How is the Goalkeeper Role at Tottenham Different?

On the surface, the question of what Hugo Lloris brings to Tottenham is simple: borderline immaculate goalkeeping. He is widely seen as among the better goalkeepers in the Premier League, and for good reason. He’d be a star on just about any team he played for.

David De Gea and Petr Cech can both justifiably make the same claims, as can perhaps Thibault Courtois, but Lloris’ qualities run deeper than his individual brilliance.

Which is not to discount that brilliance. When called upon to do so, the Tottenham goalkeeper is capable of some truly outstanding saves.

If Lloris can attribute the reputation he’s earned in the Premier League to one thing, it’s the defense ahead of him – and not necessarily in the way you’d expect. Over his three seasons with the club, the backline has ranged from unreliable to positively porous, meaning that Lloris has been called upon to show off his considerable skillset more often than any keeper ever should.

Even a keeper of Lloris’ standards couldn’t redeem Tottenham’s truly woeful defensive record however since 2012. They’ve conceded 46, 51 and 53 goals in the last three seasons respectively, the latter of which was he worst defensive record of the top thirteen in the Premier League last season. Imagine how much worse it could have been with Heurelho Gomes between the sticks instead of Lloris all those years.

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To the club’s credit, they’ve gone a long way to addressing this terrible record. Twelve games into the current Premier League season, Tottenham have the fourth best defensive record in terms of goals conceded with 10, only behind Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. Lloris has played his part in that improvement, though most of the credit must go to Toby Alderweireld’s superior centre-back play and the dominant presence of Eric Dier in defensive midfield.

There’s been another change to Tottenham’s defensive strategy lurking just below the surface, one that suggests something more about the club’s philosophy as a whole. That change is embodied best in a simple stat: of starting Premier League goalkeepers, Lloris records the most accurate short passes on a per game basis.

For most of the football’s history, the job of the goalkeeper was two fold: make saves and keep the ball as far away from the net as possible. Doing the latter has usually means that the keeper is obliged to punt the ball upfield whenever he finds himself in possession. In terms of accomplishing the immediate task, this tactic works wonderfully. In terms of actually gaining some advantage, the benefits are not so clear.

Consider the four starting Premier League keepers most responsible for accurate long ball passes on a per game basis: our old friend Gomes at Watford, Costil Pantilimon at Sunderland, Brad Guzan at Aston Villa and Jack Butland at Stoke City. They each either play at teams with terrible defensive records – Pantilimon and Guzan – or at teams that rely on quick transitions in attack – Gomes – or at teams that are consistently chasing close games – Butland. Regardless of their reasoning, the effectiveness of this technique is telling: the average success rate of total long balls attempts from these four players averages out to about 39 percent. Lloris, in contrast, has misplaced a mere four of his short passes in 128 attempts.

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Now, the ability to play a simple pass to a defender ten yards in front of you isn’t exactly difficult. The fact that Lloris does it so often is more a testament to the changing nature of Tottenham’s defense as a whole than to the keeper himself. By favoring a short pass over a long one, Lloris ensures that Tottenham remain in possession while also limiting the risk of a quick transition back into attack on the part of the opposition. Not all teams are fortunate enough to have a goalkeeper as talented with the ball at his feet as Lloris – or a backline that can be relied upon to actually cycle possession forward – but there’s no doubting the reduced liability of a short pass compared to a long pass from the goalkeeper.

For most teams, the keeper is permitted to be one-dimensional. He can stay on his line, absorb shots, and so long as he saves a decent number he can expect to keep his job. Lloris was never that kind of keeper, even before coming to Tottenham. He’s always been a kinetic presence in the box. He’s always preferred a short pass to a long one. He’s always played the role of ‘sweeper-keeper’. All Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff have done is refine that role and key it into the heart of Tottenham’s defense.