This could be one of the reasons for Tottenham’s crushing defeat at home to Aston Villa. Certain members of the squad may be suffering from burnout, and are in need of a week or two off.
Burnout results in a low intensity game from the team that is suffering, and this is exactly what we got from Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon. Naming just a few, Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason and Christian Eriksen looked like they were in need of a rest.
So, what is the answer to this problem? Name a different starting eleven. It is as simple as that. However, it not quite as simple as that when you have the likes of Paulinho in your squad.
I don’t mean to be unfair to the lad, but he just hasn’t settled into the Premier League at all and the performance against Burnley summed up his time at Tottenham, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was offloaded somewhere else in the summer transfer window.
Looking at the bench we named against Aston Villa, there wasn’t really anybody that could change the game, and that is something that you are crying out for when you are trailing at home to a side like Villa.
Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela and DeAndre Yedlin all came on in the defeat to Villa at the weekend, and hardly made an impact, we just needed that somebody that could turn the game on its head that wasn’t already on the pitch.
Also, we will need to field a very competitive side whatever players we pick, this is key when we are competing in European competitions, as the same players can’t be played twice a week on a regular basis.
So, this summer, I would like to see Paul Mitchell and Mauricio Pochettino sign some talent that can give us some depth in the side, and somebody who can turn a game on its head.
