Former England star and West Ham coach Stuart Pearce has revealed the behind-the-scenes tactics to nullify the Tottenham attack, insisting that Dele Alli and Harry Kane are suffering as a result of their success.
The Lilywhites had made a perfect start to their campaign prior to Sunday’s defeat away at Watford, a game in which the Spurs frontline struggled to create chances to put the Hornets to the sword.
Speaking about the north London outfit, and how the Hammers looked to turn a usually potent attack featuring Kane and Alli into a toothless threat, Pearce stated that the club’s own success has been part of their struggles.
He told Sky Sports’ The Debate: “I see it as two-fold with Harry. There’s a new-found respect for him and that means defenders are on high alert, which will nullify him in some ways.
“And secondly, when you play against Tottenham now, because people respect them as one of the big six, they defend a lot deeper and there’s less room. I don’t think that suits Dele Alli or Harry Kane.
“We set up teams against them at West Ham last year and we felt if you pushed up and left space for those two, they’re going to hurt us but bank up behind the ball and play on the counter-attack and they found it very difficult to break any shackles that we’d put on them.”
Opinion
Pearce makes a very good point about why Kane and Alli are struggling much more than they were in the early stages of their careers, and it is because players are giving them significantly more attention. The quality players in world football all receive the same treatment – be it Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Eden Hazard – but the thing that separates the good from the great is the ability to perform at the highest level no matter how much attention your opposition is giving you. That is the test that Kane and the rest of the Tottenham attack are facing now, and as Watford proved, it is a successful tactic to employ. Pochettino needs to figure out a way to make sure their struggles are not a problem for much longer, or else the club’s hopes of success will be going up in smoke. Spurs are big boys of the Premier League now – they need to learn to deal with it.