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Tottenham defenders are on thin ice with Pochettino

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: Cameron Carter-Vickers of Tottenham Hotspur and Adebayo Akinfenwa of Wycombe Wanderers compete for the ball during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wycombe Wanderers at White Hart Lane on January 28, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: Cameron Carter-Vickers of Tottenham Hotspur and Adebayo Akinfenwa of Wycombe Wanderers compete for the ball during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wycombe Wanderers at White Hart Lane on January 28, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham are one injury away from a crisis

Tottenham have two excellent centre backs in the form of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. Unfortunately, the options behind them are much less certain. Both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kevin Wimmer have looked very shaky during Spurs first two preseason matches.

Against PSG, it was Carter-Vickers who looked severely off the pace. He was skinned by Edinson Cavani and was arguably at fault for two goals on the evening. The American starlet certainly didn’t look ready to compete against elite Premier League attackers.

There was a hope, that Kevin Wimmer would somehow regain his sterling form from two seasons ago this summer. Sadly, the Austrian looks as if he’s still firmly entrenched in last year’s spotty form. Wimmer was awful against Roma in the second half of Tottenham’s second preseason match. The Austrian was at fault for both of Roman’s second half goals including the match winner in the match’s closing moments.

He played so poorly that it gave Carter-Vickers the opportunity to surpass his level of play despite giving up a dodgy penalty. The point here is that Spurs have serious questions to answer about who can serve as the primary backups for Alderweireld and Vertonghen.

In fairness to Mauricio Pochettino, he can always shift Eric Dier back into his back line if need be. The popular English international prefers to play as a midfielder, but he can fill in capably at centre back as well. That’s where most Spurs officials expected him to make his mark when he arrived at the club.

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Jerking Dier back and forth between central defense and the centre of Spurs’ midfield isn’t ideal. Not only does it make Dier irritated (and thus more likely to leave the club if a big money offer comes his way) but it also weighs down his level of play. Spurs need to be careful that Dier doesn’t become the jack of all trades, but the master of none.

It’s clearly in Dier’s best long-term interest to pick the midfield spot and stick with it. If that does indeed happen, it leaves Pochettino woefully thin at centre back. It’s easy to see why Spurs have been linked with so many central defenders in this summer’s transfer window.

Optimistic Spurs fans will hope that Carter-Vickers and Wimmer can step up and fill the void if called upon. They certainly are better players than they showed in the club’s first two friendlies. It’s fair to expect better play from the duo.

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On the other hand, realistic supporters understand that squad strengthening is needed. Centre back is certainly one of those spots. The addition of one player who’s unquestionably capable of being a Premier League regular right now would help Tottenham officials sleep much better at night. An injury to either of their Belgian duo could prove disastrous.

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