Report: Ange Postecoglou experimented with defender’s position in private friendly
Tottenham’s manager isn’t a stranger for toying with player’s positions, having trialled Oliver Skipp at left-back last season against Liverpool, and pushed Ashley Phillips into right-back against Cambridge United at the weekend.
Phillips wasn’t the only player to be played in a different role
Tottenham took on League One outfit, Cambridge United, on the 13th of July in what was a behind-closed-doors friendly match at Hotspur Way ahead of Spurs’ more official pre-season fixtures.
According to Football.London, Jamie Donley was another player to be trialled in a different position whilst playing against Cambridge. Donley, who by trade is an attacking midfielder, was shoehorned into Postecoglou’s inverted left-back role, reportedly performing impressively despite playing a role he wasn’t familiar with.
Due to Dragusin, Romero and an De Ven all on national team duty this summer in their respective tournaments, Ashley Phillips is one of the only recognised central defenders left in the pre-season squad.
16-year-old Jun’ai Byfield, who people within Spurs apparently have high hopes for, was believed to have played alongside Phillips for a period of the friendly. However, despite Phillips being one of the only centre-backs available, reports suggest Postecoglou deployed him in a different position.
Postecoglou is believed to have trialled Phillips as a right-back
According to Alasdair Gold who was speaking on his podcast, Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham, stated that Ashley Phillips was experimented with as one of Postecoglou’s trademark roles, inverted right-back.
Gold stated ‘It’s an interesting one and I didn’t get a second source on this so I can’t go with any real confidence, but I heard a suggestion that at one point, Ashley Phillips was playing at right-back, which seems odd as the only natural centre-back of any senior nature, so whether that was just filling in for a time when someone else came off, I don’t know. It may well be that he played centre-back for a longer period’.
As Gold concluded, the experimenting of Ashley Phillips’ position is an unusual one due to the lack of depth in his position, however, with the friendly being behind closed doors it’s conceivable that Postecoglou was more concerned about experience and performance rather than the result.
Phillips will be hoping for more minutes this evening when Spurs face Hearts at Tynecastle.
Spurs Web opinion
Despite the move of Phillips’ position being confusing at face value due to the vulnerability, it will leave because of the lack of centre-backs, pre-season friendlies, especially ones behind closed doors, are for experimentation.
Phillips shone brightly on loan at Plymouth and currently is Spurs’ fourth-choice centre-half, however, if he can also prove he’s capable of playing right-back then it may increase his playing time and make him a valuable squad option next season.
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