View: Three things we learned from Tottenham and Brentford’s Premier League clash
Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou can take plenty of positives from the club’s 2-2 draw away at Brentford during their Premier League opener on Sunday 13 August.
While every manager would like to get off to a winning start at their new club, doing this away at Brentford is no easy feat. The Bees have won their opening home fixture in the last two Premier League seasons, against Arsenal and Manchester United, no less.
As a result, when the fixture generator threw up a trip to west London for Postecoglou’s first game in charge, the Australian would have realised he had a real challenge on his hands. Leaving with a point and a dominant performance is by no means a poor outcome.
Many of his players put in fantastic performances and will leave the pitch feeling as though they deserved to be on the winning side. Considering arguably the club’s best defender, Cristian Romero was forced off injured early in the first half just after he had put Tottenham ahead, it makes the result even more impressive.
Here, Tottenham News has identified three things learned from Postecoglou’s first competitive match at the helm.
His style of play is getting through to the squad
Often when a new manager arrives at a club and attempts to implement a brand-new style of play, it might take some time to do so. This doesn’t appear to be the case with Postecoglou and while of course, his team is far from being the finished article he would like, it is clear the players are buying into his philosophy.
When Antonio Conte took Spurs to the Gtech Community Stadium on 26 December 2022, following the resumption of the Premier League after the World Cup, his side had 61 per cent of the ball and made 511 passes, with an average accuracy of 81 per cent.
On this occasion Tottenham had even more control, keeping 70 per cent of the ball and playing 706 passes with an average accuracy of 89 per cent.
While it might not seem a huge difference, taking into account the fact that this is only Postecoglou’s first competitive game in charge, it already demonstrates signs of improvement.
They looked far more in control than they did back in December when they visited Brentford and played a much more exciting brand of football, which is an example of what their new 57-year-old head coach wants going forward.
Of course, greater tests are to come but the signs are pointing toward a new and improved Tottenham this season.
Yves Bissouma is like a brand-new signing
Awarded man-of-the-match by Sky Sports for his performance on the afternoon, Bissouma put in by far his best display in a Tottenham shirt to date.
The Mali international arrived from Brighton last summer but struggled during his debut season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with injuries and a lack of consistent selection hindering him. Many supporters had anticipated ahead of the new season that he would be a much-improved player in Postecoglou’s system and he certainly showed that against Brentford.
Bissouma was unplayable at times, making 138 touches and registering a successful passing accuracy of 92 per cent, completing 107 out of his 116 passes. In addition to this, he completed five of the six dribbles that he attempted and won nine of the 12 ground duels he contested. Defensively he was impressive, making two clearances, four interceptions and three tackles (Sofascore).
It was a fantastic performance, and a comparison to the last time he visited Brentford shows just how much better he looks under Postecoglou compared to his previous manager, Conte.
Bissouma started on boxing day against the Bees last season and made just 70 touches that day, while registering a successful passing accuracy of 89 per cent, completing 54 of the 61 that he attempted. He won two of his four ground duels and three of his four aerial duels while he made two clearances and two tackles.
It is amazing what confidence and a change in management can do for a player. Bissouma is certainly going to be one to watch out for in north London this year.
Tottenham might need a new striker
If it wasn’t already apparent to Spurs supporters, Richarlison is not at the same level as Harry Kane as an out-and-out striker. Although, of course, very few players are. Filling the boots of the England captain is near impossible and against Brentford, Brazil’s number nine did not look up to the task.
He was largely anonymous throughout the match and there were plenty of occasions where some fans might have been thinking “Kane would have done this” or “Kane would have finished that” as they watched their new striker in action.
There is no doubt he is a player of quality and could turn his Spurs fortunes around with a consistent run in the team, something he was not offered last season, but in his first Premier League match of the new campaign, he didn’t show any sign of doing it.
Throughout the match, he had just 36 touches and completed 72 per cent of his passes, 13 out of the 18 he attempted. He won just three of his eight ground duels and lost all five aerial duels, as well as losing possession 13 times.
Effectively, the club are replacing a player who scored 30 Premier League goals last season with someone who scored one, and if the 26-year-old doesn’t show signs of improvement soon, Daniel Levy might need to use some of his red-hot Kane cash to bring in a new striker.
In other Tottenham News, read the player ratings from the club’s Premier League opener.