Bizarrely, since Jose Mourinho became the manager at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs have kept just a single clean sheet. As much as he would probably like to convince you, it is not because he has changed, or that his tactical principles have become vastly more attacking. The reason behind their lack of clean sheets is because neither their first choice or replacement goalkeepers have done enough to prevent the opposition bypassing them.
Both Hugo Lloris and Paulo Gazzaniga have been underwhelming this season, with each of them have made just a single clean sheet in seven and 11 appearances respectively.
For a club with Tottenham’s ambitions, leaking so many goals is an issue they will need to address in the very near future. Before sustaining his injury, the French World Cup-winning goalkeeper had conceded eight goals in seven matches, which is not atrocious but two of those were caused by errors he made. While in 11 Premier League appearances Gazzaniga has made an error leading to a goal and conceded 16. It appears no matter which keeper Spurs have between the sticks, they are leaking goals too often or creating their own problems.
Though it may not be entirely the pairs’ fault, Spurs are conceding so often. Kasper Schmeichel has kept the most clean sheets in the Premier League this campaign with seven, but on average he is only making 2.1 saves per game. Meanwhile, Gazzaniga has been forced into making 3.9 saves per match, but Lloris was making double Schmeichel’s number, averaging 4.2.
With regard to distribution, neither Tottenham stopper compares to the best goalkeeper in the Premier League thus far, even though Schmeichel is not known for being a sweeper keeper. Lloris averaged 4.8 accurate long balls per 90, with Gazzaniga finding his intended target 0.1 per cent less frequently. But the Leicester City keeper has made 6.4 accurate long balls per match on average.
Blame cannot be entirely thrust upon the Spurs goalkeepers this season, but they must take a significant share of the responsibility for the lack of clean sheets. It is an issue Mourinho ought to address before the start of next season. He must decide if he believes the current keepers can be improved through coaching or if it is time to hunt for a replacement in January, or failing that in the 2020 summer transfer window.
