Tottenham must ditch the diamond when they go to Brighton

Tottenham are reeling after an embarrassing 7-2 loss to Bayern Munich. Mauricio Pochettino must alter his shape before heading to Brighton. 

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but the same doesn’t apply for the midfield at Tottenham. If Mauricio Pochettino wants to get Spurs back on track this weekend at Brighton, he’ll need to ditch the diamond shape he deployed against Bayern Munich in favour of a true midfield three.

Moussa Sissoko‘s admission that Tottenham players aren’t fit enough to play the diamond system should tell Pochettino all he needs to know about the setup’s value moving forward. Sissoko was quoted by Football London as saying that the midfielders “get too tired quickly physically” when they play the shape that crumbled under pressure from Bayern’s attack on Tuesday night.

Pochettino may not appreciate Sissoko’s decision to make those comments publicly, but he’d be a fool not to hear the truth from his French midfielder. Spurs are in desperate need of three points when they travel to Brighton this weekend. Trotting another diamond midfield out onto the pitch would be absolute madness from the shrewd Argentine gaffer.

Fortunately, there are several very simple solutions available to Pochettino. The easiest switch would be to transition to a classic three-man midfield. Sissoko, Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele could easily solidify the club’s defence if they’re allowed time to grow together as a trio. Ndombele, in particular, was excellent before coming off against Bayern. The match truly got away from Spurs when their record signing trotted off the pitch.

Pochettino could also opt to revert to the classic 4-2-3-1 formation that he’s utilized most often during his tenure in North London. That might cause Winks to head to the bench in favour of Sissoko and Ndombele, but that’s a sacrifice worth making if it can get an extra attacker onto the field for Spurs.

Playing a different midfield setup is also crucial to protect Tottenham’s biggest weakness. Pochettino cannot seem to find the right combination of fullbacks to execute his stringent system. Part of their struggles are down to the lack of protection they get from the midfield. Playing either a three-man midfield or a double-pivot would take serious pressure off of the team’s fullbacks to shoulder such a heavy load.

Plenty of Tottenham fans are calling for big personnel changes ahead of the Brighton match. Those certainly may occur, but look for a system change before anything else. Spurs cannot afford to persist with the diamond formation that brought them such a shattering Champions League defeat.