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Fansided

Lackadaisical Effort by Spurs Punished by Wolves

By Aaron Coe

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 29: Players of Tottenham Hotspur look dejected after Willy Boly of Wolverhampton Wanderers scored his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 29: Players of Tottenham Hotspur look dejected after Willy Boly of Wolverhampton Wanderers scored his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images) /
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Deep Lying Midfield 3

The first thirty minutes the space being Spurs midfield by Wolves was working well for Tottenham. Players were checking in to the ball, and it was moving in and out from the midfield to the front and back again, creating opportunities for longer balls over the top and diagonally across the field. Eriksen, Winks, and Sissoko were playing between the Wolves strikers and midfield at that point, finding space to move and play balls into the front line.

However, it seemed that Nuno Espírito Santo asked his strikers to stop pressing so high and drop into their own half cutting the passing lanes from the Tottenham midfielders. All the play through the middle of the pitch, which was opening the diagonal balls was suddenly cut off and plan B needed to take effect.

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 29: Nuno Espirito Santo, Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on prior to the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 29: Nuno Espirito Santo, Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on prior to the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

Unfortunately for Tottenham, plan B never came. Spurs never were able to really create true width, as there was a lot more Son on the edges than it was Davies and Trippier. So now Tottenham is getting no touchline activity and is sitting with three deep lying midfielders practically holding hands and then two center-halves behind them.

This is the story line every time Tottenham lose. The team gets lackadaisical knocking the ball around, the engine comes to a halt and the battery is dead on the restart. When the attack, in this case three of Son, Kane, and Dele get isolated from the midfield it spells trouble for Spurs. Having 10 players between Tottenham’s back eight and front three made this possible for Wolves.