Writing in his column for The Daily Star, Paul Merson has been discussing Tottenham Hotspur’s defence and their style of play.
Spurs haven’t been in good form as of late to say the least. Before the World Cup they were conceding buckets of goals, and after the winter break they’ve been doing exactly the same.
Merson is utterly baffled by the way Conte’s defence is currently operating, stating that he doesn’t understand why the Tottenham defenders are taking so many touches, while Harry Kane and the attacking talents at the club are barely getting on the ball right now.
Merson baffled
The pundit gave his view on Tottenham’s defence.
“I loved Antonio Conte at Chelsea, he is a born winner but what I don’t get is that Tottenham play three at the back and two holding midfielders, yet still concede two goals most games,” Merson wrote.
“Tottenham’s best three players are their forwards yet there are still games where Kane does not touch the ball. Against Aston Villa it was 20 minutes until he took his first touch. He’s their best player – get the ball upfront.
“Meanwhile, Spurs’ defenders are taking 75 touches while Kane is having none. It’s madness. I think Spurs’ win over Palace also does Arsenal a massive favour ahead of the north London derby on January 15.”
No confidence
The problem here seems to be confidence.
Every single player in the Tottenham team – barring maybe Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, are trying to play things safe at the moment, and that leads to a lot of backwards passing and a lot of possession in the first third.
Spurs’ defenders are constantly on the ball because the attackers don’t want to take risks right now, and if you’re playing it safe, the ball is going to end up with your defenders.
Antonio Conte needs to find a way to instil some confidence in his players.
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