Kulusevski and Johnson outstanding but four players really poor - Tottenham season player ratings

Tottenham Hotspur have now played 10 games this season in all competitions so it's time to rate the players and Ange Postecoglou's efforts so far.

have put in some strong displays, including a run of five victories on the trot featuring 13 goals scored and just three conceded, but haven't always taken away the result they should have, particularly following Sunday's dreadful second half display at Brighton which came after a fantastic opening 45 minutes at the Amex Stadium.

side have won six of their 10 matches so far, drawn one and lost three. As an international break staple here at football.london, it's time to rate the players and the head coach for the performances so far. Any player who has played less than 90 minutes will simply have a review of their display or displays by their name and as usual, these ratings are more about expectations versus reality for each player rather than a tool to compare them all with.

Let's start with the goalkeepers.

Guglielmo Vicario

On the whole has made a strong start to the season, with three clean sheets to his name from his nine matches but many good saves throughout. He had a couple of wobbles against Brentford and might have done better for Arsenal's winner, but in the main he's been one of Spurs' more consistent players and he's played the most minutes for the team with 810 so far this season. His distribution with his feet has also been excellent on the whole and often helped Spurs get around the opposition press. 8

Fraser Forster

Just the one game against Coventry and he looked shaky with one poor pass early on, a complete mess when he collided with Dragusin when running out and was beaten easily by Thomas-Asante's goal. Dropped a few crosses as well before gathering at the second attempt. Postecoglou hasn't used him since. 3

Pedro Porro

Headed home Spurs' first goal of the season and has brought some really good performances mixed in with some defensively shaky ones. Has played in eight games and his form has earned him a recall to Spain's international squad. He's been one of Tottenham's most important players in building up attacks. Hit an amazing pass that Solanke should have scored from late on against United. 7.5

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Cristian Romero

Has had some good moments, including a thumping header to score against Everton in his 100th game for the club and he was excellent against United and Brentford, while his passing out from the back has been key to getting Spurs up the pitch. However, has switched off a number of times in key moments this season, including at Leicester, against Arsenal and at Brighton on Sunday and has been caught flat-footed in plenty of situations. By his own standards, the World Cup winner has not had the impact he would have wanted this season so far on the whole. 6

Micky van de Ven

Seven appearances for the Dutchman and two fantastic assists for Son and Johnson. The Brighton match was the first occasion when he's looked a bit shaky but otherwise it's been another strong start to a season for the young centre-back. 8

Radu Dragusin

Three starts and four appearances for the 22-year-old Romanian. He was solid against Newcastle and Coventry in the main but made a complete mess in the seventh minute against Qarabag and got himself sent off. Better days will come this season for the centre-back. 4.5

Destiny Udogie

Hadn't played since April, missed most of pre-season and he's looked like a player trying to regain his sharpness since. He's played in nine of the 10 games but his first half at United before going off injured was the only real highlight as he tries to find his rhythm again. Really struggled at Brighton. 5.5

Djed Spence

It's been a really positive reintroduction to life at Spurs for Spence and he should have got more game time. We won't even talk yet about him being left out of the Europa League squad which still makes little sense. He changed the game at Coventry, scoring a good goal, and was excellent in replacing Udogie at United amid another couple of positive cameos from the bench. In terms of his expectations at Spurs for this season when everyone thought he was leaving, it's been a really positive time so far. That's why we've bumped up his rating and you sense the 24-year-old is going to get his first start before too long. 7.5

Ben Davies

Three appearances for the Welshman and he's been out of three matchday squads. Made an important sliding goal-saving block at Coventry after Forster's mess of a run out of goal, was shaky at times against Qarabag and had to move back to centre-back against Qarabag after struggling in the left-back role. 4.5

Archie Gray

We're putting the 18-year-old here because he's played at right-back whenever called up on. Had a lot to deal with at Coventry, worked really hard against Qarabag and was excellent at Ferencvaros. He's got a great engine, terrific technique and tactical intelligence. It would be great to see him used in the midfield at some point. 6

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Pape Matar Sarr

Back-to-back goals in the Europa League and an assist against United, yet Sarr has found his place in the team taken by Kulusevski on the whole. Hasn't hit the heights of last season but he's contributed. 6.5

Yves Bissouma

Suspended for the game at Leicester, but bounced back with a rocket of a shot in off the crossbar for his first official goal for the club against Everton. Was one of Spurs' better players at Newcastle as well, but has found himself to be second choice behind Bentancur. Recent displays when he's started have been decidedly mixed. 6

Rodrigo Bentancur

A tough start to the season for the Uruguayan. He was playing solidly at Leicester before suffering that head injury, he then missed the Everton game through the concussion protocol and came off the bench at Newcastle. However, he was a key part of Spurs' five-game winning run and was particularly excellent against Brentford and United. 7.5

James Maddison

A really strong start to the season with two goals and three assists but also so much work earlier in moves as he's taking up slightly deeper roles while playing in a midfield three with Kulusevski. He's fully fit and it's allowing him to make more of an impact on matches. Vanished in the second half at Brighton but so did everyone else. 8.5

Lucas Bergvall

Still adjusting to the step up to Premier League football. There have been glimpses of just how good he's going to become for Spurs and also moments where you can see where he has to learn and adapt. Was really unfortunate to come off early against Qarabag due to Dragusin's red card and that lack of game time showed as he tired at Ferencvaros. Still enough positives for an 18-year-old making a big jump from Swedish football. 6

Dejan Kulusevski

One of Spurs' best players this season. Has played in plenty of positions but he's excelled in the deeper role in midfield and while he's got a goal and two assists, he's contributed so much more earlier in moves. Full of confidence and his link-up play and strength has been remarkable. Postecoglou believes he's got a huge ceiling in the deeper position. 9

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Wilson Odobert

A promising start to life for the teenager at Tottenham albeit showcasing plenty of threat without the end product yet. The injury at Coventry has been a major blow and he'll provide an important option for Postecoglou when he returns. 6

Son Heung-min

Two goals and two assists for the captain in two excellent performances against Everton and Brentford and you do wonder how many goals he would have got in recent games with Spurs now finding their attacking groove if he had been available following that hamstring problem. Not at his best yet compared to his high standards, but he's still contributed. 7

Timo Werner

The German has been effective in carrying out the basics of Postecoglou wing play in being able to beat his man and pull the ball across. However, he's missed a string of big chances to either score or pick out his target in the box and that will continue to hamper his rating until he starts to contribute in the final third. Did get an assist at Brighton but he has the tools to do much more. 5

Mikey Moore

A really bright full debut against Ferencvaros and was involved in both of Spurs' goals and has appearances in half of Tottenham's games so far this season. Has got 116 minutes to his name across those matches and he'll be starting again within the coming weeks without doubt. It's been a really bright start to the campaign in that respect for that 17-year-old and that's reflected in his mark. 7

Brennan Johnson

Struggled in his first two games before coming to the fore again in an impressive second half at Newcastle, forcing the own goal. Then after a tough day against Arsenal and the subsequent social media abuse, he deactivated his Instagram account and hasn't looked back since with a goal in each of the next six matches. So confident now and he's one of the in-form wingers in the Premier League. Six goals and one forced own goal in 10 appearances and long may it continue. The 23-year-old can still get much better as well. 9

Dominic Solanke

Took a little while to get his sharpness after a pre-season injury, the late summer move to Spurs and then an ankle injury suffered early on at Leicester. He's found his groove now with three goals in as many games before a brilliant first half at Brighton as a creative force, getting an assist and being involved in plenty more with his passing and hold-up play. He's going to be a major player for Tottenham this season. 8

Richarlison

Had a big late chance from Bergvall's free-kick at Leicester but headed it over unmarked and then had a longer cameo against Everton in which he worked hard before getting a muscle injury in training and we haven't seen him since. Just the 25 minutes so far. N/A

Will Lankshear

Made his debut at Ferencvaros and did well in a battling performance. Could have grabbed himself a couple of goals with better connections with the ball. The 19-year-old will get more chances as the season progresses. N/A

And the boss

Ange Postecoglou

Six wins out of the first 10 games for Postecoglou and while the results haven't always shown it, there has been progress made this season. In the Premier League alone, Spurs are the fourth top scorers, have the second highest shots per game behind Manchester City, the fourth highest XG, the second highest possession and third highest pass success rate.

At the other end of the pitch, the Brighton goals were particularly disappointing because on the whole the defending has been far better from Spurs other than the odd individual mistake. They have only conceded the one set-piece goal to Arsenal and scored two themselves from them.

The second half at Brighton will mask it somewhat, but there's more of a complex structure to the team and an understanding of how to play Postecoglou football. The run of five wins with 13 goals scored and three conceded was a real driving force in pushing the season on before those 18 dreadful minutes at Brighton.

The performance at Old Trafford was magnificent, long before the red card and is one that really saw Tottenham rise to the occasion.

That's not to say that it's all been positive. Spurs were wasteful in the final third in three of their opening four games and even in the victories should have scored far more. They are joint top in the Premier League with Arsenal for big chances missed with 18.

The performance against Arsenal was disappointing even though the result was narrow, Spurs were extremely fortunate to get past Coventry in the Carabao Cup and that second half at the Amex Stadium was abysmal, even if it followed one of the best halves of the season so far.

Postecoglou isn't blameless and while he's affected some games with his changes, he's also failed to alter them in others, most notably on Sunday. Having more of his options back, fit and available will help the Australian to make his preferred raft of 60-minute substitutions to keep the energy high.

The decision to leave Spence out of his Europa League squad was also a strange one, especially as he's not playing Forster in the competition.

As part of the overall rebuild, it's been a decent start to the season but it could have been even better for Postecoglou had his team taken more of those many big chances they've created and missed. 7

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