Today’s match against West Ham posed a great deal of concern for Tottenham Hotspur with regards to their upcoming games. Erik Lamela, Mousa Dembélé and Andros Townsend started as the front three behind Harry Kane, with Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb pairing in the central midfield. The opening 45 minutes proved disastrous for Tottenham Hotspur, Mousa Dembélé’s recent excellent form took a drastic 180 degree turn and he was substituted off the pitch at half time for Christian Eriksen. Erik Lamela, Andros Townsend and Harry Kane also largely proved ineffective in unison. Erik Lamela looked extremely uncomfortable on the left wing and Andros Townsend’s efforts were frequently nullified on the right. With Nacer Chadli also experiencing a struggle having just come back from compassionate leave, it is questionable whether all of these players should be considered for both Fiorentina away and Chelsea in the cup final.

Stand out performances today came from full-backs Kyle Walker and Danny Rose. Given Tottenham Hotspur’s form problems with regards to the front four, the team which Mauricio fielded against Burnley in January could make for a very real solution with regards to balancing both offensive prowess and reasonable squad rotation in approach to these games. This team had Danny Rose play on the left wing, with Ben Davies taking the left back position behind him.

Danny Rose has always shown his instincts as a winger in games, and West Ham today was no different. He delivered a long ball from the middle of the pitch which made for Tottenham’s best chance in the first half. He later on made a run himself and very nearly scored from a header. Most importantly, he triggered the Tottenham Hotspur comeback within the second half with a cunning volley which left Adrian stunned.

With regards to the rest of the squad. Kaboul and Dier could make a sensible combination in order to allow for Vertonghen and Fazio to face Chelsea. Benjamin Stambouli and Etienne Capoue also paired well in this match, the former delivering a wonderful ball which set up Danny Rose’s goal. The latter of which equalised with a powerful volley. Both players have proven to be the more defensively minded of our central midfielders, such discipline could prove crucial in muscling Fiorentina out of the game.

Overall a team llke this would be a gamble, however with our ‘strongest XI’ proving today that their minds were not in the game. One would question whether it is sensible to send these players away to Italy, as opposed to getting them back into confidence for the most crucial game of the season.