Second String Spurs Not Up To The Job In Derby Defeat

It was, quite simply, a bad day at the office for Mauricio Pochettino and his Spurs side last night. 

A lot of questions were asked regarding the gaffer’s decision to field a virtually full strength side against Azerbaijani side Quarabag, last Thursday, and then play a second string side in an arguably more important game last night.

The one player most targeted for criticism following the final whistle was Federico Fazio, the Argentine centre half who has barely featured this season.

Fazio did, without doubt, have a poor game. But I feel the manager’s naivety should be highlighted in this instance, rather than the player himself.

Fazio has barely played since being dropped, midway through last season. He was dropped after one fairly below par performance, after being a very reasonable regular choice in defence up until then. He was bound to be rusty.

In fact, he may also have lacked considerable motivation with his first team opportunities being so limited, with the new long-term partnership of Vertonghen and Alderweireld already looking to have cemented their places.

However, a performance such as last night’s will not play into his favour should he look to move elsewhere in January.

Fazio isn’t known for his ability on the ball, which may have been a large reason behind his sudden omission from the first team last season. And to this extent, his mass of misplaced passes last night simply cannot be defended.

Although, it could be argued that his assist for Arsenal’s second was a tad unlucky. Granted, it came from a pretty mindless attempted hoof up-field, which soared straight into the path of the on-rushing Mathieu Flamini.

Flamini is not a prolific player, and his role as a defensive midfielder (as well as just 13 goals across two stints with the gunners) indicates as much. In that respect, not many people in the stadium would’ve instantly expected the bottom corner of the nettle to ripple, seconds later, but so it did.

I watched the game with my Dad, who has been a Spurs fan since the 60’s. He’s an extrovert, meaning he tends to be significantly more vocal than I when watching sport on television. It’s fair to say I was getting an ear ache towards full time, after the way we had defended.

As Arsenal began to bring their big guns on – in Sanchez and Walcott – I was genuinely surprised Pochettino didn’t make use of the available Jan Vertonghen at any point during the game.

He undoubtedly would’ve been more use in front of him, helping to deal with the visitor’s pacey frontline, than he had been whilst sat behind the coaching staff for the entire 90 minutes.

The Spurs defence has looked much better this season. This has been no doubt helped by the introduction of new signing Toby Alderweireld, to partner Jan Vertonghen, as well as giving the more cautious option of Ben Davies a run at Left Back.

However, last night seemed an odd time to give the fringe players a run out, especially against a team whose style of play is focused around keeping the ball on the floor. A player who’s strengths are mainly based around his aerial prowess, is unlikely to have a comfortable game when faced with pace and flair.

But the fact about this result is – it’s not the end of the world. Going out in the early stages of the League Cup leaves Spurs only in two competitions, with a third to come in January. With Harry Kane struggling for form, and as the only recognised striker at the club, one less competition to juggle may just be a blessing in disguise.

This is a result we just have to accept.

Pochettino is still a young manager, and he won’t get it right every time.