Tottenham will soon add three players to Ange Postecoglou strongest matchday squad
Ange Postecoglou knows all about not having his best side available to him at Tottenham. Having spent almost all of last season without at least three (and at times many more) of his most important players.
He often turned to previously unwanted and unneeded fringe players. Only able to overhaul part of his first-team group in one summer, a compromise was needed.
For Postecoglou, who would not offer a second way of playing for his team, it left a lot of square pegs in round holes. Players who were not part of the ideal 14-man core group to be used regularly ended up with more minutes than expected.
Ben Davies started 13 league games, playing in 23. At times some of those were at centre-back next to Emerson Royal, who himself got 22 matches, 11 from the off. Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg is a long way from an ideal Postecoglou midfielder, yet he featured in all-but-two of the 38 league matches. There were occasions when Giovani Lo Ceslo was needed as well.
Tottenham's January business - when very few teams could afford to do anything - has helped them strengthen and flesh out a squad that needed more work to come into alignment with Postecoglou's demands. The commitment to ensuring everyone is on the same level, or at least part of the same goal, was demonstrated further this summer.
Oliver Skipp was sold, so was Emerson and Lo Celso. Ivan Perisic and Eric Dier were allowed to walk for free, joining them were Tanguy Ndombele, Japhet Tanganga, Ryan Sessegnon, and effectively Hojbjerg, as he leaves on loan after not extending his contract beyond 2025.
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Not all of them were around to act as backup for Postecoglou last season but together they represent a changing of the guard. In their place, Spurs doubled down on youth investment with big pressers and speed.
Archie Gray, Dominic Solanke, and Wilson Odobert were all signed. Lucas Bergvall joined after an agreement was reached to bring him in over the winter. It leaves Postecoglou's squad looking much more like a Postecoglou squad should.
The early weeks of the Premier League season haven't necessarily reflected the best of the Australian, though. Forty-five minutes of brilliant football against Leicester City was followed by a second half that carried all the concerns and red flags of the worst of Postecoglou.
He will believe (or hope, or a mixture) that over time this still relatively young group will gel and results like the 4-0 win over Everton flow more continually. Given that just over 12 months ago, ten of the matchday squad against Newcastle had never started a league game for the club, it is no surprise that time will be needed in such a specific and intense Postecoglou playstyle environment.
Even the last match against Newcastle showed the two sides of Tottenham and Postecoglou. Without Solanke, who has only played 90 minutes since moving from Bournemouth due to injury, there are still adjustments to be made.
The striker was close to featuring at St James' Park before the break after missing Everton with an ankle injury. He will be keen to get back into contention for the North London Derby against Arsenal on Sunday.
For Tottenham, it comes with their fierce rivals facing problems of their own heading into the match. Postecoglou will be focused on his own squad though and the addition of Micky van de Ven back into the team would be a huge boost.
He was another who missed out against Newcastle due to a knee knock but will have had two weeks to recover after not being called on by Ronald Koeman for matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany.
There is no certainty that Richarlison will be ready. He has struggled with a variety of injury issues in the last 12 months and was dealt a big setback in training before the break. Spurs will hope he can get back to provide support up front in the coming weeks.
What this shows is that with injuries and change to the squad, Postecoglou is still yet to land on his best XI or group available on a matchday. The return of Solanke, Van de Ven, Richarlison, and then continued integration for Gray, Odobert, and Bergvall will leave things in a much stronger position.
Tottenham strongest 20-man matchday squad
Starting XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Maddison, Kulusevski*; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Substitutes: Forster, Dragusin, Gray, Bergvall, Bissouma, Bentancur, Werner, Richarlison, Odobert
*Yes, this is Kulusevski in midfield as a No.8, like Maddison. Tottenham have played their best football so far this season with the pair operating centrally.
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