Tottenham’s 10 best matches of 2016/17
By Ryan Wrenn
Tottenham 3 – 0 Hull City
There’s hardly anything special about earning a win over Hull City, but this December match marked a tactical turning point for Spurs this season.
After their unbeaten streak was snapped by Chelsea in late November, Manchester United made it worse by inflicting a narrow 1-0 loss at Old Trafford just as the festive flurry of matches began.
Seeing that his side were flagging, Pochettino knew something needed changing. That change came during Hull’s visit to White Hart Lane.
It wasn’t the first time that Spurs played with three centre-backs. Pochettino utilized the formation against Watford’s two strikers the season before.
This 3-4-2-1, though, would prove to be much more devastating. With Wanyama destroying in the center of the park and Eriksen stitching together the midfield and attack, Tottenham proved absolutely deadly.
Spurs would notch 27 shots on the day, nine on target and three converted for goals. Two of those goals came from Eriksen himself, with the third deservedly going to Wanyama.
The new look was such a success that Pochettino persisted with the tactics, using them on and off over the next month before leaning heavily on them for much of the season’s second half. It was arguably the tactical trend that defined Spurs’ season, and it all started in this match against Hull.