Travel savvy Spurs restore confidence with classy win at the Villa

This was no thriller at the Villa, but the Spurs faithful would not mind one bit. AVB’s boys needed a good performance and result after their last outing against West Ham. Aston Villa did not hand Spurs victory on a plate. However, Tottenham never looked like losing this match. The only questions were whether they would score the goals needed given their relatively poor scoring record and whether keeper – sweeper Hugo Lloris would give supporters another heart in mouth moment.

In the circumstances, Andros Townsend (more on him later) rounded off a dream week by scoring direct from a cross and gave a strong all round performance. Roberto Soldado also looked sharper than he has recently as he clinically finished off a slick Spurs move, scoring his first premier league goal from open play in the process. Other players to impress were Kyle Walker who linked well with Townsend down the right flank, Lewis Holtby who was busy in the creative role as Eriksson was left out. Sandro protected his back four with bristling aggression and Paulinho cruised through the game without breaking sweat. It was also good to see Vlad Chirices start a premiership game. Undoubtedly, the Romanian international will get roughed up in the premiership in the coming months as he adapts to the English game, however, given time and space, he has intelligent ball distribution skills that can only enhance Tottenham’s possession play.  

So as we approach the first quarter of an interesting season, Andre Villa Boas, who turned 36 last Thursday, can reflect on the fact that despite defeats to West Ham and Arsenal, his team have made their best start to a premiership season. That start has been necessary because despite being one of the most open seasons in premiership history and some surprising early results, the main protagonists (Manchester united excepted) have moved menacingly to the top of table. No prizes are won in October, but you can put yourself in contention and create good momentum going into November and December.  Spurs have the joint second best defensive record in the premiership. That is a solid foundation and deserves credit. However, they also have the joint fifth worst scoring record in the premiership. That needs to improve as some teams already have a goal difference buffer that is almost worth an extra point and Spurs will probably need to break their premiership points record again to be sure of champions’ league qualification. Still, the squad looks strong, has great potential and there remains much room for optimism.

It’s been a quite remarkable six months in the life of young Andros Townsend.  May 2013 must seem a life time ago.  Back then, he had come back from his ninth loan spell, he was charged by the FA with a breach of betting rules, given a three month ban (suspended till 2016). Aaron Lennon was ahead of him in Spurs first team, Gareth Bale was not going to be sold. He had voluntarily withdrawn from the England under - 21 squad for the ill - fated European championships and he faced a battle just to get back in the under - 21 squad, never mind the senior England squad.

Given the array of midfield talent that pitched up at Tottenham over the summer, Andros had every right to worry about his Tottenham future. However, he has raised his game brilliantly and he is now a realistic contender for a place in the England squad for the world cup in Brazil. For Spurs followers, there is something really heart warming about seeing a proper home grown player (Andros has been with Tottenham since he was eight) coming through the ranks and succeeding at the highest level. His maturity in the spotlight, especially over England Manager, Roy Hodgson’s comments was very impressive. Well done Andros. Long may it continue.

A word on Roy Hodgson, who bravely gave Andros Townsend his big chance against the better judgement of some, including Spurs coach AVB. Roy Hodgson is not racist and there was nothing inappropriate about his comments. He would have made the exact comment if Gareth Bale had been playing instead of Andros Townsend and no one would have batted an eyelid. That settles it for me. I actually find it quite endearing that in the middle of a tense game, Roy Hodgson sought to lighten the mood in the dressing room by joking and Andros Townsend had it right when he stated that he took it as a compliment. He got the context and it should never have even been a story. To paraphrase a legendary sports journalist, ‘enough of that crap. Let’s get on with the football’.

Big Sam Decks Andre the Young with Tactical Masterstroke.

We have had better Sundays at White Hart Lane. Tottenham did not play badly, but losing three nil at home to anybody is an embarrassing score line. However in the midst of the customary wailing and anguished gnashing of teeth that is the lot of a Spurs supporter, after an embarrassing defeat, West Ham deserve credit for the way they set about dismantling their more fancied opponents. Ravel Morrison impressed in a way that bodes well for both West Ham and England. Big Sam Allardyce did a Mourinho and played with no recognised centre forward packing his midfield to deny Spurs time and space. Big Sam has regularly opined that if his name was a more exotic sounding Sam Allardici, he would have a higher profile and bigger clubs chasing him given his achievements. Big Sam is not everyone's cup of tea as a manager but 'the British one' does have his admirers and in his usual understated manner,  he will no doubt use his weekly newspaper column to explain further why his tactical outmanoeuvring of the more celebrated Andre Villas Boas is evidence of his managerial brilliance. Again.

Our Andre and his troops meanwhile must now lick their collective wounds during the international break as the climax of the world cup qualifiers take centre stage for the next two weeks. One of the signs of a great team is its ability to recover from a setback like Sunday's. Spurs must regroup in the way that (through gritted teeth) Arsenal responded after a disastrous home result against Aston Villa back in August. Ironically, Spur’s next match is against Aston Villa.

AVB has much to ponder during the international break. There is no sense of crisis at Spurs, but some amber lights are flickering. In defence, Jan Vertongen seems to be feeling the effects of missing most of pre-season. He is too good a footballer to be suffering second season syndrome, but he just has not been his usual composed self so far this term. Given that he has spent most of his international career at left back and covered the position many times for Ajax, perhaps he should play there in place of the right footed Kyle Naughton while Danny Rose recovers. Kaboul or Chirices can partner Dawson in the centre to give the back four a more natural balance and Vertongen is less exposed as he recovers sharpness.  Someone needs to get in the head of Kyle Walker to rediscover the right back of last season before he suffers the indignity of losing his England squad place to Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson.

In midfield, AVB must hope that Etienne Capoue returns quickly and stays fit for the rest of the season. The man is a beast and Tottenham’s best defensive midfielder. AVB also needs Aaron Lennon fit as an alternative to offer width along with Andros Townsend when the centre is congested. Speaking of Andros Townsend, some West Ham fans chanted, ‘You’re just a cheap Gareth Bale’ every time he got the ball. With no ‘Bale out of Jail Card’ to call on anymore, Townsend is indeed a cheap version (free in fact as he came through the youth system).  He has however progressed a lot over the past year, has put himself on the fringes of the England set up and in time, might just proof a very useful alternative rather than a poor man's Gareth Bale. AVB also needs his midfield to be more adaptable. West Ham disrupted Spurs flow by having an extra man in midfield and rotating forward leading duties, while Spurs still had a back four with no recognised forward to pick up and did not adjust accordingly.  

Attack is the area of most concern. Six league goals is the lowest goals ratio of the top 15 in the premiership. It is simply not good enough in a season when goal difference may decide the fate of teams. As unpalatable as it may be for many Spurs fans who would have been happy to see him sold in the last transfer window, A fit Adebayor with something to proof may be really crucial to our hopes, an effective plan B if you like. It is great that he is back training with the first team and the sooner he comes back, the better Spurs prospects.

In spite of this set back, there are many reasons to be optimistic, Spurs had the joint best defensive record until Sunday and even now still have the third best defensive record despite Sundays’ aberration. The squad looks strong and able to handle a full season’s rigours. In addition, Tottenham have dominated possession in almost every game this season, averaging 58 per cent. A team that keeps the ball longer in theory have a better chance of scoring and winning games. This is really where AVB’s boys are still a work in progress. There are plenty of good footballers at Spurs and in spite of their first really bad result of the season, they’ll be fine.

The Y word. Tottenham fans have done brilliantly to reclaim the term from abusive fans and in so doing, diffuse some of the uncomfortable  tension that often dominate football some football grounds,  Nevertheless I strongly feel that it is time to consign the use of the term to history. To the extent that black footballers would not be expected to call themselves the N word or display shirts showing this on the football pitch, a term, no matter the context, that has no place in mainstream society should not be allowed on the pitch. Ultimately it is a supporter’s prerogative what they call themselves and good luck to the Met Police trying to prosecute. However, if Spurs supporters stopped using the term, it would be easier to identify and prosecute those fans who use the term as an abusive gesture as today’s society is far less tolerant of abuse. Let’s move on. On and off the pitch.