Paul Robinson says Tottenham player is a ‘fish out of water’ in Ange Postecoglou’s system

Paul Robinson has claimed that one senior Tottenham Hotspur man never looked comfortable in Ange Postecoglou’s system, opining that a returning star has made a massive difference to the side during their recent encounters.

It is not a coincidence that Tottenham have looked far more assured defensively in their last three Premier League outings against Man Utd, Ipswich and Man City after welcoming Guglielmo Vicario back.

The Lilywhites have conceded just two goals in those three matches, and not only has the Italian made several key interventions, but he has also been typically vocal, constantly organising the defence.

Ange Postecoglou admitted that Vicario’s return is a huge boost to the dressing room environment, given his presence and leadership qualities.

Paul Robinson makes claim about Guglielmo Vicario and Fraser Forster

Paul Robinson has now claimed that the return of Vicario makes a huge difference to Tottenham, technically and tactically.

He thinks the former Empoli man’s decision-making and comfort in possession allows Spurs to play out from the back, something they could not do when Fraser Forster was in goal.

The former Spurs goalkeeper told Stadium Astro: “You look at the goalkeeping situation, you look how key he is to actually the way that Tottenham build up as well. So there’s a stat that I looked at when Vicario came out of the team, 7% of his passes in open play went over the halfway line, only 7% so that shows how key he was to the way that Ange Postecoglou played.

“Fraser Forster came in, and the manager asked him to do something that he couldn’t do. It was, you know, he looked like a fish out of water at times because the manager was asking him to play in a certain way that he couldn’t do and then that affected his form, it affected his game.