“I always win something in my second season”. Those were the words, well there or thereabouts, of Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou earlier this term.
With Spurs sat in 14th place in the Premier League and staring down the barrel of another trophyless campaign, the craggy-faced Australian is clearly walking on thin ice.
While it’s been a horrific season on a domestic level, the Lilywhites are at least enjoying a strong run in Europe. The Europa League remains the sole chance Ange has of winning a major honour this term and it could be decisive in whether he keeps his job.
Daniel Levy has overseen the sacking and hiring of many a manager during his time in north London and will pray that Postecoglou can engineer a turnaround. Stability is what they need heading into next season.
It’s not just been a tricky season for the manager and his coaching staff, but a number of Spurs players have not been up to the task, notably in defence.
Pedro Porro has been the most suspect member of the backline.
Pedro Porro's season in numbers
Considering the front-footed nature of Postecoglou’s style of play, Spurs are always going to concede goals. While they thrilled supporters with their attacking football last season and at the beginning of this term, it has ultimately come at the expense of results.
They have had to deal with a number of injuries, notably at full-back, missing Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie at one stage this season.
Truth be told, any side would miss three quarters of their backline but Porro, as the senior statesmen alongside the likes of Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin, did not cover himself in glory.
There have been some notable mistakes this season, and they largely focus on the Spaniard’s positioning, an area of the game that he hasn’t improved upon since an awful debut game against Leicester.
GK – Fraser Forster
RWB – Pedro Porro
CB – Eric Dier
CB – Ben Davies
CB – Japhet Tanganga
LWB – Ivan Perisic
CM – Rodrigo Bentancur
CM – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
CAM – Dejan Kulusveski
CAM – Heung-min Son
CF – Harry Kane
Tim Sherwood was quick to critique him after that game, simply suggesting that “Porro is so bad it’s unbelievable. His positioning is disgusting.”
Since that moment he did improve, noticeably in the final third. In 2023/24, the Spain international scored four times and posted seven assists. He’s contributed seven assists this term too.
However, while he’s capable of magical moments in attacking phases of play, the 25-year-old is consistently caught out at the back.
Games played
28
Goals
2
Assists
5
Big chances created
5
Key passes per game
1.5
Pass success %
76%
Clean sheets
5
Tackles per game
2.1
Interceptions per game
1.1
Dribbled past per game
1
Take Spurs’ defeat to Ipswich at home earlier in the season. Porro was caught out positionally for both goals in that 2-1 loss.
There was that agonising moment against Arsenal, too, where Leandro Trossard’s smart turn on the left flank left the right-back in the dust.
Then there was his concession of the ball in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Caught up the field, Porro gave away possession, which allowed Milos Kerkez to break down the left and cross for Marcus Tavernier to find the net.
It was the latest in a long line of mistakes. So, where can Postecoglou turn to?
How Spurs can solve their Porro conundrum
The most natural solution for Tottenham Hotspur here is to unleash Djed Spence, a player tipped to be included in one of Thomas Tuchel’s England squads after a remarkable revival this season.
Spence didn’t feature at all for Spurs last year, loaned out to both Leeds United and Genoa in Italy but he has returned with a vengeance and now looks like a major part of the club’s future, appearing in 24 games, scoring twice and registering two assists.
With Porro reportedly attracting interest from elsewhere ahead of the summer, Spence must be able to look forward to a more regular role in the side.
However, that role should be handed to Archie Gray instead, a “future £100m” talent in the eyes of data analyst Ben Mattinson.
Gray signed from Leeds last summer for around £30m and has endured a bit of a baptism of fire in Spurs colours. A midfielder by trade, the vast majority of his outings under Postecoglou have come at centre-back, largely because of their defensive injury crisis.
He did catch the eye, though, with the manager notably hailing his performances out of position: “He doesn’t shy away from it, he doesn’t hide. He just keeps going. We’ll get enormous growth out of him during this period, but right now he’s contributing to us, he’s helping us.”
Despite impressing in the centre of defence, his future certainly looks as though it’ll be slightly further forward in midfield or even in Porro’s right-back position.
Indeed, it was on the right side of defence that the teenager captured the imagination for Leeds last season, missing just two Championship games and appearing at right-back on 30 occasions.
Right-back
37
Central midfield
21
Centre-back
19
Attacking midfield
14
Defensive midfield
9
Left-back
5
Centre-forward
2
Left wing
1
Not only will he give you a more polished defensive performance than Porro at right-back but he can also contribute effectively in the final third. He only picked up two assists last campaign but at the age of just 19, he has plenty of time to develop that side of his game.
One of those assists came in 4-0 win over Swansea in February 2024, with BBC pundit Jon Newsome waxing lyrical over his display at the time: “I think sometimes it is quite easy to forget he is only 17. You look at him now and he’s like this experienced, quality footballer. He’s a kid! But he’s not a kid, he’s a kid in a man’s body with a man’s mentality. He is way wise beyond his years, absolutely superb young man.”
So, while Porro’s future in the north of London doesn’t look too bright, it certainly looks rosy for Mr Gray who looks set to dazzle Premier League audiences for a while yet, regardless of the position he plays in.
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