Tottenham Show Depth Stronger in Some Areas vs Wolfsberger

As has been on display with some players getting too many minutes, real depth will be critical for Tottenham Hotspur during the stretch run. Wednesday afternoon in Europa League, some of the depth of Tottenham Hotspur was on display to the delight of all, whereas other parts of the squad may still need help moving forward.

Tottenham Depth a Critical Need

Tottenham Hotspur have already played 41 matches in this campaign which is not insignificant in terms of a total number of matches. With a Carabao Cup final in the bag and at least two more Europa League games, along with 14 more in the Premier League, Tottenham will play at minimum 58 matches this season.

If Spurs are to advance to the final of the Europa League, you can add an addition five matches to that total of 58 for possibly 63 games this season. Of course there are not guarantees beyond the 58 but regardless that is a ton of games and several key players have played their fair share of minutes. Tottenham already have 11 players with at least 1900 minutes already and six – Højbjerg, Lloris, Son, Davies, Dier, and Kane.

Fortunately for Tottenham three of those players – Hugo Lloris, Heung-Min Son, and Harry Kane – all got the day off entirely as they watched proceedings from the bench. More importantly, Tottenham got some meaningful minutes and contributions from their replacements.

Joe Hart did not have a ton to do but did what he had too and his distribution and communication were excellent. Hart did technically make three saves, none spectacular but also no rebounds.

On the offensive side, Carlos Vinicius, Dele Alli, and Gareth Bale all made major contributions in the match and among the three provide the majority of the cover for those two players. Vinicius continued his impressive scoring in Europe, with a brace. Dele Alli was involved in three of the four goals, with a wonderful bicycle and two assists.

Then there is Gareth Bale who is starting to show a bit of burst to accompany some real determination and just the glint of something in his eye. In less than 25 minutes of action Gareth Bale provided a real moment to remember with his finish for the third goal, which was as sublime in its simplicity as it was in the authority with which the shot was hammered home.

Cover for Pierre Højbjerg is still a bit tougher to find

While Dele, Bale, and Vinicius all did something to help the argument they should be seeing more time so Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son – among others – can carry a bit less of a burden, the same cannot necessarily be said in terms of the Pierre Højbjerg role.

It took some time and a lot of hard work and likely convincing to move Tanguy Ndombele deeper in the midfield for Tottenham given the rigors demanded in the role. This is good, as Spurs now have four players for those two positions instead of three. Further, let’s face it, Ndombele and Højbjerg are far superior to Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks who played today.

It is not that Sissoko or Winks played terrible, they were both tidy and sound most of the match, it is just that is it, they were both kind of tidy and sound, which seems to be their ceilings. Both completed over 90% of their passes, but neither display the range of passing that makes that percent really something special.

Neither tried a through ball and while Winks was 3 of 4 with long balls, so was Carlos Vinicius, so it is all relative. They pair did the job done today and depending on the draw will hopefully get the job done in a few weeks again in the round of 16. However, as Bale, Vinicius and Dele are starting to offer real options for the team in attack the same cannot be said in the deep lying midfield – at least this season.