Tottenham recruitment plan yields success as Ange Postecoglou deploys fluid frontline

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Evening Standard

·26 August 2024

Tottenham recruitment plan yields success as Ange Postecoglou deploys fluid frontline

Spurs will have tougher tests than Everton to come - but the early signs are promising

The most striking thing about Tottenham's XI for Saturday's 4-0 thrashing of Everton was the versatility of Ange Postecoglou's front five.

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When the line-up was announced, it was not immediately clear who was playing where (even if the club's media team usually does a good job of setting out the XI in the order reflecting the manager's formation).

With summer signing Dominic Solanke injured and Richarlison only fit enough for the bench, Postecoglou handed a debut to 19-year-old winger Wilson Odobert in a front-foot side, also featuring captain Heung-min Son, Brennan Johnson, James Madddison and Dejan Kulusevski..

Maddison was always likely to be in his usual left-sided No8 role, but the positions of the rest of the attackers would not become clear until kick-off.

Son can play on the left wing or up-front while Odobert and Johnson are both capable of playing on either side or through the middle at a stretch; Kulusevski is even more versatile, the Swede happy to operate across the front line, having spent most of pre-season playing as a false nine, or in midfield.

So was Kulusevski up front or Son? And who was playing on which flank?

As it turned out, Odobert made his debut from the left, with Johnson on the right, Son back at centre-forward and Kulusevski alongside Maddison in midfield.

The result was one of Spurs' best performances under Postecoglou since the first 10 games of last season, albeit against an abject Everton side, who look set for another relegation scrap.

Son scored twice, Odobert was lively and Maddison and Kulusevski were outstanding as advanced No8s, each finishing the game with an assist.

Unlike the disappointing 1-1 draw at Leicester on the opening day, Spurs built on Yves Bissouma's opening goal before half-time and maintained the pressure for the best part of 90 minutes, thanks to the strength of Postecoglou's options from the bench. Cristian Romero also scored to mark his 100th appearance for the club.

Spurs' versatility in attack is no coincidence. Postecoglou and the club's recruitment team have deliberately targeted forwards who can play across the line, and Timo Werner, Johnson and Odobert were all identified, in part, because they are not confined to a single position.

Wilson Odobert impressed on his Tottenham debut

John Walton/PA Wire

The upshot is that for the first time in years, Spurs are building a squad with real variety in forward areas, allowing Postecoglou to chop and change his XIs based on form and the opposition.

The top sides last season -- notably Manchester City and Liverpool -- had this unpredictability and depth up-front, which Spurs conspicuously lacked.

Indeed, even when Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs were pushing for the title and flying in the Champions League, or when Son and Harry Kane were ripping through opponents under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, it was usually simple to predict well in advance who Spurs would be playing up-front and their precise roles.

Postecoglou's attack is plainly still a work in progress -- the Australian has repeatedly said as much himself -- but this version of Spurs is increasingly multi-faceted and unpredictable, which feels like an important step in their development.