Tottenham must learn to take the safe option after Everton almost punish risk taking Spurs

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Tom Collomosse6 March 2017

Can Tottenham ever learn to be dull? To resist taking the attacking option in favour of a safer one? As cautious as it sounds, it may be what they need to break their trophy drought.

When Spurs are as dominant as they were against Everton, the result should never be in doubt. There is no need to take risks when you are 2-0 in front. Yet Tottenham did – and they nearly paid the price.

It may seem like nitpicking, but if Spurs are to fulfil their ambitions, they cannot afford to give presents to talented opponents. When they establish control, successful teams think first of retaining it. If that means playing more carefully, so be it.

Tottenham do not yet have that quality. Under Mauricio Pochettino, they think always of playing in the opponents’ half and creating the next chance – especially at White Hart Lane. They cannot yet appreciate that sometimes it is better to stick, rather than continue to twist.

Everton’s goals yesterday prove the point. With Tottenham in total control thanks to Harry Kane’s double, Jan Vertonghen’s slip let in Romelu Lukaku to score in the 81st minute, with his first clear chance of the match. Vertonghen would be disappointed with the way Lukaku bustled past him but the centre-back was offered little protection as his Belgium team-mate ran towards him.

Then, late on, Dele Alli received the ball close to halfway. Instead of controlling and retaining it, Alli tried a backheel. Even after Alli seemed to have made the game safe with the third goal in stoppage time, there was still time for Spurs to switch off again, conceding a free-kick – and Toby Alderweireld then mistimed his jump, allowing substitute Enner Valencia to score.

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

There were times last season when a more pragmatic approach would surely have paid dividends. In the stormy 2-2 draw at Chelsea in early May, which ultimately handed Leicester the Premier League title, Spurs continued to attack even when two goals up. Had they not done so, three points would surely have been theirs.

Just as they were last season, Pochettino’s side are waiting for a wobble from the league leaders. Leicester did not oblige a year ago and Chelsea do not look like doing so this time.

However, Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen believes his team are better equipped to stay the course this term than they were last.

Spurs collected only two points from their final four games of 2015-16, allowing Arsenal to pip them to second place. Eriksen is confident there will be no repeat. He said: “It means a lot that we have been there and we know how it feels. We don’t want to have to feel like that again.

“We know how we want to feel and we know what we need to do to be up there near the top. We are in the same position as we were last season, but we just need to show we are better now than then. I feel we are.”

Harry Kane agrees. The 23-year-old now leads the Premier League scoring charts with 19, one clear of Lukaku, and he will be cheering on West Ham – one of Spurs’ most bitter rivals – as they take on Chelsea tonight. He also knows that if Tottenham are to take advantage of any Chelsea errors, they cannot afford to make any themselves.

He said: “I hope [we are better equipped than last season]. It is hard to talk and say we are, we’ve got to show we are. We all know last season was disappointing but we are in a good position now.

“Of course we are trying to catch Chelsea but it is also important we try to build a gap to the teams behind us. Both Arsenal and Manchester United dropped points and it was important we capitalised on that, so Everton was a big win for us.”

This was a record ninth straight home win for Tottenham in the Premier League. Maintaining that form will surely secure a top-four finish – at the very least.

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