Although there was another change of manager, the effect of changing managers like changing knives did not happen at Tottenham.
Defensively proof of this, Tottenham have conceded six goals in their last two games, leaving them with a record of one draw and one defeat after scoring five.
In a way, if you add the eight goals conceded in Stellini's last two games, the defensive end can no longer be rotten.
Based on this situation, Mason began to make a little adjustment on the basis of the back three, which was reflected in the starting level, that is, Dell, who has been poor recently, has been brought out 11 men.
Obviously, this is a pretty good adjustment.
After the opening, Tottenham's position was worth playing.
When there is the ball, Polo will still stand on the right sideline, and Emerson behind him will not step in from him, so the overall idea is still a three-back:
But when off the ball, Polo's defensive duties are not fixed, sometimes on Emerson's side, sometimes in front of Emerson:
So in this game, Tottenham have changed a lot at the personnel level, but at the tactical level, it is basically the idea of the original three-back system, but it is not as rigid in the defensive position as in the past, and the defensive duties of the wingback will be more flexible.
However, just at the personnel level, the improvement of Tottenham's defence is obvious.
There is no Dale on the guard line, but with Emerson, the mobility of the entire guard line has been greatly improved, especially Emerson's strong Zaha against Crystal Palace, and it is important to get around in the first step:
Emerson as a full-back, such a front top should be, but the central defender changed from Dale to Romero, which means that there are no sluggish, bulky singles in the defensive line.
So just by changing to this point, Mason's adjustment is very successful, and the young coach is still very rich in tactics.
Of course, Polo and Emerson on the right side of the defensive line have limited understanding, and the latter is not familiar with the position of full-back, and it is normal to be occasionally punched in the ribs by Crystal Palace, and it is completely acceptable without causing greater danger:
With the improvement of the defensive line, Tottenham hope to improve from the back to the front.
In addition to the back line, Tottenham Hotspur have some back-four moments, which has made some changes in the position of the front court, such as Son Heung-min falling more on the wing when off the ball, Kane and Richarlison forming a double forward:
This means that the right rib does not have a natural contact point, which needs to be provided by the player, and when Son Heung-min moves from the wing to the middle, Kane also needs to retreat to make room and provide the midfield reception.
This series of mobile requirements has caused some discomfort in Tottenham's midfield operation, so in the first half, Tottenham's offensive efficiency is relatively average, and when Kane has a chance to play, Tottenham's attack can form some threats:
In addition, Son Heung-min's catch between the two lines also brought out a threatening attack:
It wasn't until near the end of the first half that Tottenham scored, again with Kane receiving the ball in the open space and connecting with a cross from Polo on the right, which was broken by Kane:
Although the performance on the offensive end is average, everything always has to be done step by step.
At halftime, Mason should have mentioned the organization of the midfield, and also appropriately increased the intensity of the backcourt players' participation in the attack, such as Emerson can participate in the attack at the right time:
But he was immediately beaten back by Zaha:
Therefore, Tottenham Hotspur still can't rashly change back to the back four in a short time, the risk is still very large, as for a single game, if the defensive intensity can be maintained, just maintain it.
After all, after Crystal Palace invested more manpower and energy, Tottenham Hotspur can also threaten their opponents with counterattacks:
Many times, such a performance is enough to win the game.
Although the quality of the game has been a bit ugly in the final stage, and Tottenham Hotspur has also been under a lot of pressure, keeping a clean sheet at home is already a great improvement for Tottenham, who previously defended sparsely.
This progress is obviously on Mason's head.
In this game, Tottenham's system changes are not too big, but the personnel changes on the defensive end have significantly improved Tottenham's defensive intensity, and Emerson's single point against Zaha has effectively reduced the offensive efficiency formed by him on Crystal Palace's side:
Of course, there have been some line and organisational problems on the midfield side due to changes in personnel and positions up front, but for Tottenham at this stage, defensive improvement is the most important.
Don't concede so much so that if you score a goal you can hope to win.
From this point of view, Mason does have something in his head, and so many years of teaching assistants have not been in vain. Regardless of the future, at least the few games remaining, Tottenham Hotspur can hope to end the season with better performances.
At least in the media, Mason deserves to be included in the official manager's list.