The Stats Don't Lie, Spurs Need To Improve At Both Ends

The Stats Don't Lie, Tottenham Need To Improve at Both Ends

We have looked at why Winks is so good and why he is unappreciated by many because he isn't flashy and we have looked at the wing-back/full-back role through a comparison between Aaron Wan-Bassake and Kieran Trippier.

I'll say it again and again until you all grasp it, attacking ability is the number one criteria for a full-back in today's game, defending comes second. The commentary by former right-back Gary Neville, who played under the best boss the Premier League has seen and more England managers than any other player and the performance by Trent Alexander-Arnold demonstrated that.

Statistics can tell you anything. It depends on how you ask the question to shape the answer and statistics are a huge part of football and assessing players for every club now,

One statistic Tottenham need to improve on next season is the number of big chances we create.

Big Chances Created 2018/19 Season
1. Manchester City - 85 - 2.24 per game2. Liverpool - 67 - 1.76 per game
3. Manchester United - 61 - 1.61 per game
4. Arsenal - 56 - 1.47 per game
5. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 52 - 1.37 per game
6. Bournemouth and Everton - 47 - 1.24 per game
8. Chelsea - 46 - 1.21 per game
9. Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley and Southampton - 45 - 1.18 per game


Those stats simply aren't good enough and show we have a problem creating clear cut chances. That is something we know, but the figures back it up.

Against Liverpool in the Champions League final, we struggled to create anything of note.

Our game is often too slow and ponderous. Christian Eriksen, for all his ability, blows hot and cold too much, he has spells where he is world class and spells where he goes missing doing the mundane job any midfielder could do.

The Champions League semi-final and finals, the League Cup semi-finals were games he should be taken by the scruff of the neck and dictating. He didn't.

Dele was too often played out of position to accommodate other players, something that often happens for England too. We need to decide if he is a number 10 or not, we miss his late runs into the box when he is played out of position.

These are issues to address, but upgrading the midfield to make it more creative is a big necessity as is improving our attacking threat from the full-back positions. It is OK looking good, but what cross comes into the box at the end of it from out wide?

That is another element we need to address.

I am hoping a decent summer rest will help players who have played well, return to playing even better, as they were the season before. Had they been performing like that then we would have won a trophy for sure.

I think we need a Giovani Lo Celso attacking midfielder, but we possibly need a second attacking threat too. We can't rely on Lamela staying fit and he too often makes the wrong choice in the final third.

Big Chances Conceded
1. Manchester City - 22 - 0.58 per game
2. Liverpool - 23 - 0.61 per game
2. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 34 - 0.89 per game
4. Leicester City and Chelsea - 35 - 0.92 per game
6. Tottenham  Hotspur and Crystal Palace - 37 - 0.97 per game
7. Everton - 42 - 1.11 per game
8. Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United - 43 - 1.13 per game

Again these statistics show we need to tighten up in front of our defence. I'm convinced Wanyama is not a top-four player and two years of injury have done nothing to help. Eric Dier has been injured and ill for a large part of the season and while he needs to improve his movement, he is an excellent squad player to have.

Winks has a worrying injury record too so adding depth to this area is a must, which we are addressing by trying to sign Tanguy N'dombélé.