Three areas Tottenham needs to improve to compete for top four

Two more areas for Tottenham to improve

While Tottenham has replaced Christian Eriksen in theory with the signing of Giovani LoCelso, there were two particular areas where Eriksen often excelled and Spurs have really struggled and need to improve.

Spurs need some quality set-pieces

Tottenham has not gotten a lot of free-kicks this season but one thing is for certain most have been wasted. Since Eriksen left it has sort of been a free-for-all when it comes to free kicks. The typical order starts with Harry Kane demanding to take the first free-kick.

Kane must be awesome with free-kicks in practices as the only free-kick I can recall Kane ever making was a deflection in Europa League before he was really Harry Kane. Despite the seeming wastefulness of a Kane free-kick he still seems to get the first crack at it.

After Kane’s effort, then it rolls downhill to players like Eric Dier, or Giovani Lo Celso, or Son Heung-Min.

While several Spurs can occasionally hit a good free-kick, there is simply no consistency. The lack of any real threat on direct kicks means the team needs to be more creative and we are not seeing that either.

Tottenham has scored off a corner this season, however, like the free-kicks, most of the corners are wasted.

The team should be working on set pieces every day and should be doing more with their limited opportunities. Spurs are clearly struggling to score from open play right now, so improving with the set pieces is definitely a way to compensate for those struggles.

Tottenham needs to hit the through and forward balls better

The other area where Tottenham is struggling and Eriksen excelled is through balls and forward passes. In preseason Lucas Moura was hitting some wonderful passes between the lines in a more creative attacking role, however, Lucas has not done so consistently since then.

Likewise, while Tanguy Ndombele is ofter in great positions with the ball his final pass into attackers has been atrocious leading to numerous turnovers and a lack of any real attack. One could even go as far as pointing to the decline in Dele Alli‘s goals and the decline in Eriksen’s performance for Spurs.

The only Tottenham player who seems to be able to consistently play the ball forward between the lines is Harry Kane. However, without a true second striker, Kane is lacking the options necessary to make that play as he drops deep.

Whether or not improving the forward passing, particularly in the final third is something Spurs can improve with practice or simply must address in January remains to be seen. However, what is clear, is that if Spurs cannot improve in making good passes, through the lines, to the attacking players, the team will continue to struggle to score in open play.