8th in PL 

©IMAGO

Tottenham’s poor start to the season could go from bad to worse on Wednesday night, when they welcome Manchester City to North London in the Last 16 of the English League Cup. Following a horrid start to their Premier League campaign, which has seen Spurs pick up just four wins and a draw from their first nine league games, Ange Postecoglou’s side precariously wedded to mid-table and nowhere near the coveted top four, ahead of what will likely be elimination from the first cup competition of the season. 

Worryingly for Spurs, their problems don’t seem to stem solely from issues that have plagued the team this season. When we take a look at which Premier League clubs have picked up the most points since the start of 2024, Tottenham sit seventh in the league table – level on points with Manchester United, who opted to sack their manager Erik Ten Hag for picking up just 40 points from 27 league games over the course of the last 10 months. It won’t be lost on Spurs fans or indeed the club’s hierarchy that Postecoglou’s team have fared no better in the English top-flight, while clubs like Newcastle, Aston Villa and Chelsea look better equipped to challenge for fourth place this season. So what’s gone so wrong for Tottenham and can their manager fix things before it gets too bad? 

Tactical struggles holding Tottenham back

Famed for his exciting, gung-ho football, Postecoglou has undoubted guided Tottenham to some impressive victories this season – 4-0 against Everton, 3-1 against Brentford and 3-0 over Manchester United – but in just about each instance, Tottenham were allowed to exert their game plan onto their opponents and in the end won the contest through attacking football. The problems for Spurs arise when other teams don’t indulge them in such duels and instead sit deep or frustrate Postecoglou’s team enough that their Plan A simply doesn’t work. Whether it be the 1-1 draw with Leicester City on matchday one, the defeats to Newcastle or Brighton or even last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace, Tottenham still seem to struggle when games are more cagey and far less open. 

“It was one of those games with a lot of stoppages and battles, and they ended up winning a lot of them and coming out on top,” said Postecoglou following Spurs’ most recent defeat at Selhurst Park. “There was a lot of disruption and it was hard to get any fluency. They did better than us.” What’s rather telling about Tottenham’s performances in such games is how little they create in front of goal. According to stats website Understat, 62% of Tottenham’s total xG (expected goals) in the league this season came in just three games – the wins over Everton, Brentford and Man Utd), while their xG in the other six league games stood at just 7.38 – which was notably less than the xG their opponents amassed in said games (7.55). In other words, Tottenham simply aren’t creating enough chances in games unless they’re allowed to play their preferred style of football. And it is undoubtedly costing them points. 

Perhaps the most obvious fault for this lack of goals comes from Tottenham’s star No.9, Dominic Solanke. Last season the England international thrived in a very direct system at Bournemouth, where he could run on to long balls over the top of defences, or spearhead fast counter attacks. While Solanke has shown that same capacity for Spurs this season, with two goals that came from counter attacks against Brentford and Man Utd, the striker has seriously struggled to create chances in the aforementioned clashes that require a more patient approach in attack. According to Understat, while Solanke logged eight shots in the wins over Brentford and Man Utd, he failed to register a single attempt on goal in the 3-2 defeat to Brighton and managed just two over the course of 90 minutes against Crystal Palace. And as the graphic above illustrates, the striker has so far averaged just 0.30 goals per 90 in the Premier League this season, which is a considerable drop from last season’s career high with Bournemouth of 0.51 per 90. 

Whether Tottenham can turn their season around anytime soon remains to be seen. Following Wednesday’s cup clash with Man City, Postecoglou’s team then face Aston Villa, Galatasaray, Ipswich and then once again lock horns with Pep Guardiola’s goliaths in the Premier League. By which point the Tottenham manager may be under even more pressure than he is now. But if Spurs are going to get back to winning ways and start climbing up the league table, they may have to find a way to win games when things aren’t going according to plan and by getting their star striker back amongst the goals.