Tottenham Hotspur finished 2015 with a slightly fortunate win away at Watford, with a late Son Heung-min goal giving Mauricio Pochettino’s men a 2-1 victory at Vicarage Road.
Despite the visitors riding their luck to some extent, a tactical change by the Argentine coach caught the eye as Spurs looked to blunt a potent Hornets strike force.
Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney have proven this season that they have what it takes to deliver in the top flight, with their performances in a 3-0 destruction of Liverpool earlier this month a clear indication of their threat.
Pochettino and Tottenham were clearly worried about the strike pair and subsequently changed from their usual 4-2-3-1 formation to play three at the back in a 3-4-3 system of sorts against Watford.
This involved midfield anchor and natural centre-half Eric Dier dropping between Belgian pair Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, with Tom Carroll taking his place in the boiler room in an attempt to dictate play.
There were a number of visible pros and cons to the new formation, which if used again in the future will alter the way Spurs play…
PROS
There is no doubting that Tottenham managed to limit the influence of the Watford forwards by fielding an extra centre-half, despite Ighalo striking the equaliser.
The illusive running of the Nigerian and physical dominance of Deeney were nowhere near as apparent as against Liverpool or in other games at Vicarage Road this term.
Playing three at the back also offered Spurs more licence to commit men forward with the security that an extra player would be able to cover.
Kieran Trippier was given a rare start and looked progressive on the front foot, while getting Danny Rose forward on the other flank has been a key element to Spurs’ play this season.
Carroll’s range of passing is clearly superior to that of Dier, and as such it also added more technical abilities to the Spurs midfield.
CONS
Although Nabil Bentaleb is a defensive midfield option at Pochettino’s disposal, Dier has been a revelation this season and by far the best holding option in the boiler room for the White Hart Lane side.
Playing him in defence may well act as something of a security measure, but it robs Spurs of a ball-winner and dominant physical force in the centre of the park.
Playing an extra man in defence also meant that the North Londoners had to rethink the positioning of their attacking players and sacrifice Christian Eriksen, who dropped to the bench.
It also meant that the two attacking players supporting Harry Kane took up largely wider positions, with no scope for a dedicated number ten in the team.
VERDICT
The most important thing for Spurs is that the ploy must be deemed as successful given that three points were the result.
This tactical versatility is another string to a young team’s bow and shows that a host of the Tottenham players are flexible enough to operate in different positions.
With not many Premier League teams playing two out-and-out strikers, the 4-2-3-1 formation will surely be reinstated for the trip to Everton this weekend, but in the short-term it was a successful experiment.
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