Journalist Alasdair Gold has claimed Tottenham Hotspur could ‘click fully’ under Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 formation which was used in their recent win.
So far this season, Spurs have mostly got the results – and sit third in the league as a result – but haven’t necessarily always played as well as their form might suggest.
Indeed, the club’s Italian manager and his tactics have come under scrutiny at times but a formation tweak was enough to see them pick up all three points in a 1-0 win over Brighton this weekend in the Premier League.
While talking about this on his YouTube channel, Gold suggested that Tottenham will eventually find their best form and that the move to a 3-5-2 formation could be the telling moment in their campaign.
The journalist explained (56:06): “I still maintain, they’re gonna get better, they’re gonna click fully. And maybe this 3-5-2, maybe this ends up being the thing that clicks everything into place and they get more and more comfortable in it.
“I’ll be intrigued to see when he [Conte] has [Dejan] Kulusevski back as well, and makes it maybe a little bit more difficult to try and cram everyone in that he wants to cram in. But we mustn’t forget that 3-4-3 with Kulusevski in it as well was very successful last season, in that second half of the season. so it’s not like the 3-4-3 is suddenly a horrible tactic.
“I think different games, different formations will work. But yeah, that was a big, big, I think, moment in just showing Conte that: Okay these players can play this formation. And that will kind of be a big thing coming forward as well.”
TIF thoughts on Spurs…
Conte moved to a 3-5-2 formation against the Seagulls when he had largely been using variations of the 3-4-3 set-up. This meant Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were the only natural forwards in the team, but it allowed for an extra man in the middle of the park with Yves Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur all starting.
At times this season, Spurs’ inability to dominate the midfield with just a pairing has been touted as a possible issue, so by adding an extra player Conte has helped address that problem.
Of course, that does mean only using two men up top – as seen with Kane and Son against Brighton – which could leave them short on options going forward. But with the likes of Kulusevski and Richarlison in the squad, there are options to either add to the starting team or bring off the bench should the club need more firepower.
It will certainly be interesting to see if Conte continues to play this way or he if he reverts back to a 3-4-3.