Tottenham Hotspur have been incredibly entertaining to watch under Ange Postecoglou, but the results have not been largely convincing. The Lilywhites finished fifth in the Premier League last season, but they have had a turbulent start to their new campaign. For the first time in 16 years, they are languishing outside the top 10 on Christmas eve. Postecoglou tactics, therefore, have come under great scrutiny in recent times.
There was the thrill of a 4-3 victory against Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, but there was also the agony of a 6-3 hammering by Liverpool in front of the Spurs faithful. Why have Tottenham been so chaotic under the amiable Australian? Let’s find out.
Postecoglou Tactics: A Simple Breakdown
On the surface, Postecoglou deploys a simple 4-3-3. In the three-man midfield, Yves Bissouma is his go-to choice as the single pivot. The other two midfielders, primarily James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have more freedom to operate and attack the half spaces. Kulusevski pushes more further forward, while Maddison sometimes drops a bit deeper to collect the ball.
The wingers move towards the touchline to stretch the field and create space for Maddison and Kulusevski to make overlapping runs. Heung Min-Son and Brennan Johnson provide the width while Dominic Solanke plays as the centre-forward. Postecoglou wants Solanke to move around the box, create spaces, and surge forward to meet the deliveries coming from wider areas.
Five players occupy the higher areas of the pitch in Postecoglou tactics. The idea here is to outnumber the opposition defence and prevent them from playing out of the back. With so many players up front, the Tottenham press can force the opposition backline into making mistakes.
From an attacking point of view, this has paid dividends for Tottenham. They are currently the Premier League top scorers with 39 goals to their name.
In the match against Aston Villa, which they won by 4-1, Spurs made 45 progressive passes which is more than any other teams made in the 24/25 Premier League season in a single match. Postecoglou wants his team to prioritise moving the ball forward, which make Tottenham so effective in unlocking opposition defences.
So, What’s Wrong?
Postecoglou’s hunger for goals comes at a price, however. Tottenham commit a lot of bodies forward, so when they lose the ball, they often fall victim to lightning fast counter-attacks.
You would often see Tottenham leaving only one or two players in their half during attacks. When the opposition attackers come running at the Spurs goal, it becomes quite difficult for the Lilywhites to regroup and neutralise the threat.
This also explains why Tottenham players have been covering so much ground in their matches. They have to fall back, defend, and then push high up the pitch at regular intervals. As a result, fatigue creeps in during the later stages of the matches, and it has also led to severe injury problems within the squad.
So, while Postecoglou’s tactics make Spurs exciting to watch, they also expose them defensively. The Aussie tactician must now find a solution to achieve better balance.
