Tottenham in Australia: A closer look

As an Australian fan of the English Premier League it’s not very often that you get to see the team you support play live. The last two years have seen Tottenham Hotspur travel to Australia twice, in 2015 and most recently to play in the 2016 International Champions Cup. While I can’t say that the Australian crowds were mesmerized by Spurs’ pressing game there was plenty of entertainment to soak up.

Overall the tour was definitely a means for Pochettino to assess the youth and fringe players, however it also gave a chance for the new signings to prove themselves and some established names to cement their names on the team sheet. Although it was disappointing to see both matches end in defeat, there were definitely some good signs. Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives of Spurs tour down under.

The biggest positive to come from the tour was the performances of the youth players. With the absence of first team players like Vertonghen, Alderweireld and Kane among others, Under 21s and Under 18s prospects like Cameron Carter-Vickers, Shayon Harrison and Marcus Edwards were all given their chance.

[linequote]Lamela in particular was one of the highlights of Tottenham’s attack and got on the score sheet against Juventus. He was involved in many of the chances for Spurs, setting up other players and having a few shots himself[/linequote]

Along with fringe first team players like Harry Winks, Josh Onomah and Dominic Ball, both matches were a demonstration of the quality of Tottenham’s youth system. Despite the shaky start against Juventus where a Dominic Ball back pass and a Carter-Vickers missed tackle led to a goal, both players performed well.

One players many fans were looking forward to seeing was Marcus Edwards. The 18-year-old had a lot of hype around him before the games and did himself justice with his skillful dribbling and running at defenders as well as popping up in the box a few times.

Despite not scoring there were clear signs of his talent. One of the highlights of the game was Shayon Harrison’s chance in injury time against Juventus where Winks, Onomah and Edwards were all involved in the buildup play. Overall there were good signs from the young players against the solid teams of Juventus and Atletico Madrid.

There were positives to take from the performance of current first team players, Lamela in particular was one of the highlights of Tottenham’s attack and got on the score sheet against Juventus. He was involved in many of the chances for Spurs, setting up other players and having a few shots himself.

[linequote]A good sign for the new season is that Victor Wanyama slipped almost seamlessly into the midfield, breaking down play and moving the ball around well[/linequote]

Of the few big names that made the trip to Australia Lamela was the standout, confidently moving about the field and asserting himself on the game. Big names like Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen had their moments but I’ll discuss their contributions later.

A good sign for the new season is that Victor Wanyama slipped almost seamlessly into the midfield, breaking down play and moving the ball around well. Against Juventus he dispossessed Hernanes after a poor goal kick from Neto and sent a pass through the heart of the defence that Erik Lamela got onto and finished from close range. Vincent Janssen failed to get on the score sheet in either game however he was involved in some good chances. Looking forward to seeing more from him when the season gets underway.

Unfortunately, there were some negatives from both games that need to be addressed. Although the youth players impressed there were some key mistakes in attack and defence that cost the team.

The biggest being the calamitous defence that led to Spurs being 1-0 down after six minutes, before another defensive error resulted in Medhi Benatia being unmarked in the box and heading Juventus 2-0 up after 15 minutes. Against Atletico Madrid the defence was solid, aside from the questionable goal from Godin, with Carter Vickers getting another start.

Attack wise there were enough chances for Spurs to pick up results in both games. With Harrison’s golden chance in injury time, Onomah hitting the woodwork early against Atletico and countless other great opportunities from the likes of Lamela, Carroll and Mason it’s a wonder how Spurs didn’t score more. Had it not been for fantastic performances from Neto and a man of the match display Jan Oblak, arguably the reason Atletico won, Tottenham may have come away with better results.

Probably the biggest negative from the tour came from some of the first team players. Fan favourites like Ryan Mason and Tom Carroll didn’t show enough over the two games to warrant a first team position. Unfortunately for both these players it looks like their time at Tottenham could be over, with rumours circulating over their futures with the club.

[linequote]Had it not been for fantastic performances from Neto and a man of the match display Jan Oblak, arguably the reason Atletico won, Tottenham may have come away with better results[/linequote]

Other first team players like Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen didn’t perform highly either, however they are almost guaranteed starters come next season. Overall the performances of the youth players outshone much of the first team, with a few exceptions in Lamela and Wanyama.

Mauricio Pochettino was impressed with the performances in both games and despite the results it’s hard to disagree with him. He was particularly impressed with the way the team controlled both matches and although we were unlucky not to get a result from either game, the performances were solid. Our potential Champions League opponents may have gotten the better of us here but there were plenty of good signs for the new season.

Players like Wanyama, Lamela and Janssen showed glimpses of what they will bring to the campaign and young prospects like Onomah and Edwards showed that they are capable of providing some competition to the established lineup.