‘Easy to play against’ – Hoddle admits he has a major concern with Tottenham now
Glenn Hoddle has insisted that he has not been convinced by Tottenham Hotspur defensively right from the start of the season, insisting that Ange Postecoglou’s men are just too easy to play against.
With the return of some of their star players over the past two weeks, many Spurs supporters would have anticipated that Tottenham would get stronger.
Rather, there are actual indications that the Lilywhites have regressed, as teams now appear to be figuring out how to get around their strategy.
Spurs had been struggling in sections of their last two matches against Brighton and Everton, and Wolves, who won all three points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, once again revealed some of Spurs’ vulnerabilities.
Are Tottenham becoming easy to play against?
Hoddle said that if his previous team gives up as many opportunities as they do every game, they will find it difficult to be consistent.
The Tottenham veteran said on Optus Sports’ Matchday Live Extra following their 2-1 loss to Wolves, “I love the way they play going forward.” I believe Ange has done a fantastic job of setting them up with fullbacks entering the game, which they did not do today since Udogie and Porro did not play.
“Love it going forward, but this season I’ve always been concerned about defense.” Vicario, the goalkeeper, has to make four or five worldies every game, it seems like every time I watch them. It will be hard at this level, and you will ultimately lose.
“It was something I felt if only they could put a little bit more defence in there, a bit of work deeper, then I think they’ll solve the problem because they have got pace at the back.
“But my word, it was for me watching Spurs week in and week out, it’s something that’s easy to play against. You can get in behind them so easy and consequently they got punished today.”
Hoddle was particularly critical of the first-half goal that Tottenham conceded, questioning how the Spurs defenders allowed Jaoa Gomes to have a free header.
Regarding Wolves’ first goal, he remarked, “This is ridiculous.” Even though Gomes had a pretty nice header, nobody is really attacking the ball because of all the white shirts in the area.
Entering a zone requires someone to assault the ball or pick up players. In either case, as a coach, you must decide which one you wish to pursue.
We have observed over the past several weeks that rival managers are becoming accustomed to Postecoglou’s approach and have identified certain glaring flaws.
In his career, the Australian has not faced coaches of this caliber, so we will have to wait and see if he can adjust and possibly make a few minor system adjustments to offset some of those shortcomings.
Ange will undoubtedly continue to preach to the players and adhere to his ultra-attacking philosophy, and for good reason, but a great tactician is also one who can make small adjustments to keep one step ahead of the competition. The 58-year-old and his coaching team will thus be put to the test during the coming weeks.
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