Four things we learned from Tottenham's pre-season defeat to West Ham

Tottenham kicked off the Ange Postecoglou era with a 3-2 defeat to London rivals West Ham in Perth on Tuesday, though the scoreline belied a performance that was full of positives…

ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK

After three successive managers who put functionality over fun and pragmatism over pleasure, it is already immediately clear that Postecoglou’s philosophy is a stark – and very welcome – contrast to his predecessors.

Spurs have been playing counter-attacking, reactive football ever since Jose Mourinho was appointed but in Perth the mentality shift was clear. Sure, it’s only pre-season, but it was the north Londoners who dominated possession and territory, penning their opponents deep inside their own half, and worked a constant stream of good openings with dynamic build-up play. Whenever an attack broke down, they pressed relentlessly to win back possession and restart the attack.

The first chance of the match came from Oliver Skipp, in theory the deepest of Spurs’ midfielders, breaking forward into the box and it summed up the approach Postecoglou wants to see. Under Antonio Conte, Tottenham’s players were rigid and shackled, now there is a fluidity and freedom.

The scoreline may prompt concern from anyone that did not watch the match, but Spurs’ 30 shots (compared to four for West Ham) and 72% possession underlines what an encouraging display this was. Postecoglou wants his side to be brave and dominate the ball and they certainly did that.

DEFENSIVE CONCERNS

Of course, as Tottenham transition towards a more open and adventurous style of play, there will undoubtedly be teething issues and the team looked vulnerable defensively, particularly in transition and from set-pieces.

Conte previously claimed he could not play a back four because his defenders lacked the ‘specific characteristics’ required and it does feel as though Postecoglou will need to dip into the transfer market to find one or two centre-backs better equipped to play the high line his system demands.

Japhet Tanganga took up the left centre-back role in the first half, with Ben Davies replacing him after the restart, but neither player is quite of the calibre required. It is clear that Spurs need someone quick and mobile but also good in the air, as well as being a great one-v-one defender.

Spurs switched off for both of West Ham’s first-half goals, though it was the full-backs – Sergio Reguilon and Pedro Porro – who were most at fault. Gianluca Scamacca’s winner, meanwhile, exposed the drawbacks of playing such a high line. It certainly feels like the balance and alchemy of the back-line still needs some tinkering.

SQUAD GAME

Tottenham had a huge issue last season under Conte with regard to how significant the drop-off was whenever the Italian had to rotate his line-up – to the point that he rarely made any changes to his burnt out first-choice XI. He blamed that on a lack of quality from his squad players, but the second half in Perth suggests there is plenty of talented depth to draw upon.

Postecoglou made 11 changes at the break and if anything Spurs’ second string XI were even better than the players they replaced. The high pressing, punchy attacks continued immediately after the restart and Giovani Lo Celso and Destiny Udogie both netted amid a flurry of very well worked chances.

Players like Lo Celso and Pape Matar Sarr, who didn’t quite fit the very specialist, very structured roles performed by Conte’s two central midfielders, suddenly looked to have so much more freedom within Postecoglou’s system. It certainly feels as though the more adventurous setup, and greater positional rotation, makes the sum of the parts greater than the whole.

NEW SIGNINGS

Tottenham’s three summer signings all started Tuesday’s match and Manor Solomon was perhaps the most impressive of the trio. The Israel international showed exactly what he will bring to the side with his excellent positional play, linking well with Reguilon down the left, and providing an explosive, dribbling, one-v-one threat that Spurs have lacked.

James Maddison played a more orthodox number 10 role than many had been expecting and dovetailed nicely with the forwards ahead of him. Not since Christian Eriksen left have Tottenham had a player so adept at the kind of flicks, passes and moments of invention that the former Leicester man is capable of and there was one particularly deft lay-off to Dejan Kulusevski that hinted at the interplay Spurs fans can expect.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was a little more mixed on his debut and there will probably be quite a few heart-in-mouth moments when he has the ball at his feet. He always looked to play out – sometimes putting team-mates under pressure, sometimes providing the perfect out-ball – but a scuffed pass straight out of play resulted in the corner West Ham scored their second goal from. He did produce one superb stop to deny Jarrod Bowen just before half-time.

Although signed last summer, Udogie looked very impressive in his 45 minutes. Not only did he score with a brilliant, flicked header but his energy and speed down the left flank – and ability to play the inverted full-back role – was really promising. Yves Bissouma, meanwhile, has already earned the ‘like a new signing’ tag and gave an excellent display now he has been freed from the constraints of Conte’s system.

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