Time is one thing Ryan Mason and his Tottenham team had on their hands leading up to Saturday's crucial 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Appointed in the hotseat three days before their draw against Manchester United, the 31-year-old has alluded to a lack of quality time on the training pitch with his squad in a number of his press conferences since taking on the position.
With no midweek fixtures following last weekend's agonising stoppage-time defeat away at Liverpool, Mason had a full week with his players at Hotspur Way and that, as a result, allowed him to implement his own system to take on the Eagles. Bringing Emerson Royal into the team on his return from injury as well as Clement Lenglet and Richarlison, Mason's setup was a talking point ahead of the match, with question marks over Emerson's position in the team and that of Pedro Porro.
Having previously opted for a back four in his time in charge of the team two years ago, Mason's decision against Crystal Palace was to line up in a 4-4-2 formation out of possession before then switching to the usual 3-4-3 when they were on the ball. Emerson's role in the Tottenham team was at right-back, with the player then shifting across to right-sided centre-back in possession to allow Ben Davies to push forward and operate as a left wing-back.
