Tottenham's Tactical Symphony: Layers of Innovation and Risk
"Sonny set the tone for us early on, that's leadership."
The last day Tottenham won a Premier League match was October 27th in a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace. Since then, the team has lost 4 games (Chelsea, Wolves, Villa, West Ham) and drawn 1 (Man City). This was the moment, the rough patch of form, that would test Tottenham’s ability to make adjustments and changes to their team.
The change came in the form of Heung-min Son. The left-winger turned forward this season has been immense for Tottenham. Playing as a forward-facing lone striker, Son is putting mileage in for this team in the form of forward runs into the channel.
Son has always had a strong goalscoring instinct; he has 10 goals in 16 league games this season, but one of his best talents is his running with the ball at his feet. Son’s ability to shift his running direction and his change of pace make him a nightmare to defend against, but in playing as the forward, this part of his game has gone underutilized. Until Ange made a change.
In his post-match press conference, Ange was asked about Richarlison returning to the team in the forward position, and his answer was, “Richarlison wasn’t fully fit, and we had to play him wide to get him through games.”
Richarlison at the nine was once an ideal. He’s not a clinical goalscorer, but he understands positioning very well. He brings physicality to the team, but most importantly, he allows Son to return to the wing.
Son on the wing, when given the space to work in one-versus-one situations, is a problem.
The game today is about space & risk-taking. The Tottenham play in Figure 1.0 begins with the left-back Udogie occupying what would traditionally be either the #10 or creative midfielder’s space, or the space belonging to an inverted, tucked-in winger.
This dangerous position is instead occupied by a left-back who, within this space, has committed Newcastle right-back Trippier into a 2 vs. 1 situation - but how will Udogie receive the pass?
We spoke about space above; the next ingredient is risk. The lane for Porro to complete a pass into Udogie is surrounded by 3 Newcastle players. Most players in the modern game, especially a right-back, would be far too conservative in their passing range to try threading this ball, but Tottenham has been drilled otherwise.
The moment the risky pass to Udogie is completed, Newcastle’s defense has been broken down. At this point, Newcastle is in damage limitation mode, and the damage is approaching in the form of Son.
Moving Son out wide to the left-wing is a great surface-level plan to cause Newcastle problems. Where things become layered for Tottenham is when they are able to put Newcastle in a situation that forces them to defend an oncoming Son with space behind him and an opportunity to attack at goal.
At his best, this is when Son cannot be stopped. Within 2 seconds from Figure 4.0 to Figure 5.0, Son, with the ball at his feet, has the ability to penetrate the penalty box, putting himself in a more dangerous position while simultaneously creating even more distance between himself and his defender, Trippier.
The first layer of tactics is placing players into positions where they can be dangerous. The next layer is the hardest part, and that is creating the circumstances to generate that danger.
In Ange and Tottenham’s case, this begins in Figure 1.0 with a right-back playing an incredibly risky pass into the center of the field (something young players are taught not to do) to a left-back who is not even remotely prepared to close down a counter-attack and is residing in the #10 position.
This is the mapped structure that gives Son the keys to unlock an offense that will hurt your favorite team.