How Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou abandoned principles in Anfield rout as Mathys Tel plays in baffling position
JAMIE REDKNAPP put it best: “I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight than Spurs did today.”Yes indeed, Tottenham were brutally dismembered by a rampant Liverpool in Thursday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final humiliation.Tottenham looked lost, clueless and hopeless against LiverpoolCredit: GettyAnge Postecoglou endured arguably the worst night of his career with his confused tactics absolutely taken advantage of by a brutal Reds teamCredit: GettyLiverpool had plenty to celebrate on Thursday… Tottenham, not a thingCredit: PAHolding a shock 1-0 lead from the first leg, Spurs were never truly in the tie at Anfield.And when Cody Gakpo poked home the Reds’ opener to level the scoreline on aggregate, everyone just seemed to know the writing was on the wall.Mohamed Salah converted a penalty early in the second half to take the aggregate lead, before Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk made it 4-0 to shovel salt in Spurs’ seeping wound.Liverpool were at their scintillating best: winning the ball back on the high press, pinging pinpoint passes and breaking with terrifying pace. They made Spurs look non-league at times.READ MORE SPORT STORIESArne Slot inherited a squad many believed would struggle to crack the top-four.Yet the Reds won the 36-team Champions League group, are six points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand, are into the Carabao Cup final and are preparing for their FA Cup fourth round tie with Plymouth.But for as good as Liverpool were on the night, my goodness Tottenham allowed them to look like 2010-11 Barcelona with a dash of heavy metal Gegenpress.In fact, Spurs looked like a team with no tactics, no structure, no clue…Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSWhen Ange Postecoglou took over at Tottenham, he was quick to implement his own style and did enjoy initial success.The Australian boss had a plan and wouldn’t turn his back on that for instant success.However, against Liverpool at Anfield, Spurs were all over the place – quite literally.Ange lined up his XI in his usual 4-3-3, with a decent amount of width with two full backs and two wingers.Despite that, the average positions of all 11 players were desperately central.Tottenham played bizarrely narrow with just one player averaging in Liverpool’s halfSon Heung-min was the widest player on the night – averaging just left of the centre-circle.But ‘full-backs’ Djed Spence and Archie Gray ended up playing bafflingly central.That was, in part, caused by Spence playing – as Redknapp put it – “14 different positions” on the night.But Gray is a central midfielder played constantly out of position due to injuries. Credit to the 18 year old for his adaptability, versatility… and general ability!Son was also the player who ventured the furthest forward… averaging a fraction over the halfway line.Liverpool, of course, don’t allow teams time to breathe and are rarely out-possessed, while their counter-attacking speed and prowess can lead to some lack of shape.But the average position map makes for embarrassing reading.And then there’s the Mathys Tel problem…Where was centre forward Mathys Tel playing? Left-wing-back? Right wing? Certainly not strikerThe stats make for grim reading for Tottenham fansThe January loan signing from Bayern Munich, 19, hasn’t scored a single goal this season.Yet the striker was in demand, with Spurs battling the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for his signing.Spurs fans worried about paying £10MILLION for a three-and-a-half-month loan deal, but Postecoglou adamantly claimed the French teenager was going to be at the club for years to come.Tel climbed off the bench late in the first half following an injury – yes another Spurs injury – to Richarlison.Tel was expected to lead the line, as the Brazilian had done, centrally.Tel took just one touch in the Liverpool box – from a fairly innocuous positionAnd yet, according to his heat map and touch map, spent the majority of the night in the left-wing-back position… and a small chunk on the right wing.In all, Tel – the centre-forward Ange so desperately wanted – had just ONE touch of the ball in the box, in a not-so-dangerous position wide on the right and barely made it into the centre of the pitch.Again, Liverpool’s stellar play led to some backs-against-the-wall stuff from Tottenham – as proved by their “inexcusable” effort of ZERO shots on target.READ MORE SUN STORIESBut chasing the game, with a cup final on the line, after nearly three decades without a trophy, with millions of people watching…To just seemingly give up? It’s inexcusable… and it will surely lead to a major debrief in North London in the coming days.Tottenham’s top 10 biggest signings: Hit or miss?1) Tanguy Ndombele – £52.7mNdombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham’s transfer record.But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.2) Richarlison – £49.3mRicharlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane’s back-up.And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.3) Brennan Johnson – £46.8mJohnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.4) Cristian Romero – £44.2mRomero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.5) James Maddison – £39.4mMaddison was handed Kane’s No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness – managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England’s final 26-man squad for the Euros.6) Davinson Sanchez – £35.7mSanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.7) Pedro Porro – £34mPorro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.8) Micky van de Ven – £34mRapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou’s best signing to date.9) Moussa Sissoko – £29.8mSissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs’ 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.10) Giovani Lo Celso – £27.2mLo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 – a deal that was made permanent the following season.He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine. 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