3 ways that Tottenham can turn around their drop in form

It’s hard to call a three-match losing streak a crisis – especially given we’re only 3 games removed from a stirring victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford - and yet it’s quite clear that after defeats to Watford, Liverpool and Inter Milan, there’s something not quite right at Tottenham.

Mauricio Pochettino has been fascinating to watch in his most recent press conferences – using strange allegories about cows and trains and snarling at reporters who’ve been questioning his methods – but he must know that something needs to change.

So how can Spurs turn around this recent slump in form? Here are three suggestions that could help the Argentine boss and his side get back to their winning ways.

#1 Trust in youth

Oliver Skipp impressed in pre-season - so why not deploy him in the first team?

Ask most observers about where the problem lies at Tottenham, and they’ll tell you that Pochettino’s squad appears to be exhausted. And it makes a lot of sense. No less than 9 of Spurs’ first-team squad were involved in the semi-finals of the World Cup – from England’s Harry Kane and Dele Alli to Belgium’s Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele.

New signings were expected in the summer but whether it was down to Pochettino or Daniel Levy’s negotiation style, no new players were brought in. And so we’ve arrived to the place where Tottenham currently sit today, looking exhausted and struggling for form.

One way Pochettino could help to solve this issue is by trusting in his younger prospects. During pre-season, Tottenham deployed youth players like defenders Kyle Walker-Peters and Cameron Carter-Vickers, midfield pair Oliver Skipp and Luke Amos and forward Marcus Edwards, and the kids performed admirably – helping Spurs to victories over Roma and AC Milan and a draw with Barcelona.

Edwards and Carter-Vickers are now on season-long loans at Excelsior and Swansea respectively, but Walker-Peters, Skipp and Amos remain in the squad. So why not use them? Granted, it wouldn’t be smart to throw all three into the fire right away, but resting Christian Eriksen to give Skipp a game, or letting Amos replace Eric Dier or Dembele surely wouldn’t do too much harm.

Tottenham are a proven top-four Premier League club with players as talented as any others in the division – but even talented players need a break. And after all, Pochettino got this far by trusting in youth – giving the likes of Kane, Dier, Alli and Harry Winks a chance – so why not try to repeat history?

#2 Take a risk on Llorente

Spurs should consider giving Fernando Llorente a run to rest Harry Kane

Perhaps the most noticeable thing about Tottenham’s current blip is the apparent loss of form of their most important player, striker Harry Kane. Kane has managed to break one duck by scoring two goals in August this season, but since then he’s been goalless and just doesn’t seem to be having his usual effect on games.

Most notable is the lack of sudden sprints onto the ball and a sudden tendency to drop very deep in order to collect the ball rather than wait for it – to some observers, it looks like Kane’s trying to force his involvement in the game.

It has been suggested that his issues stem from difficulties adjusting to life playing alongside Lucas Moura rather than Dele Alli or Heung Min Son, but more likely, Kane is just burned out after playing so many games over the past few years.

Tottenham’s problem though is how to replace him? The lack of a true backup striker for Kane has been an issue at Spurs for a while now, and when the England captain was missing due to an ankle injury last Spring, Pochettino’s side simply relied on the goals of Alli, Son and the rest to keep them going – and they did that job admirably.

But Spurs also have another weapon in their arsenal – Spanish striker Fernando Llorente. He’s come under criticism since moving to Tottenham last summer as he’s only scored 5 goals at the club, but he’s also only ever started a handful of games for Spurs.

At Swansea though, the Spaniard was almost prolific – scoring 15 Premier League goals in 28 starts. Sure, his style is more direct than Kane’s – maybe more direct than Pochettino wants Spurs to play – but perhaps it’s time for Tottenham to risk deploying Llorente for a proper run of games in order to give Kane a rest.

And if it doesn’t work, well, they survived without Kane before – they can do it again. It’s just important that he gets over this burnout as soon as possible.

#3 Stop switching off at crucial times

Spurs need to avoid switching off during set-pieces to prevent them conceding weak goals

Football is a game of small margins and as crazy as it sounds, had things gone slightly different for Tottenham in their last three games, we probably wouldn’t be talking about this blip in the first place.

Spurs didn’t play well against Watford but could’ve come away with a victory had they not succumbed to pressure and the direct style of the Hornets; Liverpool outplayed them but both of the Reds’ goals were weak and Spurs could’ve had a late penalty, and they led Inter Milan until the last five minutes before conceding two goals.

Of those 6 goals that Tottenham conceded, it’s also notable that 4 of them came from set-pieces. Mauro Icardi’s stunning volley for Inter was basically unstoppable and Roberto Firmino’s goal for Liverpool was caused by an error by Michel Vorm, but the rest were sloppy goals for a top side like Spurs to be letting in.

Simply put, you’d expect defenders the calibre of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez to be far more commanding in the air than they’ve looked in their recent fixtures. Quite what’s caused this issue is unknown as Tottenham have never looked this vulnerable from set-pieces under Pochettino before.

What is clear though is that this must change going forward if Spurs want to turn their form around. Whether it’s an issue with the marking system they’re using – or a simple case of switching off at crucial times – Spurs need to be far more careful when defending set-pieces. If they can fix this issue, then perhaps this slump won’t turn into much of a slump at all.