Ange Postecoglou has certainly started life as Tottenham boss in a positive manner, Spurs are seven games into the Premier League season and still haven’t picked up a loss despite playing the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Tottenham Hotspur’s incredible start to the season is down to Postecoglou, the Australian gaffer has completely won over the Spurs fan base and players. Questions were asked when Postecoglou was appointed from Celtic, with fans questioning if he was ready for such a big job, but he has proven them so very wrong.
Postecoglou has an incredible eye for talent, and he proved that in the summer transfer window. Young players like Micky van de Ven and Brennan Johnson have already made such an impact in the Spurs team, helping them towards this magical start to the season. The main signing however was James Maddison, the silky English creative midfielder has been nothing short of perfect since he put pen to paper for Spurs back in June this year. Maddison picked up the Premier League player of the month award for August with Postecoglou also earning manager of the month.
However, questions have been raised whether Spurs can carry on this form and challenge the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal for the title. The main talking point around these doubts is the lack of squad depth that Tottenham have and when you look closely at Spurs’ squad, you would have to agree.
Spurs’ starting 11 is amazing but the bench really could do with some strengthening if the North London club want to be pushing for the league title. For example, the midfield trio of Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison have been incredible so far this season but there is a worry that they are being over-worked. A serious injury to one of these midfielders could be disastrous for Spurs as the depth in midfield isn’t the strongest with the possible back-ups being Oliver Skipp, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Gio Lo Celso.
Last season we saw just how important it is to have good squad depth when Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a torn ACL and was ruled out for the season. The Uruguayan was the centre piece to Tottenham’s team last season and after that injury it all went south for the North Londoner’s as they finished eighth in the Premier League, failing to qualify for any European competition.
The Premier League has been dominated by Manchester City for the last six or seven years and it is clear why – they have a world class manager in Pep Guardiola, and they have incredible squad depth, to the point where their second team could comfortably compete for a top four finish.
In my opinion, Tottenham can compete for the Premier League title but only if they invest in some top quality back-up players in the January transfer window.
