Trust in Youth
No less than 9 of Spurs’ first-team squad were involved in the semi-finals of the World Cup – from England’s Harry Kane and Dele Alli to Belgium’s Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele. New signings were expected in the summer but whether it was down to Pochettino or Daniel Levy’s negotiation style, no new players were brought in. One way Pochettino could help to solve this issue is by trusting in his younger prospects. During pre-season, Tottenham deployed youth players like defenders Kyle Walker-Peters and Cameron Carter-Vickers, midfield pair Oliver Skipp and Luke Amos and forward Marcus Edwards, and the kids performed admirably – helping Spurs to victories over Roma and AC Milan and a draw with Barcelona.
Take a risk on Llorente
The lack of a true backup striker for Kane has been an issue at Spurs for a while now, and when the England captain was missing due to an ankle injury last Spring, Pochettino’s side simply relied on the goals of Alli, Son and the rest to keep them going – and they did that job admirably. But Spurs also have another weapon in their arsenal – Spanish striker Fernando Llorente. He’s come under criticism since moving to Tottenham last summer as he’s only scored 5 goals at the club, but he’s also only ever started a handful of games for Spurs.
Stop switching off at crucial times
Simply put, you’d expect defenders the calibre of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez to be far more commanding in the air than they’ve looked in their recent fixtures. Quite what’s caused this issue is unknown as Tottenham have never looked this vulnerable from set-pieces under Pochettino before. What is clear though is that this must change going forward if Spurs want to turn their form around. Whether it’s an issue with the marking system they’re using – or a simple case of switching off at crucial times – Spurs need to be far more careful when defending set-pieces. If they can fix this issue, then perhaps this slump won’t turn into much of a slump at all.