Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is suddenly under pressure. It seemed as though the Australian was building something positive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although things have begun to go wrong in recent weeks.
Although the Lilywhites have beaten Aston Villa 4-1 at home and Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium, they have also had some shocking results.
That includes a 2-1 defeat against Ipswich Town in North London and most recently a 1-0 loss away to Bournemouth. Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara told talkSPORT that he thinks the club “will sack him” if Postecoglou doesn’t improve results soon.
His side certainly underwhelmed against the Cherries, and some of his players were far from their best.
What went wrong for Spurs vs Bournemouth
It was a very frustrating evening on the South Coast for the Lilywhites. Despite dominating possession across the game, Bournemouth absolutely battered Spurs and had far more shots than the visitors.
Andoni Iraola’s side managed 21 shots and eight on target to the North London side’s 12 shots and four on target, as per Sofascore.
Not only that, the South Coast outfit created far more big chances, many of which they missed. Bournemouth had seven big chances against the Lilywhites, missing six of them, and on a different day, it could have been a far more embarrassing scoreline for Spurs than the 1-0 it ended up being.
Spurs’ Achilles heel of defending corners once again hurt them at the Vitality Stadium. Young centre-back Dean Huijsen got his first goal for the Cherries, managing to run behind the Lilywhites’ zonal marking system and convert a free header at the back post. It was poor defending.
There were also some poor individual performances littered throughout Postecoglou’s side. James Maddison was someone who struggled, having endured something of a horror show on the night.
The England international certainly did not have much of an impact in the middle of the park, and although he created two chances, struggled to keep hold of the ball. Maddison lost possession 17 times and missed a big chance which could have been pivotal for his side.
After a poor performance from the former Leicester City man, Postecoglou might well decide to reshuffle his side ahead of a crucial clash against Chelsea. Pedro Porro is someone who could come back into the side to replace the Spurs number 10.
Why Porro could start vs. Chelsea
Porro himself was actually rotated out of the side last Thursday against the Cherries, although it was clearly not a decision that paid off for Postecoglou.
He has been a key player for much of the season, playing 17 times in all competitions, so it was something of a surprise he was dropped.
Now, he could well be brought back into the side, although not for Archie Gray who replaced him at right back. Instead, Maddison could drop out of the side with Gray moving into his natural midfield role and Porro slotting in at full back.
That would perhaps reduce Spurs’ attacking output in the centre of the park, although Gray is a player who can contribute in the final third, having provided two assists for Leeds United last season.
As for Porro, he would have a big job to do defensively against Cole Palmer. The England international has something of a free role and roams around the pitch, meaning the Spaniard would have to likely deal with him.
However, he will surely be up to the task. As football statistician Statman Dave explained, he is a “complete” fullback and has some impressive defensive numbers from this term.
Over the past 365 days, the former Sporting CP defender has averaged 3.61 combined tackles and interceptions and 5.95 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, according to FBref.
Stat (per 90)
Number
Percentile
Tackles won
1.62
83rd
Blocks
1.54
85th
Tackles and interceptions
3.61
78th
Dribblers tackled
1.57
89th
Ball recoveries
5.95
93rd
It will certainly be a tough day for Porro against Palmer, but he has the opportunity to bully the Chelsea winger. He already has nine goals and six assists in 14 Premier League games this term, so he will be hard to stop.
However, the Spurs defender has a fantastic chance to put in a statement performance and keep a player quiet who averages more than one goal and assist per game in the top flight this season. Bring it on.
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