Tottenham analysis: Alderweireld has let contract talks damage his play

By Rucker Haringey | Feb 19, 2018

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JUNE 05: Toby Alderweireld of Belgium in action during the International Friendly match between Belgium and Czech Republic at Stade Roi Baudouis on June 5, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) /

Tottenham need Toby Alderweireld to refocus

When he’s on top of his game, Toby Alderweireld gives Tottenham one of the best central defenders in the world. Unfortunately, the drama surrounding the Belgian’s contract status with Spurs is preventing the centre back from playing up to his tremendous potential at the moment.

Alderweireld’s struggles were on full display during his club’s 2-2 draw at Rochdale in the FA Cup. Just as it seemed Tottenham would escape with a 2-1 victory, Alderweireld flicked the ball on perfectly to set up Rochdale’s extra time equalizer. That mistake capped off a pretty awful performance by Alderweireld.

It’s not a good sign when your world-class defender is outplayed by Juan Foyth. Yet that’s exactly what happened to Mauricio Pochettino. Alderweireld never looked remotely comfortable in the match. At first I attributed that to playing slightly out of position on the left side of Tottenham’s central defense. Further analysis made it pretty clear Alderweireld lacked the focus required to play an excellent match.

When rewatching the game it became obvious that Alderweireld was pressing to prove himself to Pochettino. Whether he was trying to reestablish himself in his manager’s starting XI or justify his lofty contract demands is impossible to know. What is clear is that he wasn’t content to make any simple plays against Rochdale.

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Even without his horrible miscue to end the match, it was a poor effort from Alderweireld. He nearly gave away a penalty in the game’s opening moments when he fell onto the ball. A slightly harsh decision by the referee would have seen Rochdale gifted an early goal due to Alderweireld’s clumsy play.

His struggles weren’t only limited to the defense end of the pitch though. He also made a mess of things on the offensive end of the pitch. Alderweireld was forced to commit a cynical foul in the second half after attempting to juggle the ball to his right foot in order to get a shot away. Needless to say it didn’t come off well for him. He was forced to take a yellow card to prevent Rochdale from taking advantage of his error and turning it into a dangerous counterattack.

The real question now is how Pochettino will handle Alderweireld moving forward. Tottenham are locked in a tight battle for Champions League qualification. Pochettino cannot afford to put Alderweireld back into the starting XI and drop points due to his lack of focus.

The best plan for Pochettino would be to give Alderweireld his next start in the replay against Rochdale. That should give him some time to improve in training and get his mind right. Putting him back into the starting XI at Crystal Palace next weekend would be a significant gamble. Giving Alderweireld a full week to get his mind right should be the perfect cure for what’s ailing him.

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Time will tell whether or not Alderweireld stays with Spurs for the long haul. No matter what, he’ll need to refocus his energy and attention on football in the coming week. If he plays another nightmare match as he did against Rochdale, he may find himself on the bench for the remainder of the season.

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