John Wenham: Tottenham defenders are building ‘relationships and understanding’
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome John Wenham of Lilywhite Rose as our exclusive columnist. Each week, he’ll be giving his expert insight on the biggest talking points at Spurs…
John Wenham believes Ange Postecoglou’s settled back-four is helping the Tottenham defenders build “relationships and understanding with each other” which has been “hugely beneficial.”
After a season of defensive woes last term, during which the club conceded 63 Premier League goals, Spurs’ defensive transformation has been quite remarkable.
The signings of centre-back Micky van de Ven and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, and the return from loan of Destiny Udogie, have all transformed the backline, making instant impacts at the club.
And Wenham believes this settled defensive line has been crucial to the club’s improvement this season.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Wenham said: “All the best sides over the years have always had a settled back two. Manchester United had Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Chelsea had John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, and Arsenal last year with William Saliba and Gabriel.
“However, with Tottenham last year, it was always a different back three each week with the likes of Clement Lenglet, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier and Ben Davies all rotating.
“We were constantly chopping and changing, and you cannot build a successful side without continuity at the back.
“We now know every week what our back-four is going to look like, and I think that just helps the players build those relationships and understanding with each other, especially for a new goalkeeper in the team, I think it has been hugely beneficial to him to have the same line-up.
“They can learn each other’s styles of play and weaknesses and how they can deal with that and how they can cover for each other.”
In other Tottenham news, the club’s Under-21s should hold their heads high despite suffering their first defeat of the 2023/24 campaign.