‘It has to stop’: Jamie Carragher has admitted he has ONE big worry about Ange and Tottenham habit this season [Full story link in comment]
Jamie Carragher has admitted that he has one big concern about Ange Postecoglou’s football at Tottenham Hotspur right now.
Despite conceding early on against Luton Town on the weekend, Postecoglou’s side were ultimately able to get the job done late on.
It’s becoming something of a trend at home for Spurs this season, coming from behind to win games.
Whether it’s Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min or Richarlison, it always seems as if one Tottenham player is ready to step up and be the hero.
Of course, that mentality should definitely be praised, it shows that Spurs do have a certain steel and togetherness.
However, Postecoglou will surely be very keen to see his side start games more efficiently, not leaving themselves a mountain to climb each week.
It doesn’t seem to be an issue of controlling games, rather just eliminating unnecessary goals being conceded in isolated situations.
That being said, Jamie Carragher was highlighting that exact concern when discussing Tottenham’s path to winning trophies on The Overlap.
Jamie Carragher admits his concern about the amount of goals Tottenham concede
Given the attractive football Spurs play, Carragher began to compare the situation to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side.
And although famous for dominating play in possession, Carragher pointed out just how good City are off of the ball too.
He explained: “What people forget about Pep’s football is that his teams are always the best defensively or certainly one of the best. My worry is how many goals you concede.
“That has to change. People always talk about Pep’s football and we talk about him with the ball but off the ball fantastic as well.
“That would have to be a big shift if Tottenham are going to win the biggest trophies.”
What do the numbers say?
Of course, to attach some numbers to Carragher’s concern, Tottenham have conceded 43 goals this season to City’s 28.
Moreover, via Understat, Spurs have conceded an xG against of 50.09, in comparison to City all the way down at 28.47.
And whilst it’s a bit premature to be comparing Postecoglou’s project to Pep’s, that is the level Tottenham will soon be aspiring too.
Perhaps some of these issues will be addressed in the summer window, when Spurs are thought to be in a strong financial position.
And with that in mind, Tottenham have recently been linked with a player Pep previously labelled ‘incredible’.
