Former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas predicts Spurs downfall due to deep-rooted problems yet to be fixed by Ange.
Tottenham Hotspur are finally about to start the new Premier League season as Ange Postecoglou prepares to take his side to face Leicester City.
18 of the 20 Premier League teams have kicked off their seasons.
Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur are the only two remaining and they lock horns on Monday night.
Tottenham finished last season in fifth place but Ange Postecoglou is looking for an improvement this time around.
A top-four finish has been predicted by Tim Sherwood and fans will be hoping to see a leap forward over the coming months.
Dominic Solanke is already impressing in Tottenham training and should lead the Spurs attack after his move to Bournemouth.
Jermaine Jenas on Tottenham Hotspur fear
That addition will help Tottenham going forward but there are still questions at the other end of the pitch.
On paper, Tottenham have a strong back line.
Guglielmo Vicario is a fine shot stopper and both Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven impressed last season.
Pedro Porro took another step forward and Destiny Udogie enjoyed a promising first campaign in English football.
Yet as a unit, Tottenham endured some defensive problems last season.
Postecoglou’s approach leaves Tottenham open at the back and Spurs conceded a number of goals in transition last season.
The real concern came from set pieces though as Tottenham started to really struggle, especially from corners.
Pundit Jermaine Jenas has backed Spurs to finish in the top four for his BBC Sport predictions, but is so concerned about Tottenham’s defending at the back post.
Jenas watched on as Tottenham conceded from two free kicks against Bayern Munich last weekend; both balls were curled into the back post where Bayern were able to land unchallenged headers.
Jenas believes that this is a huge problem for Tottenham and called on Postecoglou to get the situation sorted, questioning just how many times this needs to happen for the penny to drop.
“I have gone with Spurs but Ange will have to sort out the situation at the back. I watched them the other day against Bayern Munich and they conceded two goals again at the back post – how many more times does it have to happen?” said Jenas.
Tottenham need to be dominant on set pieces
This problem really started at Everton back in February as Sean Dyche’s men caused havoc by surrounding Spurs goalkeeper Vicario.
A fine shot-stopper, Vicario isn’t exactly the most physical or commanding goalkeeper on crosses.
Everton exploited that and we ended up seeing it again and again with Arsenal and West Ham United exploiting the problem.
Joe Cole criticised Tottenham after that West Ham game, suggesting that Spurs players need to help Vicario more by moving players out of the way.
The situation still hasn’t been resolved though and we are now seeing Arsenal and Aston Villa’s set-piece brilliance receive plaudits.
Unless Postecoglou sorts the situation out himself – or hires a set-piece coach – then Tottenham will have real problems securing a top-four finish.
