Breaking Down What New Signing Toby Alderweireld Will Bring to Tottenham
July 15, 2015
If the biggest problem Tottenham Hotspur supporters have with Toby Alderweireld is pronouncing his surname, they will be content.
Even that should not be an issue. Following the announcement of his signing from Atletico Madrid, the north London club's social media team posted a video of the defender instructing how to say it (see below).
Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be confident he will have few issues with a defender who quietly proved himself among the Premier League's most reliable last season.
On loan at Southampton, Alderweireld was a prominent part of a stingy defence whose 33 goals conceded was only bettered by champions Chelsea. By contrast Tottenham leaked 53, the worst in the top half.
With Spurs and Saints in close proximity at the campaign's end, the north Londoners inferior goal difference (+5 compared to the south coast side's +21) could have ended up costing them.
As it was, Pochettino's team finished four points ahead in fifth place. Unsurprisingly, the Argentinian has still looked to make improvements this summer (although, at the time of writing, no current Spurs defenders had been moved on).
Alderweireld's past work—certainly in his first year in England—gives almost every indication he is a player capable of improving the standard of Spurs' defensive work.
The numbers behind his year with Southampton present a good outline of a player who was generally switched onto the task at hand.
Per WhoScored.com, Alderweireld's 1.7 tackles per game were behind Jose Fonte's 2.1, but he matched his skipper for clearances (5.5) and led in blocks (0.7). He also tallied more than their fellow centre-back Maya Yoshida in the aforementioned categories.
More than holding his own as part of the rearguard effort in Ronald Koeman's setup, solid practicing of the basic fundamentals is a good start for someone Spurs will hope can contribute to their own becoming a more reliable entity.
The 26-year-old undoubtedly benefited from the presence of Fonte beside him. The Portuguese—voted player of the year by both Saints fans and his team-mates last season—took the lead in ensuring Southampton's defence were generally well prepared and organised (albeit not always perfect, as seen by the way Spurs twice caught them out in April's 2-2 draw).
The general air of calmness around Alderweireld was a big reason too they came off so assured. Not for them the feeling of disarray and inaction evident in some of Tottenham's worst displays last season (for instance November's 2-1 defeat by Stoke City, or the 3-0 blitzkrieg suffered at Old Trafford).
Spurs may have benefited from sounding out Southampton about Fonte (or someone of his ilk, if they are even out there) given the disorganisation issues that plagued them. But in the absence of a natural leader, the cool and unfussy Alderweireld could prove just as valuable a presence. At least if the right balance is figured out in their back four—a process we should see some development of in during pre-season.
Alderweireld's comfort in possession will also undoubtedly have appealed to Pochettino, a coach who encourages his defenders to bring the ball out. For him the potential rewards of quickly putting an opponent on the back foot outweigh the risk of losing the ball in a dangerous area.
Indeed, that should not be a problem if the player is sufficiently capable of safely pinpointing a path from where he can set a move on its way. Like his fellow Belgium international and reunited club team-mate Jan Vertonghen, Alderweireld has been well schooled here from his time at Ajax's famed, technically inclined finishing school.
After a year getting to know his methods, his philosophy, Pochettino will be banking on his team stepping up the aggressive, pass-oriented play which marked their most notable wins.
Alderweireld may not have experienced it directly with Spurs, but there were undoubtedly remnants of it still in existence from the Argentinian's time at St Mary's. The player thrived playing his part giving life to Koeman's adapted version. He should slot right in to the White Hart Lane way in this regard.
Tottenham's defence had decent collective runs of form in 2014-15, but too often between those times they were culpable in dropped points which proved costly down the line.
Alderweireld alone cannot provide greater consistency, but his signing is a positive move in trying to get things right.