Tottenham continue to struggle when it comes to threatening from inside the box, meaning it’s no surprise that someone like Roberto Soldado is goalless.
Tottenham have enjoyed a fairly indifferent start to the Premier League season so far in 2014-15.
Though they recorded a couple of early wins to get things off on the right foot under Mauricio Pochettino, they have only won one game since then, while registering two draws and three defeats to leave them down in ninth position.
Of course, the Premier League is still in its early days, and there is every chance new boss Mauricio Pochettino can get his players firing and as a result climbing the table towards that coveted top four.
But one startling attacking statistic stands in their way, and of real concern to Spurs fans is that it isn’t an unexpected problem given last season’s data.
Tottenham are in the bottom four Premier League sides when it comes to registering efforts on goal from inside the box.
While top four hopefuls and title chasers such as Manchester City, Liverpool, Southampton, Chelsea and Arsenal all make it into the top rankings when it comes to firing off attempts from inside the penalty area, alongside surprise package West Ham, Spurs have West Brom, Aston Villa and Leicester for company when it comes to penalty box threat.
| Goal Scoring Attempts From Inside Box | Shots On Target From Inside Box | Total Scoring Attempts | Goals | % Inside Box Attempts On Target | % Inside Box Attempts Scored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 66.00 | 37.00 | 136 | 18 | 56.06 | 22.73 |
| West Ham United | 61.00 | 29.00 | 115 | 15 | 47.54 | 18.03 |
| Liverpool | 58.00 | 33.00 | 127 | 13 | 56.90 | 20.69 |
| Southampton | 58.00 | 36.00 | 107 | 19 | 62.07 | 31.03 |
| Chelsea | 55.00 | 37.00 | 122 | 23 | 67.27 | 38.18 |
| Arsenal | 49.00 | 28.00 | 126 | 13 | 57.14 | 26.53 |
The above table shows those that have had the most attacking attempts from inside the box, while also posting statistics illustrating how many the clubs have gotten on target and their percentages when it comes to scoring from in-the-box attempts.
| Goal Scoring Attempts From Inside Box | Attempts On Target From Inside Box | Total Scoring Attempts | Goals | % Inside Box Attempts On Target | % Inside Box Attempts Scored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tottenham Hotspur | 34.00 | 20.00 | 92 | 10 | 58.82 | 26.47 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 31.00 | 15.00 | 93 | 10 | 48.39 | 29.03 |
| Leicester City | 30.00 | 18.00 | 78 | 11 | 60.00 | 36.67 |
| Aston Villa | 27.00 | 9.00 | 62 | 4 | 33.33 | 14.81 |
And here are the four worst sides when it comes to getting efforts off from inside the box. On comparing the two tables you can see that Spurs have favourable percentages of on target attempts and goals when they do shoot closer to goal, stronger than City, Liverpool and Arsenal. This shows that attackers and midfielders hitting the target isn’t the problem for Spurs, they’re just not getting enough of them.
Of course, it is generally a little easier to find the back of the net the closer you get to the goal, but Spurs have two senior strikers in Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor who score the majority of their goals inside the penalty box, yet between them they have just one Premier League goal to their name. What is surprising is that Spurs went into this season without reinforcing their front line, after Soldado struggled in 2013-14 and despite Adebayor’s penchant for slipping out of form.
Several Spurs players are prone to shooting from distance, with inverted wingers playing a part in this, but in order to get the best out of the forwards Tottenham currently have on their books, Pochettino has to either encourage the team to alter their play, work on the forward’s movement, or pick a different striker up front that has significant threat from range himself.
Spurs have such a forward in Harry Kane, and if Pochettino can’t or isn’t willing to change the side’s attacking style, the young attacker, fresh from his hat-trick on Thursday night, may be the best option for the Argentine, at least until the transfer window opens in January.
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