In the midst of the mediocre and abysmal performances, we seem to have forgotten a bright spark from the beginning of our season. Let's talk a little bit about Japhet Tanganga shall we?
Japhet Tanganga was a solid part of the flying start which saw Spurs top the table after three consecutive victories and clean sheets. Then Emerson Royal arrived at Hotspur Way on 31 Aug and immediately displaced Tanganga from right back, but Japhet remained in the first XI as the right sided centre back with Dier for the match against Palace.
Well, we all know what happened after that. Japhet was sent off for a late challenge following a clash with Zaha. Spurs then suffered a 3-0 defeat.
Tanganga hadn't lost the trust of Nuno yet, as he started in the Conference League match against Rennes. But he was placed, again, in centre back with Rodon, whilst Doherty took up the right back position.
Tanganga's next appearance in the PL was the dreadful first half in the North London Derby. He was given the chance to play right back, but couldn't deal with Smith-Rowe nor Tierney and provided nothing going forwards. He was taken off for Emerson at half time and hasn't played in the Prem since.
And it doesn't look like he will get a chance to. After the Villa game, it's clear that the Spurs squad has been divided into two tiers, with the first XI appearing on the big stage week in week out, whilst the B team (including the likes of Dele, Winks and Tanganga) would be sent to the early stages of cup competitions and the Conference League. Even though his performances in the B team have been decent, his reputation seems to be tainted from being a part of the embarrassment against Arsenal and the disappointment against Vitesse.
So, what does Tanganga's future at Spurs look like?
To answer that question, let's first look at Tanganga's numbers and compare them to Emerson's.
To answer that question, let's first look at Tanganga's numbers and compare them to Emerson's.
Tanganga vs Emerson (vs Reguilon)
PL attacking stats 21/22:
0.02 vs 0.00 (vs 0.00) xG per 90
0.49 vs 0.18 (vs 0.22) Shots per 90
0.10 vs 0.02 (vs 0.08) xA per 90
0.49 vs 1.09 (vs 2.02) Shot Creating Actions per 90
0.49 vs 0.55 (vs 1.12) Assisted Shots per 90
0.25 vs 0.18 (vs 1.01) Crosses into the 18 yard box per 90
0.74 vs 1.82 (vs 2.35) Passes into the final third per 90
1.73 vs 2.18 (vs 2.69) Progressive passes per 90
1.98 vs 4.18 (vs 3.81) Progressive carries per 90
It was clear from the introduction of Tanganga as a right back under Mourinho that he wouldn’t be the Liverpool 20/21 “Bomb down the wing, cross into the box and hope for the best” kind of full back. His job was to provide a foundation for Reguilon to push forward by tucking into a back three. So it is no surprise that Tanganga’s attacking numbers are less than ideal.
He was showing signs of growth in this part of his game as well. At the Watford match, Tanganga (and the team) slowly got into the game after a shaky start. He started making exceptionally well-timed runs into the final third, either underlapping to facilitate Lucas pulling wide with the ball or overlapping around a defender to receive a pass on the other side to then cut the ball back into the box. Granted, this was against Watford, but it demonstrated that this was something that Tanganga and Nuno have been working on in training.
Back to the statistics, neither Tanganga nor Emerson provide much in terms of goals and assists. Where it does get interesting is the comparison between their tendencies to progress the ball. Emerson has over double Tanganga’s passes into the final third and progressive carries per 90. Spurs are severely lacking in terms of players who can create chances, make penetrative passes and, basically, get the ball to Harry Kane or Son Heung Min in the box. So, even though both Tanganga and Emerson’s attacking numbers pale in comparison to Reguilon’s (and Reguilon’s stats aren’t fantastic to begin with), Emerson is the better option to provide another avenue for the ball to move forward. Hopefully, as Emerson develops, he will add more attacking prowess to his toolbox. We saw a glimpse of that in the Carabao Cup against Burnley when he played a wonderfully weighted cross onto the penalty spot, which Lucas slammed into the net with a bouncing header (and deflection).
So the scales are tipped slightly towards Emerson due to better progression, but let’s take a look at the defensive statistics to see if Tanganga deserves a spot on that basis. After all, this is the defender who helped keep a clean sheet against Man City and kept Sterling in his pocket for the entire match.
Tanganga vs Emerson
PL defensive stats 21/22:
2.0 vs 4.7 Tackles per 90
1.5 vs 2.0 Tackles Won per 90
75% vs 42% success rate
12.4 vs 25.1 Pressures per 90
3.7 vs 7.3 Successful Pressures per 90
30% vs 29% success rate
2.7 vs 1.6 Blocks per 90
2.5 vs 2.7 Interceptions per 90
4.7 vs 3.3 Clearances per 90
While Tanganga is more efficient with his defensive actions, Emerson is notably dominant in the volume of tackles and pressures attempted. In fact, he is 1st and 7th place in the Premier League for tackles and pressures attempted per 90 respectively for players who have played over 270 minutes, whilst Tanganga sits at 95th and 161st for the two metrics.
Even with his significantly lower success rate, Emerson is the 28th best player in the league for tackles won per 90 for players who have played over 270 minutes. This puts him above players like Partey, Vestergaard, Rice and Rodri. Tanganga is relegated to 58th on the list.
As for successful pressures, Tanganga and Emerson have a very similar success rate, but since Emerson has almost double the volume of Tanganga’s attempts, he is the 8th best player in the league for successful pressures per 90, while Tanganga settles for 149th.
This definitely comes as a surprise, as I would have expected Tanganga to be defensively stronger. Perhaps this was the impression I was left with from the three clean sheets at the start of the season. Or maybe it’s a remnant of how he played in the Mourinho era. He has even admitted himself that he would like to continue to progress as a centre-back, as that was the role he played in the academy.
But stats don’t lie. Well, they could be misleading. For a start, Tanganga’s tackle statistics are heavily skewed by the 90 minutes where he was rinsed by Adama Traore over and over again. He registered 0 tackles and only 1 successful pressure during the Wolves match. Also, one could argue that Nuno’s tactics weren’t fully implemented and the team needed time before they could get used to the pressing style in the midfield. But it’s important to note that other Spurs players’ tackling and pressing numbers have remained pretty consistent since the start of the season. And of course, you can’t mention stats without mentioning the sample size. 364 minutes of Premier League action is a hilariously small sample size to be making generalisations with. But this is all we’ve got and it would seem unfair to compare the two defenders using last season’s stats due to different managers, teams and systems being employed.
Emerson’s overwhelming pressing ability makes him the better candidate to suit Nuno’s style of control, pressing in the middle third and showing the ball wide to force a turnover.
So where does that leave Tanganga? He’s not as adept at ball progression and going forward, although he was showing signs of improvement. But he’s also not as strong defensively, particularly in pressing, which is a key component to Nuno’s tactics.
Will he need to leave on a loan to secure first team football for development? That seems like a waste, after a successful season under Mourinho and a couple of lovely performances this year.
Should he fight for that starting right back position? He could certainly improve and try to displace Emerson. But Nuno’s First XI seems set in stone and the B team isn’t doing well enough for Tanganga to have an excellent individual performance to impress the manager.
Or maybe…
I believe that Tanganga, Romero, Skipp, Reguilon, Royal and Ndombele form a sturdy spine for Spurs to build around as they transition to the next cycle. They are also good enough to be regular first team starters. So why not shape the team to suit them? Additionally, this formation mirrors Nuno’s most successful Wolves team, when they claimed the double over Manchester City in 19/20.
Spurs would be able to make use of these players’ best attributes, whilst accommodating for tactical and positional flexibility. Tanganga can still make those runs towards the final third after the ball is turned over in the midfield, alternating attacking positions with Emerson as necessary. Emerson would be freed to cross more and progress play. Reguilon would also be given an additional degree of freedom to use the width to his full advantage and could worry less about having to return back to defend. Romero could push forward as the ball playing defender to draw in the opposition then release those last second passes, again with less to worry about behind him.
Japhet has the foundation to be a fantastic defender and this formation would allow him to continue his development at Spurs in the position that he wants to play with a group of young and talented players.
But of course, I’m not Nuno Espirito Santos. I wish I could grow a beard like that but, alas.
Oh also I can’t decide how Spurs play. So if NES continues to prefer the 4-2-3-1 and keeps the rigid First and B team system going, maybe it’s in Tanganga’s best interest to make a loan move to somewhere else.
I hear Newcastle are looking for defenders. Joel Ward at Palace might need a break too.
Oliver Skipp made his name at Norwich in the Championship, maybe Tanganga could do the same at clubs like Fulham and Bournemouth.
Japhet Tanganga has been a gem, rising out of the academy and putting in solid performances during a tumultuous time at the club. He is also the exact kind of player Spurs should be looking to build around. Young, defensively solid and growing into his attacking play, is homegrown and from the academy.
He needs to play. Somewhere. Somehow.