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Tottenham can beat Huddersfield’s press

By Ryan Wrenn

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Davinson Sanchez of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City at Wembley Stadium on September 16, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Davinson Sanchez of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City at Wembley Stadium on September 16, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
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Up until a few weeks ago, Huddersfield Town looked like a team that might find a way to surprise Tottenham.

Unusual for a Championship side, David Wagner constructed Huddersfield to play a pressing style broadly similar to Mauricio Pochettino’s system at Tottenham.

The German-born former United States international doesn’t so much emulate Pochettino though so much as he draws from the same inspiration as the Argentinian. That Wagner is good friends with gegenpressing apostle Jürgen Klopp speaks volumes.

Hudderfield’s talent level is naturally very different than Tottenham’s, but the high press doesn’t necessarily need a Harry Kane or Hugo Lloris to be reliable. It can function to the extent that a coach can instill organization, fitness and passion in his side — all things that Wagner did well enough to earn his side an promotion to the Premier League last season.

While Wagner was achieving the improbable, Pochettino himself was presiding over another remarkable season for Tottenham. The north London side’s title chase and ultimate second place finish could only be said to have been marred by one thing — a habitual inability to counter other pressing sides.

Such a weakness hadn’t mattered as much over Pochettino’s previous three seasons. Tottenham might encounter two or three teams a season savvy and well equipped enough to use Spurs’ weapons against them — including Klopp’s Liverpool. Making adjustments for such a rare occurrence hardly seemed prudent.

Klopp and Pochettino’s success inevitably bred imitators however. More and more, effective pressing is an option for sides in both England and abroad. Suddenly Liverpool — and the occasional away match to West Ham — weren’t the only threats to Tottenham’s dominance.

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Huddersfield represented one of this new generation of sides, and no doubt Pochettino will have looked at Saturday’s fixture over the summer with some trepidation.

Luckily, he had an excuse to find a solution early. Drawing Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League group stage meant that Tottenham were more or less obliged to find a way through a press — and a press utilized by the ur-practitioner of the art form — if they wanted to escape a group that also included Real Madrid.

To that end, Pochettino deployed an especially defensive counter-attacking formation for Dortmund’s trip to Wembley two weeks ago. Spurs compactly defended while also keeping their typical high-line, and waited for Heung-min Son and Kane to spring the trap in transition. The results were wildly effective, and they earned Tottenham an invaluable 3-1 win.

This tactical set worked simply by declining to gift Dortmund the space between both vertical and horizontal lines that is a natural byproduct of a frenetic press. There were little to no attempts by the midfield or attack to chase down the ball and thus free up room for Dortmund. They held their positions, let Dortmund have the ball, and waited for their moments.

To use the same tactics against Huddersfield borders on insanity however. As exciting as it is to see the likes of Laurent Depoitre and Aaron Mooy develop, they simply aren’t Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Shinji Kagawa. Tottenham will have to press their advantage — pun very much intended.

They can do so, though, while also maintaining some semblance of the structure that stifled Dortmund. A more cautious game from the wing-backs combined with perhaps a more disciplined presence than Moussa Sissoko alongside Eric Dier — a certain young Englishman by the name of Harry Winks comes to mind — will serve as a fine base for which Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Kane can combine for their usual magic.

Next: Tottenham Lineup Predictor: Away @ Huddersfield

Striking that balance between sensible and adventurous will be a legitimately big test for Pochettino. He’s shown some pragmatic colors over the last year, and he is going to have to double down this season as the Premier League slowly learns how to both play like and play against him.