allowed for more gaps that Spurs could expose on the break. Kane ran into these spaces and pulled Antiono Rudiger out of position, because of this Son was able to run in behind and force a 2 v 1 situation between Kane, himself and David Luiz.

Another important component to Spurs’ tactics is every player having positional versatility. Over the last 5 seasons, Pochettino has been developing a team of players that can adapt mid-game to a different setup depending on the circumstances. Throughout Spurs’ injury crisis this season we’ve seen the fruits of 5 years work, drilling players to be positionally aware and disciplined has helped Tottenham to 5 straight victories in the absence of Harry Kane.

We are currently yet to see these flourishing tactics produce the trophy that all Spurs fans crave. Nevertheless, with this group of players who are ever-changing, developing and becoming more adaptable, that trophy should be just around the corner.