3 positives & negatives from Tottenham 2024 pre-season

Negatives

Now to the negatives. Firstly, and most annoyingly - defending set pieces. In the defeat to Bayern, Spurs showed how frail they are defensively and how soft their underbelly is. Dayot Upamecano was free to tap home from a yard out and a player with the experience of Thomas Muller was given the freedom of North London to head home just before half-time.

Despite being a big Ange Postecoglou advocate - the snobbery he showed towards set-pieces last season felt arrogant at the time and even worse so now. Ange said he "didn't see them as an issue" and how there were "far more important things" that needed to be concentrated on.

It was arrogance in the extreme to dismiss set pieces in the way he had, especially bearing in mind that this quote is from May, so after nearly a full season of struggling defensively from set pieces, Ange did not seem concerned about it. Set-pieces have always been, and will continue to be - huge parts of the game. Trophies have been won and lost based on set pieces. A team that are elite at set-pieces can win double-figure points from them alone.

Secondly - James Maddison still looks rusty, despite a summer off to recover. Maddison has been underwhelming in pre-season so far, and has been unable to put his Euros disappointments behind him. With the aforementioned emergence of Lucas Bergvall and Kulusevski's fine form in central areas, the English attacking midfielder will be looking over his shoulder in regards to keeping his spot in the starting XI.

It is his spot, for now, but it is definitely not as secure as it used to be. Perhaps a game at his old hunting ground, The King Power, on opening weekend is the buzz he needs to get back into rhythm and consistency.

The third and final negative, and whilst this isn't as concerning as people are implying, is still worth flagging up - is that Spurs did lose the two games played against a top side. Hearts, QPR, Vissel Kobe and the K-League All Stars were beaten, but the two games vs Bayern Munich ended in defeats.

Whilst Spurs were competitive in periods of both games, and did not disgrace themselves - you can't argue with the result of either game. Spurs have been missing games, but so have Bayern Munich. Spurs are also further into their pre-season than Bayern Munich, and are in the second year of their manager's tenure - Bayern are in their first.

Spurs fans are worried that the top teams will be able to slice through them like a knife through hot butter, even if they are able to outscore the poorer teams. This is something Spurs have to improve on this season if they are to better last season's performance.