Pain at the Lane as Liverpool and Suarez Rip Spurs Apart

As John Cleese so memorably said, "It's not the disappointment, it's the hope I can't cope with". Hope and excitement had preceded the start of this game among the Spurs faithful who turned up in their thousands at White Hart Lane. Spurs had recovered reasonably well from the last great thrashing. This was the game that would complete our recovery and set us up for a happy Christmas with winnable games throughout the crucial period. Manchester City even set the mood music by thrashing Arsenal 6 – 3 the previous day. The sight of Jack Wilshere giving the finger and a clearly irate Per Mertersacker berating Mesut Ozil in no uncertain terms for not acknowledging the fans at the end provided an amusing backdrop. Just beat Liverpool, five points behind Arsenal, game on. Simples.

Ninety painful, deflating minutes later, players and fans trudged way, dazed, head dropped and hopes dashed again. Luis Suarez had bitten us where it really hurts (metaphorically this time of course). In truth, from about the 12^th minute, Liverpool had taken control of this game. Raheem Sterling gave Kyle Naughton an absolute roasting on the left flank. It must have come as a relief to him when he was substituted for the second half. Michael Dawson, Etienne Capoue and Kyle Walker probably all wished they were by the end of the game. Such had been the caning. Everyone knew that Liverpool’s Inspiration was Luis Suarez, yet no defender got close to him all afternoon. In midfield, players who on paper looked much better than Liverpool’s midfielders were overrun and overpowered by the intensity and energy of Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson, two players who without being disrespectful do not excite even Liverpool fans.

To compound the mystery for Spurs fans, Adebayor and Benoit Assou-Ekoto tweeted a picture appearing to poke fun at a painful result. No Spurs supporter left White Hart Lane feeling they had just witnessed a great game. Whether you agree with a manager or not, players are employed by clubs and the very least that fans deserve is for players to show they care.  It was crass, disrespectful to teammates and reflects badly on players that haven’t exactly been indispensable. The players that played cannot be accused of not caring, they tried, gave everything and the pain as well as probable embarrassment was obvious at the end.

So where did it all go wrong? Moussa Dembele always looks good on the ball, but was ineffective and simply has not done enough to create any consistent attacking impetus this season. Nacer Chadli arrived at spurs having created the most number of assists in the Dutch first division last season. However, he has hardly shown anything like that form. Aaron Lennon has simply not looked the same player he has been for us. Paulinho had one of his least effective games for Spurs, the game seemed to pass him by and his sending off for a high challenge on Suarez though unfortunate and unintentional was justified and summed up his wretched afternoon. Roberto Soldado had rightly been given the start after his hat trick in midweek. However, Spurs did not have a single shot on target during the entire game. This against a defence featuring prolific own goal scorer Martin Skrtel, a defender still finding his feet in Mohammed Sakho and a full back in Jon Flanagan with only a handful of premiership games to his name. One has to feel sorry for Soldado. He was brought in to score goals. He is not scoring goals, but he is not missing many chances because he hardly gets any.

There is a pattern emerging in Spurs play this season, which is not doing us any favours as the record on one home win in six league games show. The slow build up and possession play is great in continental competition and serves us well in away games. However, the intensity of the premiership demands that we sacrifice a bit of the patient build up and have the confidence to really have a go at visiting teams. Spurs have only showed that in flashes this season and on Sunday, our worst home defeat in 16 years, Liverpool had far too much snap, crackle and pop for Spurs more sedate style. Their energy levels and the confidence in their passing were impressive and Brendan Rodgers and their players deserve credit for their performance.

What Spurs are lacking more than anything is an inspirational leader on the field. Since late 2009, Gareth Bale has not only played consistently well for Spurs, he has been a galvanising influence on the rest of the team. His performances raised the energy and confidence levels of the whole team. Spurs were never out of a game while he was on the field. That, as much as the player himself is what we lost, when he moved to Real Madrid. Liverpool found theirs in Suarez, Arsenal in Ramsey and Ozil this season, Manchester City, well take your pick but you get the picture. Sometimes great managers inspire great teams that lack great, inspirational players. Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson come to mind. Looking around the Spurs dressing room, you see a lot of very good players, but you don’t see a consistent, inspirational match winner. Until this newly assembled team finds its identity and it’s heroes, players who other teams worry about, players who while they are on the pitch, the game is never lost, AVB who is a very good manager, but not yet a great one will have to find a way to inspire great performances from this team. Can he do it?

Speaking of Andre Villas Boas, media speculation on his future will once again intensify. As I mentioned in an earlier post, that is an unfortunate occupational hazard these days and all managers take premier league jobs fully aware of this. The only immunity is winning and winning well. To be fair, AVB accepted full responsibility for the performance. Will Spurs chairman Daniel Levy be patient with a manager who has NEVER managed the same club for two consecutive seasons and give him a chance to get it right or will he cut his losses, admit he made a mistake and pull the plug on “The Project”? The normal rule of business, where Daniel Levy has excelled does not always apply in running a big football club. He must hope his next decision is the right one. AVB must hope he is given the chance to bring his vision of a successful, entertaining Spurs side to life. We poor fans must hope we win the next game. Hope. That word again. So damn positive. So damn painful.