Tottenham will stay at the top

It was a surprise when Mr. Ange Postecoglou set a record for points in the first 9 matches in the Premier League. This relatively unfamiliar coach brought Tottenham 23 points after 9 rounds. That is the score of a champion. In the first 9 matches, Tottenham played away more than at home. They met many formidable opponents such as MU, Arsenal, Liverpool. The initial success is too obvious. The question is just how long will Mr. Postecoglou and his team maintain this success. The answer: Tottenham will likely be successful throughout the season.

Tottenham sẽ trụ ở đỉnh cao - Ảnh 1. — Coach Postecoglou helps Tottenham create surprise in Premier League

With no worries about European Cups, and no longer having to "carry" the League Cup while the FA Cup only starts appearing from January 2024, Postecoglou's team will only focus all their spirit and strength on the race in the Premier League from now until the end of the year. That is certainly an advantage. The most admirable thing about Coach Postecoglou is that he has been very bold in imposing his own playing style and viewpoints since his first time coaching in the Premier League. Even more strange: Tottenham has shown that he adapts to this coach's tactics very quickly. Even at previous teams - most of which are not considered "top" and of course cannot be compared to the Premier League level - Postecoglou has never had such quick success as what he is doing at Tottenham this season.

"Ange-ball" is roughly an attacking style of play, actively keeping the ball and putting pressure on the opponent's field when not in possession, in general it is a high-class style of play. In reality, the style of play that Mr. Postecoglou implemented at Tottenham has brought specific results, not just good in theory. Important indicators such as ball recovery, high pressing, ball control, touches in the opponent's penalty area, scoring opportunities... are all very impressive. Tottenham clearly improved those indicators compared to themselves last season, and ranked above a series of strong teams. Along with that is a significant improvement in image, that is, the beauty of the way of playing.

The ball possession rate skyrocketed from 49.8% to 61.4%; the number of touches in the opponent's penalty area increased from 23.6 to 42.6 times/match; the "expected goal" index increased from 1.52 to 1.89; the number of shots from 13.6 to 19.1... Except for the somewhat vague issue of ball possession (many teams keep the ball well but are "gentle"), the remaining changes are very important. This is a matter of playing style, rather than the level of the stars. So Tottenham fans have the right to wait for continued success.

On the other end of the spectrum, Tottenham's weakness is that they are often bombarded by opponents, which is a bit too much for a top team. This is actually a "trade-off": the more you attack, the more you expose yourself. Even in what is considered a defensive weakness, Tottenham actually has some good points. They are very active in pressing to win the ball back or cause problems, with the best PPDA in the league (PPDA is the average number of passes in an opponent's attack).

Overall, Tottenham's strength this season has come from the training ground rather than the owners' pockets. That is the most wonderful detail of a success story in top-flight football.