4 ways that Mauricio Pochettino can turn around Tottenham Hotspur's slump

There’s no denying it right now – Tottenham Hotspur are a club in the midst of a genuine slump in form. Mauricio Pochettino’s side – who finished 4th in the Premier League and made it all the way to the Champions League final in 2018/19 – have struggled from the offset of 2019/20, winning just 3 of their opening 8 league games.

They’ve suffered disappointing losses to Newcastle United, Leicester City and Brighton, and were eliminated from the EFL Cup by League Two side Colchester. Even worse, they were thumped 2-7 in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich, their heaviest home defeat in club history.

So how can Pochettino look to arrest the slump? After the recent international break Spurs have a chance to get back into winning form this weekend against bottom-of-the-table Watford – and here are 4 ways that they could turn things around.

#1 Start using Davinson Sanchez at centre-back

Restoring Davinson Sanchez at centre-back could help to shore up Tottenham's defence

When Pochettino left Jan Vertonghen out of his starting line-up for the season’s opening game against Aston Villa – a 3-1 victory for Tottenham – some eyebrows were raised. Various rumours flew around regarding the reason for the move, but after sitting out a further two games, the Belgian was restored to the first XI for September’s draw with Arsenal and has been an ever-present since, resuming his partnership with Toby Alderweireld.

Unfortunately for Spurs fans, the restoration of the Belgian partnership at the heart of the Tottenham defence hasn’t really helped matters. Spurs’ back-line now looks more vulnerable than ever and in the losses to Bayern Munich and Brighton in particular, it looked like Vertonghen and Alderweireld had aged overnight, their lack of pace ruthlessly exploited time and time again.

Both men have been excellent servants at Tottenham but their deterioration shouldn’t come as a shock – both men are the wrong side of 30 and historically, defenders tend to age suddenly when their pace abandons them. Perhaps this is why the club haven’t pushed hard for either man to sign a new contract, as both will see their current deals expire next summer.

It’s clear then that Pochettino needs to shore up Spurs’ defence, and one way he could do this would be to restore Davinson Sanchez at the expense of either Vertonghen or Alderweireld. The Colombian is just 23 years old, pace is one of his biggest strengths, and he’s shown consistent improvement since joining Spurs in 2017.

It’s true that his own start to the season was poor, but then he was also largely being deployed out of position as a makeshift right-back. Restoring him to his preferred centre-back position would add a much-needed injection of pace to Spurs’ creaking defence, and hopefully would help them to stop leaking goals.

#2 Settle on a preferred right-back

Could Juan Foyth be the man to solve Spurs' right-back problem?

If any single position has given Tottenham Hotspur issues this season, it’s been right-back. Mauricio Pochettino allowed his former first choice, Kieran Trippier, to move to Atletico Madrid in the summer, but strangely the club decided not to buy an outright replacement. Instead, Pochettino has been forced to deploy four different players in the role with varying degrees of success.

Youngster Kyle Walker-Peters started the season in the slot and performed relatively well, but picked up an injury in August’s loss to Newcastle and hasn’t been able to regain his place since.

Davinson Sanchez was simply diabolical in the spot – the Colombian was clearly uncomfortable playing out of position – and while Serge Aurier impressed against Crystal Palace, he soon returned to his inconsistent ways and was even sent off against Southampton.

Midfielder Moussa Sissoko slotted into the role following Aurier’s dismissal in that game and performed admirably, but he’s not a natural right-back either, meaning the position remains a worrying hole for Pochettino to fill.

The man who could be placed into the slot is Juan Foyth, who has been playing at right-back for Argentina, but he’s still inexperienced and has made dangerous errors before.

So who is the answer? It’s hard to say, but for me the best thing Pochettino could do is to simply settle on one player and let them have an extended run in the side. Foyth or Walker-Peters would likely be the best options – Aurier has had enough chances while Sanchez and Sissoko just aren’t right-backs – and if they don’t work, then Spurs need to buy a new right-back in January.

Either way, a settled player in the role would be far better than the current question marks.

#3 Freeze Eriksen out entirely

Christian Eriksen has been in terrible form in recent weeks

Much has been made of Christian Eriksen’s contract status at Tottenham; the Danish playmaker’s current deal runs out in the summer of 2020 and he’ll be free to negotiate with overseas teams from January unless he signs a new deal with Spurs, which seems highly unlikely right now.

Eriksen himself has stated that he wants a “new challenge”, specifically pointing at Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, but with no concrete interest, his future is simply up in the air.

The issue for Spurs in recent weeks has been their over-reliance on the Dane. Eriksen comes across on the pitch as a player who doesn’t necessarily want to be with the club any more – he was Tottenham’s worst player by far in the disappointing 2-2 Champions League draw with Olympiacos – but Pochettino seems reluctant to leave him out due to his creative abilities at the front of the midfield.

But surely enough is enough now; Eriksen’s form has been disappointing dating back to the latter stages of 2018/19 and while he’s clearly the most creative player Tottenham have, if he’s off form then he doesn’t offer much at all. January’s transfer window is now less than three months away, so why not take a different stance and freeze him out entirely?

Argentine playmaker Giovani Lo Celso – the man purported to be a replacement for Eriksen – is due back from injury any time now, and even if he’s not quite ready, a tweak of the system could remove the need for so much reliance on Eriksen. If he doesn’t want to be there, and that looks like the case right now, then Tottenham should give him his wish – and stop playing him unless things are desperate.

#4 Consider switching system to get the best out of Dele Alli

Pochettino should consider changing his system to accommodate the skills of Dele Alli better

Dele Alli has come under a lot of criticism recently; he only returned from a hamstring injury a month or so ago but hasn’t shown the form that made him one of Europe’s hottest properties a year or two back, and most recently he was even left out of the England squad.

It’s true that injuries have hampered Alli’s form, but another issue the 23-year old has faced is that the system Tottenham have been deploying in recent months doesn’t necessarily suit his style.

Since the rise in prominence of Son Heung-min, Tottenham have moved towards a system that makes heavy use of wide forwards – usually Son, Lucas Moura or Erik Lamela – playing alongside Harry Kane, rather than using Kane as a central striker. Add that alongside Spurs’ over-reliance on the creative abilities of Christian Eriksen, and it’s meant that Alli’s best position – playing just behind Kane as an ancillary striker – has seemingly vanished.

But with Eriksen completely out of form, and his potential replacement Giovani Lo Celso still settling into life at Tottenham, could Pochettino switch his system up to benefit Alli? A move towards a modified 4-5-1 formation – with a midfield of Alli alongside Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele, Son and possibly Lucas Moura – could work.

In that system, Winks and Ndombele would control the centre, with Son and Lucas playing wider and Alli being able to play off the lone striker in Kane, making late runs into the box and supporting his England teammate. That was largely the system Tottenham used in 2016/17 – when Alli was able to score 18 goals and make 7 assists.

If Pochettino can get the best out of Alli – and if it involves switching up his system, it could well be worth it – then he’ll have a potential world-class player on his hands, meaning Tottenham’s slump could be helped to turn around.