The end of the Harry Kane era at Tottenham Hotspur, and the start of Ange Postecoglu’s reign as the sides manager, began with an entertaining draw, scoring and conceding twice away to Brentford, whilst displaying many fun tactical contrasts to last season.
Brentford were too without their own primary goal scorer, Ivan Toney. But that did not alter their perceived tactical approach too much, as they set up in their accustomed 5-3-2. Spurs, on the other hand, deployed a flexible 4-3-3 system in similar vein to that used by Postecoglu’s previous Celtic side, en route to winning the Scottish Premier League title.
Four debutants started for Spurs; goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, centre-back Micky van de Ven, left-back Iyenoma Udogie, and attacking midfielder James Maddison, who has adopted the 10 shirt previously worn by Kane.
And each debutant played a role in executing the new system. In contrast with previous seasons, Spurs looked to be expansive both in and out of possession. What had already been seen in pre-season spilled over into the opening league game, as the side played the ball out from the back, be that through combinations that sent the ball out wide, or with the defenders and midfielders carrying the ball forward from deep. Spurs dominated possession, with 69% to Brentford’s 31%, and, although are without Kane, still have an excellent creator in Maddison.
Maddison was impressive, creating the most chances in the match, with six. Playing mostly in and around the left channel, Maddison often had runners around him, which he could feed with through balls. But with Richarlison playing as the centre-forward, there was not only an extra runner, but also a focal point inside the box, which is perhaps what Postecoglu wants from his centre-forward.
Maddison’s through ball to Richarlison, who had made a run, led to shot which forced a save. The move was in part due to Maddison’s intelligence to move across, and occupy a better position to receive between the lines, before having the vision to pick out the pass. Maddison received the ball from midfielder Yves Bissouma, who was ambitious with his passing.
Whereas Kane would drop into midfield, and provide passes to runners from the flanks, the attacking structure without him is now somewhat different. Maddison is now even more important from a creative standpoint than he was when Kane was still a Spurs player. Maddison seemingly takes up the role of creator-in-chief, but as a no.8 or no.10, rather than a forward who drops deep.
Also adept at drawing fouls, and being accurate from the free-kicks that come as reward for winning said fouls, Maddison’s superb in-swinging delivery assisted Cristian Romero’s header to give Spurs an initial 0-1 lead.
Returning to the overall system, it was was 4-3-3 on paper, but Spurs’ shape shifted when they had possession. Both full-backs, Emerson Royal and Udogie, tucked inside, and along with the two 8s, Oliver Skipp and Maddison, formed a box shape in the centre. This was arguably done in effort to have more control of the centre, both in terms of numbers, and therefore passing options, as Spurs tried to break down Brentford’s shape. Emerson’s new role led to him taking up a position on the edge of the box in the lead up to his goal, and Spurs’ equaliser after going a goal down.
Spurs were persistent, and busy in the final-third. However, Brentford are one of the best sides in the league at retaining their shape against pressure from opposing attacks. This is not to fully undermine Spurs’ efforts, as it was refreshing to see Spurs be more expansive and inventive on the ball with varied movements and combinations. But this was the sort of game best to countering Spurs’ tactics.
Whilst the full-backs were inverted, Spurs’ wingers, Dejan Kulusevski, and Son Heung-Min, now the sides captain, held the width. It meant that both full-backs, especially Udogie, could make inverted runs in the final-third, but there was less opportunity for Son to a) cut inside and find space to shoot at goal, and b) make runs from out to in towards the box, which are perhaps his two biggest ways of threatening opposing defences.
Kulusevski and Son are two very good wide attackers. But it could be argued that neither is suited to hugging the touchline. As mentioned, Son likes to make out to in runs into the box, which helped make his partnership with Kane as effective as it was, whilst Kulusevski likes to tuck infield and drift in and out of pockets of space. This suggests both need another to occupy the width around them, rather than being the widest option themselves. Skipp, and then Papa Sarr rotating with Kulusevski, and Udogie making lateral runs down the left was compensation. But in the long-term, both wingers may be better off playing elsewhere in the team; Kulusevski, for example, may work as a no.8 given his traits, and profile.
This was only the first game of the new season, which suggests that as well as there still being a way to go for Spurs, who are in a transitional period, are already making strides with how they want to go about doing things this season, which contrast last season. Spurs brought in a progressive coach in Postecoglu. Playing this way is down to his introduction, and with Kane’s departure, Spurs earned more funds to buy more players who could push the system even further.
The Conventional Playmaker 
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