“I think it is fair to say both Rodri (Bentacur) and Joao (Palhinha) have been very good for us so far in the season.”
Tottenham Hotspur fans will have been less than enthused by Thomas Frank’s praise of the pair following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A late Joao Palhinha strike saw Spurs rescue a point from the jaws of defeat as their dire record against the bogey-est of bogey teams continue. It’s now six games without a win against Wolves, of which the Midlands side have won four.
While it hasn’t been a poor start to the season for Tottenham – they’re currently fourth on 11 points – the performance against Wolves did set some alarm bells ringing.
The welcome of pointless Wolves was a game Spurs should be winning. Even with a dire home record of three league wins since November last year, Vitor Pereira’s side made the trip to the capital having lost their opening five games. Dr Tottenham sorted that record out.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Frank at fault for Wolves stalemate
The blame does lie with Frank. It was painfully obvious in the opening 45 minutes that his tactics and setup were wrong. Wolves were always going to dig deep and frustrate Tottenham. But the Dane opted for a midfield partnership of Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur. And he didn’t switch that up until midway through a drab second-half showing.
The pair aren’t poor players by any stretch. In fact, they were vital as Tottenham beat Manchester City 0-2 last month. But in games where the north London side are expected to control proceedings, it’s clear that Frank has to leave out either Palhinha, Bentancur, or both. When Tottenham beat Burnley 3-0 at the start of the season, neither started. And when they beat West Ham by the same scoreline, only Palhinha started.
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The latter was a bit of an anomaly in that Spurs needed a set-piece goal to break the Hammers resolve. And it wasn’t until West Ham were reduced to 10 men that Frank’s side began to really turn the screw.
Admittedly, Burnley were always going to be at the mercy of a Spurs side playing their first home game under the Dane. But Frank opted for a midfield trio of Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Pape Sarr, a youthful, vibrant trio that dictated the tempo in the middle of the park. Bentancur came on with 20 minutes to play, while Palhinha was introduced with 10 minutes left.
Time to stop with the Bentancur-Palhinha axis
The defensive duo weren’t required against Burnley as Tottenham were always expected to dominate. The same was applicable against Wolves on Saturday. And yet Frank opted to again use Xavi Simons from the left and a midfield consisting of Palhinha and Bentancur. It’s no surprise that the duo have started all three games in which Tottenham have dropped points.
The above pass network compares Saturday’s draw with Wolves to the opening weekend win over Burnley. And it’s clear to see where the problem lies. Bentancur (LCM) was often a shade ahead of Palhinha (RCM), but there is a clear lack of attacking thrust from the two deeper lying midfielders, who’d look to play safer passes.
Now, this isn’t a critique when Tottenham play the tougher teams. Where they’ll want to implement a pragmatic approach to suckerpunch an opponent as they did superbly against Man City. Against the team sitting bottom of the league, however, you need your midfielders to get the ball to the players who can do damage in the final third. Lucas Bergvall at No.10 received one pass from Bentancur and Palhinha on Saturday night. The duo also made just one pass to Richarlison up until Bentancur’s withdrawal on the hour mark.
The midfielders also made just 13 passes combined to the duo of Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus, before Bentancur’s sub. For context, Sarr came on in the 78th minute and made three passes to Brennan Johnson. The Senegalese star showed some desire to get the ball into threatening positions.
Now, the above passing network shows Tottenham not playing with a designated AM in the win over Burnley. But there was at least some desire to link the play between the full-backs, wingers and striker.
How to fix Tottenham’s midfield conundrum
The immediate fix to rectify a dysfunctional midfield is to move Simons infield. The Dutchman was signed to play in the No.10 role, yet minutes in his favoured position have been few and far between. The former RB Leipzig man has been pushed to the left in every league start to date. While Tottenham’s left wing options aren’t great there would at least be some variety to the way the team can pry apart defences, especially those that will sit deep.
Going forward, though, Frank needs to realise that a midfield with both Bentancur and Palhinha just doesn’t function properly against opponents that will seek to frustrate Spurs. Supporters are hopeful that Saturday’s 1-1 draw was the wake up call he needed to switch things up in the middle of the park.