Tottenham’s bogeyman: West Ham

It is hard to fathom just how West Ham acquired Tottenham’s number over the last three matches, but somehow they have.

Tottenham’s loss on Friday essentially strips them of any chance at winning the Premier League title, but it also reveals a shocking vulnerability in Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

A determined side, with a physical enough defense, a willingness to charge the ball and a one or two pacey attackers, can dramatically disrupt Tottenham’s winning rhythm.

Slaven Bilić managed to pull this off last March when, then at their old home of Upton Park, West Ham denied Spurs time on the ball and stole a 1-0 win from a team on the march. It was a remarkable game, and the source of much frustration at the time for Pochettino and his men.

Traveling to White Hart Lane in the first half of the 2016/17 season, Bilić almost pulled it off again. A Manuel Lanzini strike in the 68th minute gave the visitors the lead, one that they would only relinquish in the 89th minute thanks to Harry Kane. The England international would go on to win a penalty two minutes later to seal the three points for Spurs.

In both matches, West Ham played a gritty game that almost concentrated more on denying Spurs chances than creating their own. It was simple, even perhaps archaic, but it worked.

Defying past lessons, Pochettino and his team came about the match on Friday just as he did the nine successive Premier League wins. It was a reasonable strategy clearly, but once again Bilić conspired to drag Spurs down a half a dozen levels.

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The fluency of passing was gone, as were the chances to force mistakes in West Ham’s half. There were simply too many men behind the ball, and Adrian was in simply too good form, for Spurs to break through.

Meanwhile, on the other end, a depleted West Ham attack leaned heavily on Lanzini once again. The Argentine perhaps isn’t quite the conductor that Dimitri Payet was, nor is he incision specialist like Michail Antonio, but he, Jonathan Calleri and Andre Ayew combined found ways to disrupt the best defense in the league.

Part of that was Spurs’ customary high line and commitment to attack. When possession was lost, West Ham made a point to transition quickly, and Spurs’ defense couldn’t always keep up.

When West Ham did score, it was the result of a bobbled ball that Spurs simply couldn’t clear. Lanzini finally got a big enough piece of it to send it past Hugo Lloris and seal the win.

No one will credit Bilić for innovative tactics or “unlocking” Spurs. People will shrug this off as a fluke loss to one of the best teams in England. Really, though, there is something deeper going on here.
West Ham aren’t alone in having figured out Spurs. Before they demolished West Brom in January 4-0, Spurs legitimately struggled to earn anything more than a draw from the Baggies. Tony Pulis’ back-to-basics, near-rugby football perfectly counters virtually every advantage Spurs usually have.

There’s no sense of craft or ingenuity. It is stout defending and counter-attacks, a brand of football etched into England’s DNA.

The ball is punted up the pitch, or kept lofted in the air until it finds a player whose sole job is wait for opportunities to bomb forward with the ball at his feet. Spurs’ pressing game relies on teams doing the opposite — calmly cycling through possession in their own half and deliberately creating chances. Without a rhythm like that to disrupt, Spurs look lost.

Next: Tottenham all but out of the title race

Bilić’s advantage is that he knows, like Pulis, that there is no way to dictate play on their own terms when they play against Spurs. Opposing teams are better off nullifying Spurs attempts to set the tempo and snatching on to whatever chance comes their way, regardless if it’s a chipped cross, goalkeeper clearance or a ball pinballing around the penalty area.

With precedent well established, Spurs should expect to see more of this kind of play next season and beyond. It isn’t the Chelseas and Arsenals of the world who should frighten Pochettino, it’s those teams who aren’t so proud as to simply play spoiler when they come up against Spurs.