Tottenham can no longer afford Trippier experiment

The stoppage time goal Tottenham conceded against Burnley on Sunday should serve as the final proof that Kieran Trippier can’t be the club’s best option at right-back.

There was a sense after Kyle Walker’s departure in July that Tottenham might be able to survive with Trippier as their new starter.

Mauricio Pochettino nurtured that impression by awarding Trippier starts in Spurs’ biggest games at the tail end of last season.

He admittedly performed well in those encounters. Perhaps he lacked the completeness of Walker’s game, but he was aggressive going forward — which suited Pochttino’s gameplan just fine.

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Trippier’s critics made sure to point out the downsides of that adventurous spirit. Often Trippier would get caught far too up field when Spurs lost possession, and he lacked the awareness and pace to chase down the ball if the opposition managed to get it in behind him.

Pochettino clearly recognized this possibility and made clear moves to address it. Eric Dier’s presence in the starting XI in the last two matches was clearly part of a plan to make sure that Trippier had as much freedom as he needed to get forward, making him more of a proper winger than a full-back.

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This meant that Dier often had to rotate between midfield, central defense and wide areas, sometimes all three in the span of just a few moments. As a tactic it broadly worked against both Chelsea and Burnley — except when it didn’t.

When Burnley went behind on Sunday thanks to Dele Alli’s goal early in the second half, they were compelled to add another striker to the top of their formation. In response, Pochettino had Dier drop deeper more or less permanently, thereby ensuring an extra man in defense.

That change made it easier for Tottenham to keep Burnley’s new striker pair of Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood contained, but late in the game Sean Dyche’s tactics shifted. Instead of trying to play through the middle, they would take advantage of the new space afforded to them on their left flank.

With Dier committed to a centre-back role, Trippier was suddenly exposed and without support. Though he sat deeper than he had prior, he lacked the discipline to stay goal-side of his mark. The result was that Burnley continually pushed upfield behind Trippier, threatening Hugo Lloris’ goal with crosses from just on the edge of the penalty area.

Though Burnley provided ample warning about what was to come, Pochettino made no moves to replace Trippier with the more defensively-minded Kyle Walker-Peters. Instead he persisted with Trippier, and Spurs eventually paid the price in the dying moments of the match when Woods scored the equalizer.

While the immediate solution to Burnley growing into the game thanks to Trippier’s inability to perform half of his job was likely the introduction of Walker-Peters (or perhaps an earlier debut for Davinson Sánchez, which would have allowed Dier to occupy the right-back position exclusively), there is a more lasting problem here as well. 

Next: Tottenham Player Ratings: 1-1 Burnley draw

Spurs need a more capable, all-around presence on the right. Pochettino’s game relies too much on the two-way ability of his full-backs for Trippier to thrive going forward. Perhaps he retains some value as a back-up, but rumored signing Serge Aurier clearly can’t come soon enough.