It was, as all people identified, inevitable that the north London derby can be determined by a set play, Gabriel heading the one objective within the second half as Tottenham basically, and Cristian Romero particularly, switched off. It was a win that stored Arsenal inside touching distance of Manchester Metropolis – and that it’s not absurd to assume in such phrases even at this early stage of the season suggests simply how Metropolis’s relentless excellence has affected the angle – but it surely additionally raised additional doubts about Ange Postecoglou.
The heady begin to final season, wherein Spurs took 26 factors from their first 10 video games underneath the Australian, feels a very long time in the past. It was inevitable there can be some type of regression to the imply however 44 factors from their subsequent 32 video games is a poor sufficient file to boost issues. Extrapolate that over a season and also you get 52, which is what West Ham bought final season in ending ninth. For Tottenham, with their expenditure and their stadium, that will be removed from acceptable. Cherrypicking remoted elements of a season is rarely fully honest, however 32 video games is a hefty pattern measurement.
“For some purpose individuals assume I don’t care about set items and it’s a story that you may hold happening for ages and ages,” Postecoglou mentioned on Sunday. “I perceive that. We work on them on a regular basis like we do for each different crew. that they’re a risk, as I mentioned, for probably the most half, we dealt with them very well as we speak, however we switched off for one and we paid a value and also you study from that and you progress on.”
There was an apparent grumpiness there, which is maybe solely to be anticipated, however the “for some purpose” appeared needlessly passive aggressive. The reason being that Postecoglou dug himself a gap final season, saying of working particularly on set items, “I’m simply not fascinated by it. I by no means have been.” He did make clear that to clarify that, on a philosophical degree, he prefers to see the sport holistically reasonably than hiving off one facet to a specialist set-piece coach, as Arsenal have executed with Nicolas Jover.
“It’s one thing that we work on together with every thing in our recreation,” he mentioned in Might. “There are much more essential issues that we have to consider in the mean time by way of the crew we’re constructing.” Assistant coach Nick Montgomery was introduced in throughout the summer time and whereas he isn’t a selected set-piece coach, he does seem to have accountability for them. However then if Tottenham let groups crowd Guglielmo Vicario as Arsenal did, and if Romero is so simply brushed apart by opponents, the issue quickly turns into much less about buildings than about people.
Which can be true, however as a proportion of whole objectives conceded solely Nottingham Forest let in additional from set items than Tottenham final season – and the Premier League is ruthless; no weak point goes unexploited. Gabriel’s objective was the primary that Spurs have conceded from a set play up to now this marketing campaign, however one other sample, simply as damaging, is rising. In all 4 video games up to now this season, they’ve had a minimum of 60% possession, but they’ve gained solely certainly one of them. In all 4 they’ve been ostensibly the higher crew – though Newcastle did finally register the higher xG – however they haven’t created the probabilities they most likely ought to have, haven’t, aside from in opposition to Everton, taken their probabilities, after which have had their smooth underbelly uncovered.
Postecoglou sides are typically at their finest in his second season in cost: he himself made reference to that on Sunday, correcting a journalist who had mentioned Postecoglou “usually” wins a trophy in his second season to insist he “all the time” does – and it did occur with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic; on the final three of people who trophy was the league. Even when Metropolis are handed an infinite factors deduction, it appears onerous to think about that taking place this season.
But what have to be irritating for Postecoglou is that his aspect don’t appear that far off. It sounds vaguely ludicrous to say of a crew on 4 factors but it surely actually wouldn’t have taken an excessive amount of to go in a different way for them to have gained 4 out of 4 at the beginning of this season. Within the anticipated factors world, Tottenham are only one level behind Arsenal. However again in the actual, precise world they’re already six factors behind their rivals and 4 factors off the Champions League spots. The fundamental processes appear there: they simply want just a little extra ruthlessness, rather less carelessness, just a little extra confidence and decisiveness. The issue is that Tottenham, of all golf equipment, have heard this earlier than: that’s the very essence of Spursiness.
At the start of final season, it appeared as if Postecoglou’s uncomplicated gruffness could be simply the factor to chop by means of the years of underachievement. The issue now’s that, as manifested in the issue of set-piece defending, it might have grow to be a contributory issue.
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That is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US on the recreation in Europe and past. Subscribe totally free right here. Have a query for Jonathan? E-mail soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll reply the perfect in a future version
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