Spurs ‘Getting The Job Done’ Despite Forced Squad Rotation
- Football LDN Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold provides this week’s opposition view
- Leicester City host the Mauricio Pochettino outfit on Saturday in the Premier League (7:45pm GMT kick-off)
- Gold outlined Spurs’ battling displays as the reason why they are in fine form, despite their injury problems this term
Mauricio Pochettino’s men arrive on Filbert Way on Saturday evening (7:45pm GMT kick-off) having amassed 33 points from 15 2018/19 Premier League fixtures and currently sit third in the table.
While Tottenham have managed to grind out results, Gold believes the return of fatigued players from this summer’s 2018 FIFA World Cup and multiple injuries to the Club’s stars means they are yet to replicate some of last term’s glitzy displays.
“It’s been a really strange season,” Gold told LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live. “[Mauricio] Pochettino struggles to sum it up exactly, because they’ve had everything thrown at them.
“They’ve had stadium delays and loads of injuries to key players – much of that because many of those players came back from the World Cup late.
“They’ve had no transfers in the summer, so they’ve had no replenishment to their squad whatsoever. However, on the pitch overall, they’ve started very well.
“Rotation has a lot to do with it. Pochettino has had to change the side. One of his favourite expressions is ‘it’s not about the name on the pitch, it’s about the philosophy’.
“However, it had been about the names on the pitch this season because he’s had all these various players, it’s only Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris that have played pretty much every match.”
Gold explained that the absence of key players this campaign has forced Spurs manager Pochettino into fielding varied starting XIs.
“Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele – there’s a lot of key players that have been in and out of the team,” he continued.
“As such, it’s been a mix and match Tottenham side. You can normally name the Tottenham XI in previous seasons, whereas this season, it’s been different, which is why we’ve been having disjointed performances.
“The football hasn’t been great, the Chelsea match aside – that was probably the best football Spurs have played this season. The rest of it has been really gritty, with battling displays to get the points. Somehow, they’re doing the job.”
Tottenham’s only defeat in their last seven matches in all competitions came in the form of a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby last time out, despite them leading 2-1 at the interval following goals from Harry Kane and Eric Dier.
“Obviously, the North London derby was difficult, especially in the second half,” Gold added. “They ran out of steam. I think the fans, as you would be after a derby against your closest rivals, are pretty down, but when they look over the season, actually it’s alright so far.
“There’s a crucial couple of weeks coming up. Spurs normally kick into gear in the festive period, so they’re hoping that happens again. They’ve probably not been as clinical in front of goal.
“Harry Kane is probably weighing in with the normal amount of goals that he does, but even he doesn’t look like the ‘full’ Harry Kane, and that could be a World Cup hangover.”