There's been a nagging thought in my mind all season (and a bit before that, tbh). Is the 'Pochettino way' a busted flush? The weaker teams we play against have got wise to Poch's style of play and set themselves up accordingly, frustrating us, which they seem to be doing more and more successfully.
He needs to introduce not only new blood, but also new tactics. Is he able to do that? I'd say he is (irrational belief to the fore again).
The Pochettino way was always play with your full backs providing width and fearless aggression and pressing cleverly from the front.
Just go and look at the 16/17 season - why didn't teams just sit back against us and try and stifle us, especially at White Hart Lane? Because they couldn't. Teams tried to and we just blitzed them with pace, power and starting games fast.
We don't have that power and pace on the flanks anymore, which slows down our entire play. Because Trippier (or Aurier) instead of taking on their man or giving the opposing full back something to think about, tend to get the ball and either aimlessly cross it, which usually ends with us losing possession, or pass it centrally which then again slows down our attacking play and allows the opponents to regroup or get back into a defensive shape.
In 2016/17 we had:
- Two aggressively quick and powerful full backs (Walker and Rose)
- Aridiculously solid central defensive pairing with no expensive back ups (Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Dier, Wimmer)
- One of the best performing defensive midfielders in the league (Wanyama)
- Smeone who helped control our midfield through strength and the ability to not lose the ball (Dembele)
- A goalscoring second striker (Dele)
- A creative midfielder (Eriksen)
- Two great goalscorers (Kane and Son)
Fast forward this season and we have:
- Lopsided full backs (Trippier and Rose)
- A solid central defensive pairing disrupted by one of our most expensive signings (Alderwiereld, Vertonghen, Sanchez)
- No true defensive midfielder to shield them due to injury (Wanyama, Dier)
- A player who aims to help controlling our midfield through possession and recyling as opposed to strength and ability to not lose the ball (Winks)
- Dele deeper and no longer a second striker due to Son and Kane and Lucas being our main attacking threats.
Add in to the fact we tended to play 4231 and 3421 in 16/17 and this season we've usually played 352 or 41212 diamond.
We don't have the personnel to really play 4231 as we don't have a Dembele in there to hold it together and I feel Sissoko hasn't got the discipline to play in a midfield 2 and then we come back to the fact we haven't really got a fit defensive midfielder (or a good one anymore) to play alongside. Winks and prime Wanyama would have been perfect, but we haven't got prime Wanyama and Winks has been injured.
And whilst we DO have the personnel for a 3421, I feel like Sanchez isn't best suited to a back three which again puts us in a predicament where we've signed a £40,000,000 centre half who at the time wasn't anywhere near as good as our current centre halves and 2 years on, still isn't anywhere near as good.
The summer is a huge one - because if Poch is going to stick with some of the formations he's played this season he must realise we simply haven't got the players to play them successfully so needs to build a new team to suit them.