Analysing Tottenham’s poor away record against the rest of the top six

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Tottenham are attempting to establish themselves in the top four and they are making steady progress under Mauricio Pochettino. They are currently 3^rd in the league, but they will be more concerned with what is happening below them than the title race. Chelsea are ten points clear ahead of the Lilywhites, while Manchester United in 6^th are only two points behind. It is going to be a fascinating race for the top four places, with only Antonio Conte’s Blue looking to be certainties to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Before last weekend, Tottenham had been seen as the main challengers to Chelsea, but their inability to turn up in the big matches away from home has slowed their progress.

It was a difficult match for Spurs at the weekend as they travelled to face Liverpool. Despite Jurgen Klopp’s side’s poor form in 2017, they have the joint-best attack in the Premier League and they needed to be respected. On Saturday, the Lilywhites didn’t alter their game-plan much at all and they allowed Liverpool to play on the counter-attack, which is where their strengths lie. Sadio Mane gave a masterclass and helped the Reds close the gap between the two clubs to only one point. Pochettino should have asked his players to sit off Liverpool, as the Merseyside club have struggled to win matches when they dominate possession. The Argentine’s tactics in big matches away from home remain a concern and they need to be corrected if they are to become title challengers.

Since the beginning of the 2014/15 season, Tottenham have taken only nine points from 15 away matches against the rest of the top six, putting them at the bottom of that particular table. Their North London rivals, Arsenal, have also only taken nine points, but they still face trips to White Hart Lane and Anfield this season. This particular issue was discussed on Monday Night Football and Gary Neville made some interesting comments about a couple of factors causing this:

“I don’t think they should be judged the same as the other sides in the top six,”

“One, is their net spend is £11m. To transform the mess Pochettino’s done in three years from where Spurs were to where they are now is a big job. The second one is why I have a lot of sympathy for them – their average age. It’s the youngest in the division.”

The Sky Sports pundit is correct to point out both, as Tottenham have spent considerably less than their rivals over this period. They have looked to bring in young, exciting players that can be improved by Pochettino. The Argentine isn’t looking to bring in ready-made players and for that reason, it will be a slower process to turn them into title challengers. They have the youngest average age from the top six sides this season and there is room for improvement over the coming years. Spurs fans recognise that it will be a long-term project, but they are making steady progress. If they do manage to qualify for the Champions League for a second season running, then the next logical step is to challenge for the league title.

Pochettino will look back at the matches away to the other top six sides this season and learn from the mistakes that he has made. He was unfortunate to be without Jan Vertonghen on Saturday, as he could have made a huge difference. It isn’t the defeats that are concerning, but the manner in which they come. Spurs only registered seven shots on Saturday, which was ten fewer than their hosts. Furthermore, their creative players couldn’t get into the game and they didn’t really threaten Lucas Leiva at centre back. The fact that the major problem at Tottenham is their inability to win away to the rest of the top six underlines the progress that they have made under Mauricio Pochettino. However, his record in such matches over the next few years will define whether this Spurs team is remembered as a good one or a great one.

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