A slow start to the 2024/25 Premier League season had some questioning whether Ange Postecoglou was actually the answer at Tottenham.
Spurs fans for years have craved seeing the club take the next step towards becoming an established annual top-four finisher in the Premier League, and eventually becoming a consistent title challenger.
Postecoglou's first season in London featured plenty of promise, but the early results this year suggested a potential sophomore slump for the Australian. The club won just one of its first four Premier League games before needing a very late turnaround to beat Coventry City in the EFL Cup third round.
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Yet the recent league win over Brentford featured a major tactical shift form the Spurs boss that worked to perfection and hints at a possible turnaround towards more sustainable results.
Ange Postecoglou moves James Maddison to midfield
The change came at the heart of midfield, as Postecoglou decided to make an attacking gamble that paid off to perfection. He deployed Rodrigo Bentancur at a lone No. 6 position with an unconventional dual eight in front of him: James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.
Previously, Postecoglou had preferred to play a double pivot of two traditional midfielders behind Maddison while the former Leicester City man was tasked with a true No. 10 role. In moving him back alongside Kulusevski, a traditional winger, the Spurs boss was sacrificing some defensive cover for the ability to get Maddison on the ball deeper and allow him to avoid being man-marked out of matches.
Postecoglou had actually debuted this tactical setup against Arsenal in the North London derby to mixed results, as Spurs managed to cope with their rivals' attack for much of the match but failed to create much of their own. Maddison displayed a solid defensive acumen in that match, but Kulusevski himself was carved to shreds on the right, losing 13 of his 18 duels throughout his 90 minutes while picking up a booking.
After a bit more time to prepare and train, Postecoglou stuck with his new setup against Brentford to flying colors. Maddison had an oustanding match, scoring a goal on three shots while also creating three high-quality chances for teammates. While Kulusevski remains a liability in midfield, the No. 6 (whether it be Betancur, Pape Sarr, or Yves Bissouma) can provide him cover on the right while Maddison has proven his ability to stand ground on the left.
While this worked against defensively-challenged Brentford, it's unclear whether this would be effective against more incisive midfield opposition such as Newcastle, Manchester City, or Liverpool.
Regardless, Postecoglou has shown an ability to adapt, generating a creative solution to solve a problem that threatened to nullify Tottenham's most important creative outlet.
