New Year’s day is always a pseudo-significant occasion for Premier League clubs. If nothing else, performances and results are seen as a statement of intent for the new calendar year.

This New Year’s day fixture was more important than ever however – the stakes in the Premier League have never been so high, and any slip-up has the potential to be catastrophic as the league becomes more competitive than ever.

Watford were fixing to at the very least hold off the Spurs attacking machine that has kicked into gear the last couple of weeks. A game plan is only successful if it translates onto the pitch, and Watford’s didn’t. They were poor from the start.

To be fair to them, they have been completely ravaged by injuries. The fact that they had 4 U23s on the bench is indicative of how busy their physio room is as of late. Still, Tottenham were missing both Vertonghen and Walker through suspension – although Trippier and Wimmer proved to be more than adequate replacements, Trippier’s last start in the league was in March and the Austrian was making only his 4th appearance. Tottenham were still heavily favored, but a win against a scrappy Watford at home was anything other than assured.

The Hornets had the right idea from the start. They started the match pressing very high up the pitch. It’s been a widely recognized way to neutralize Tottenham because the North London side likes to play out from the back. If a team can pressure the man on the ball while also cutting off passing channels, the player in possession may only be able to boot the ball upfield which can result in either a 50/50 header or the ball sailing out of the pitch.

Already in the second minute, however, there were clear holes in Watford’s pressing scheme.

Watford’s plan works since Wimmer boots the ball out of play, but the Austrian defender had an unseen Wanyama providing an option to easily turn and bypass the first wave of pressure.

This was only the first instance, but it’s telling that it came about in the second minute. From the start of the game, the system looked unsustainable.

For comparison, you can look at Tottenham’s pressing scheme below.

All around it’s much more complete – there is no simple, forward passing option for Prodl which results in a prompt boot upfield. In both instances, the result was the same, but it’s easy to see why Watford struggled to retain possession as the game continued.

Trippier and Rose Both Have Effective, But Different Roles

In many ways this New Year’s day clash boiled down to two predominant trends in the Premier League playing face to face – we’ve already seen how pressing was executed by both teams. But recently the pendulum seems to be swinging towards a three-man back line with two wingbacks on the flanks. Both Tottenham and Watford set up this way, with varying results.

When teams play with three at the back, their formation tends to shift when the opposing team gains possession. Teams like Conte’s Chelsea revert to a 5-4-1 with their wingbacks slotting in with the back three. Other teams have the fullback opposite the flank where the ball is tuck in, resulting in the back four that shifts over and giving the near-side fullback the freedom to push up. Going a bit against the grain, Tottenham’s defensive system seemed somewhat lopsided.

Since the ball was on the left side of the pitch, Rose is further up to provide indirect pressure on the left flank. As such the defensive line shifts and Trippier tucks in to protect against the switch.

Pochettino made a really interesting choice by only giving Trippier this ‘tucking in’ duty and not Rose.

In this instance one would logically expect Rose to act as a proper left back – it’s the same run of play but just on the opposite flank. We see Trippier pressing the ball but Rose’s positioning on the opposite side is more of a left midfielder.

Seconds later, Rose picks up a stray cross and passes it down the line to Son who holds it up well. Rose flies by two Watford players while Wimmer runs to the byline to provide a safe passing option for Son. Clearly, Rose has been given license to position himself much further up the pitch, and the back three understand this and play accordingly. A look at where Trippier and Rose touched the ball tells a similar story.

Trippier is not really known for his defensive prowess, so it’s possible that Pochettino opted to have much more defensive positioning than Rose in order to make up for his perceived weaknesses.

Spurs Overcome Watford on the Right

Even though there was an almost natural overload on the left side due to Rose’s high positioning, Spurs found a lot of joy through the right flank. When in attack, Trippier would bomb forward to assist Tottenham’s attacking players (also evidenced by the heatmap above.)

One reason that Spurs may have found it more effective to attack down the right was that they could exploit Kaboul, Holebas and Guedioura’s weaknesses. Kaboul is not the quickest player and doesn’t perform well under pressure, while the latter two simply had poor performances.

Time and again Spurs found space on the right, as Holebas and Guedioura struggled to keep up with Kane, Eriksen, Dele, and Trippier. Just before the first goal, Watford received it’s first warning sign.

Kane rounded Capoue and connected with Dele who had acres of space. Holibas rushed to cover a gap between Kaboul and Prodl in order to discourage Dele from shooting. Dele then uses the option that Trippier provides him down the right and the ex-Burnley player puts in a cross. Two passes later, the move finishes with a wild shot from Rose. Although the Enlgish leftback should have certainly tested Gomes, it’s telling that the first real threat at Watford’s goal came from the right and both fullbacks were involved.

As such it’s no surprise that Tottenham’s first two goals came from the right. It was really the perfect storm for Watford – their poor individual performances aside, Trippier is a great crosser of the ball and made the best of the opportunities Watford were handing him on a plate.

Who’s To Blame?

Frankly, no one playing for Watford had a good game, but their defense is receiving more criticism that deserved. It was too easy for Spurs to bypass Watford’s midfield and directly threaten Gomes’ goal.

If the back line could have been protected more adequately, the Hornets might have been able to perform better as a whole.

Watford’s backline failed to impress – Kaboul and Prodl especially – but it’s hard not to feel a bit sympathetic towards them as they were continuously left hung out to dry by the midfield players. Mistakes can only occur if the circumstances make them possible; Spurs’ quality up front was the major factor but Watford’s apathy towards the back three exacerbated their defensive problems.

Conclusion

Tottenham started 2017 in style by putting in what Pochettino has called “a near perfect game”. The manner in which Pochettino deployed his fullbacks made for an interesting study in tactics and provides further evidence that his game plan has evolved to a dynamic and circumstantial setup. The win itself is crucial for Spurs as they’ll need all the confidence they can have against a high-flying Chelsea on Wednesday As for Watford, Mazzarri has it all to do to ensure that they don’t get entangled in a relegation battle. Should they find a way to get results in their upcoming fixtures (Stoke, Middlesbrough, and Bournemouth), their returning wave of players might be enough to hold out for a mid-table finish.