Tottenham Reach Nadir at Gent

By Ryan Wrenn | Feb 17, 2017

Ccoach Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham Hotspur FCduring the UEFA Europa League round of 16 match between KAA Gent and Tottenham Hotspur FC on February 16, 2017 at the Ghelamco Arena in Gent, Belgium.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /

If there was any lingering doubt as to the severity of the slump at Tottenham, it evaporated with the 1-0 loss to Gent on Thursday.

Despite fielding a strong starting XI, Tottenham failed to break down a team currently ranked eighth in Belgium’s Jupiler League. Defeat against Liverpool stung, but at least that match was expected to be tricky. To show up in Belgium and return home with nothing comes as a much deeper blow.

Like the match against Liverpool, the signs were there that Tottenham were in for a tough time. Injuries to Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose leave the squad imbalanced and relying on players not quite up to the standards of Mauricio Pochettino’s system.

That issue is amplified by the strange coincidence of both Harry Kane and Dele Alli hitting dry patches at the same moment. Tottenham leaned heavily on the attacking duo in their December-January winning streak, but since neither player has looked in the groove since the 4-0 demolition of West Brom.

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Indeed, Tottenham have not scored a goal from open play for four consecutive matches in all competitions. That is, simply put, not the form of a team that should rightfully be considered in the hunt for silverware in any competition.

At this point it’s no longer sufficient to simply wait for Vertonghen, Rose and Érik Lamela to get healthy. Tottenham need to learn how to still compete even when missing key players.

Prior to their trip to Gent, the solution seemed rather obvious. Rather than persist with a 4-2-3-1 formation that simply wasn’t yielding the defensive solidity or the attacking potency Spurs needed, Pochettino should attempt to implement the same 3-4-2-1 formation that worked so well jut weeks ago.

As frustration set in, Pochettino made the change — the first time Tottenham set out to play with three at the back since the 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

Without Vertonghen or Rose out, some tweaks needed to be made. Ben Davies — previously in a more conventional left-back role — became the left centre-back, with Toby Alderweireld going central and Eric Dier taking up the right side.

In place of Rose at wing-back went Moussa Sissoko. The Frenchman was dead weight further up the pitch in attack for the entirety of the first half. Moving him to wing-back was perhaps a better option, at least on paper.

Contrary to our supposition and Pochettino’s hopes, the formational switch did nothing to improve Tottenham’s plight. They continued to struggle to muster any kind of presence in front of Gent’s goal, and indeed gave up the goal that won the home side the match mere minutes after the switch.

One failure isn’t enough to indict the entire idea of switching back to the 3-4-2-1 of course, but it’s certainly not encouraging. Is there anything that Pochettino can do to get the best out of a mixture of spare parts and regular starters?

Part of the issue on Thursday was a visible lack of interest in the proceedings. Tottenham’s players lacked the hustle and vibrancy that helped propel them through the unbeaten streak prior to the loss at Liverpool. In an age of stats and tactics, it’s hard to take into account simple things like desire, but Spurs were absolutely lacking in it.

Next: Five Takeaways: Tottenham Come Up Short Against Gent

That’s not unprecedented, especially in the Europa League. Spurs’ last trip to Belgium was similarly plagued with disinterest, and they paid the price in the form of a 2-1 defeat to Anderlecht. That lesson went unheeded Thursday however, and the club suffered a similar fate.

Perhaps, fans will hope, this latest crisis will end the same way that one did. Anderlecht, traveling to London two weeks after their home victory, faced a galvanized Tottenham team who returned the favor.

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