Ange Postecoglou has a Tottenham issue in the one area he should not
Ange Postecoglou Tottenham's problems were clear to see in the cup defeats against Liverpool and Aston Villa last week
Ange Postecoglou is well stocked in one area of his Tottenham squad right now but it has perhaps become their biggest weakness. Amid their current woes in defence and attack with a real lack of options, it is in the middle of the park where Spurs are having major issues.
Very much a position of strength in the opening few months of his Tottenham tenure with Yves Bissouma, James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr bossing midfield, it would appear at present that the Australian is trying to find his best midfield formula. As things stand, the 59-year-old has Bissouma, Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall available for selection, as well as Archie Gray if he wants to utilise him in his natural role, but Maddison is currently in the treatment room nursing a calf issue.
There is also Dejan Kulusevski to consider, although the Swede has played a lot of football in Tottenham's attack recently due to the limited options in the final third. Despite the options available to the manager, Spurs have had major complications there in the past two games and duly exited the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in the process.
Opting for a midfield triumvirate of Bissouma, Bentancur and Sarr at Liverpool on Thursday evening, the trio were no match for their counterparts and failed to trouble them at all. Liverpool, on the other hand, ran riot in the middle and that resulted in Bissouma and Sarr making way just prior to the hour mark.
Bergvall's omission from the team on Merseyside was a talking point, especially as the Sweden international had played such a pivotal role in their first leg win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the beginning of January. Postecoglou was always going to tweak his team after the 4-0 demolition and he did exactly that at Aston Villa on Sunday.
He made a total of four alterations, with two of those coming in midfield as Bergvall and Kulusevski started alongside Bentancur. Despite a much-needed switch, Tottenham fell behind with less than a minute on the clock as Jacob Ramsey opened the scoring inside the area.
It was all too easy for Villa as the impressive Morgan Rogers skipped around Bergvall and powered forward before slipping in his teammate. Unfortunately it was a sign of things to come.
Tottenham's midfield was non-existent multiple times and that allowed the hosts to attack through the middle at will. Youri Tielemans was afforded all the time and space he wanted to charge forward before shooting wide, with Rogers again doing likewise only to see Antonin Kinsky save his effort.
Something had to change and half-time brought about the introduction of Bissouma in place of Mikey Moore, thus seeing Kulusevski shift forward into attack. Spurs, clearly with the words of Postecoglou ringing in their ears, were much brighter in the opening stages of the second half and they looked better in midfield with Bissouma in the side.
However, Rogers would give them a mountain to climb 19 minutes after the restart after converting from close range. Mathys Tel pulled one back for Spurs in stoppage time but it was too little, too late.
Rewind the clock back 12 months ago and there was so much chopping and changing in midfield due to Maddison's injury and Bissouma and Sarr's participation at the Africa Cup of Nations. Postecoglou continued to switch things about in what remained of the season and midfield ultimately became a weakness in his Spurs side.
The same can be said of the Tottenham midfield 12 months on, although this time Postecoglou has the vast majority of his options available to him but a hectic schedule coupled with the mixed form of the players in question is causing real issues. Bergvall has been a rare bright spot for Tottenham in their injury crisis, with Bissouma unable to hit his previous heights and the form of Bentancur and Sarr continuing to fluctuate.
At a time when Spurs are well stocked in midfield but depleted in other areas of the pitch, midfield issues should be the last thing on Postecoglou's mind. They are, however, right at the forefront and it means Spurs have plenty of work to do in the summer.
Not only do they require a top quality No.6 to help shield the backline, break things up and dictate play, they also are also desperate for leaders because that is something they dearly lack. Before the summer comes around, though, Postecoglou has to get his midfield balance just right if they are to finish the campaign on a positive note at least and really challenge for that much-needed piece of silverware in the Europa League.
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