Team Focus: Changes Taking Effect with Sherwood in Charge at Spurs

Tim Sherwood, perhaps understandably, took issue with certain perceptions. After his Tottenham Hotspur side had been eviscerated by Arsenal in the FA Cup, and endured entire tracts in front of their defence repeatedly exposed, the new White Hart Lane boss was asked why he risked playing an outdated 4-4-2 against a modern 4-2-3-1.

“I didn’t see us playing 4-4-2,” Sherwood responded. “We just had 11 numbers on the field and tried to rotate and fill up every area of the field. I don’t know what you are saying about 4-4-2. We played with two recognised strikers, but [Emmanuel] Adebayor dropped deep into that area and picked up the ball. Our wide players funnelled in. I don’t think we were ever two players in midfield. When the ball was on the right, Christian Eriksen tucked across into the middle.”

It’s a description that certainly sounds much more nuanced than a normal 4-4-2, and the idea of players rotating to fill up “every area of the field” is rather different to Harry Redknapp’s request that Roman Pavlyuchenko “run about”. Of course, the current QPR boss is the manager that Sherwood is most often compared to, but that isn’t completely fair.

The former Blackburn Rovers captain is his own man, has spent much time in coaching courses developing his own style, and the very use of Eriksen coming in off the wing indicates an attempt at something more varied. Those who know Sherwood insist his approach to football is more layered than the figure often portrayed, and speak to his intense desire to always develop.

One problem is that the Christmas schedule hasn’t exactly allowed enough preparation time to properly develop his approaches with the team, which has perpetuated a few other perceptions. For all that Sherwood said, it was impossible to dispute the visible manner in which Arsenal overran Spurs.

Something is undeniably amiss with regards to team structure, even if it is not completely the manager's fault. Until he gets to at least rectify that, it’s going to be difficult to tell where he or Tottenham are headed this season.

That, however, also reflects the broader situation. Just at the point where a busy summer looked set to push Spurs up a level, it is as if they have pressed the reset button on it all. While that is not to say the decision to dismiss the difficult André Villas-Boas was incorrect, it’s exceptionally hard to even predict what’s going to happen next.

So, amid so many uncertainties and the perceptions pulling them this way and that, what are the early realities of Tottenham’s changes? What has Sherwood’s shift in formation brought? While a sample of just four games is admittedly small, and skewed by the fact they played a hugely distinctive Southampton then travelled to Manchester United, there have been some indications.

The big issue in André Villas-Boas’s last few months, beyond increasing tension within the club, was the static nature of a new attack. Beyond the dispiriting lack of goals for long periods between August and November, there was the lack of movement to manufacture proper chances. Spurs hit a pointless amount of shots from outside the box, and got caught offside around once a game, revealing a failure to get in behind defences.

Sherwood’s side are livelier, and look to switch it up a bit more in attack. For one, they shoot less from outside the box - down from 9.6 under Villas-Boas to 5.8 - and that has resulted in more runs in behind, as illustrated by a greater rate of offsides (2). As is to be expected from a formation that at least looks like 4-4-2, too, Spurs have switched more attacks down the flanks. Whereas 28.4% of their moves went through the middle under Villas-Boas, it is down to 26.2% with Sherwood.

If Sherwood is willing to career forward a bit more, the natural consequence has been some loss of “control”. Spurs have less possession - down 56.4% to 53.5% - and play fewer short passes, with a lower pass success rate (82.9% and 79.6%). Given Villas-Boas’s obsession with pressing high, it is no surprise the side now, under Sherwood, have less of the ball in the opposition third, if even less of a surprise that they now attempt more long balls.

On the whole, it’s difficult not to think the new Spurs do not live up to some slight perceptions. Sherwood’s outfit are less constrained and a touch more cavalier. The manager, of course, would claim that the manner of that is different to what people think. It remains to be seen whether the outcome will be different too.

Can Sherwood do a better job at Tottenham than André Villas-Boas was managing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.