Remember when we actually used to enjoy playing Manchester City?
Up until 2010 when Abu Dhabi oil money flowed into the Etihad, Spurs would be
quite disappointed if they didn’t get three points against City. Nowadays, we
are just glad to end matches against them with our dignity intact. So much so
that part of the assessment of Pochettino’s first year at Spurs could well be
how badly we lose against last season’s top four teams compared to his recent
predecessors. With that in mind, I greeted the final whistle at the Etihad not
with much wailing and gnashing of teeth like last season, but with a sanguine
acceptance of where Spurs are at right now.
This might sound strange after yet another spanking by City. However,
we need to remember that Spurs are no longer running the same race as Manchester
City’s superstars, a side that scored more than 100 goals last season as they
romped to a second title in three years. The best players will always make the
difference and those of the quality of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Jesus Navas,
the rested Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany are well out of Tottenham’s reach. And
they don’t have Gareth Bale or Luka Modric anymore. Difficult for Spurs fans to
accept but reality until a new stadium and big money is in place.
Spurs coach, Pochettino did not have last year’s shambolic
capitulations on his record and Spurs were not really expected to win
yesterday, so he had some room to experiment. This he did, handing Federico
Fazio his debut in such a fraught game in place of Jan Verthongen, displaying
his continued faith in Ryan Mason and perhaps most surprisingly starting with
Roberto Soldado upfront in place of Adebayor who may have arrived late and leg weary
from the African Championship qualifiers.
The inevitable hysteria over the 4-1 score line rather overlooks
the fact that Spurs actually played reasonably well and while City were the
better side, Spurs, like a brave but outclassed lightweight stubbornly refused to
be put away by their heavyweight opponents. They attacked city with some
creative play and on another day could have scored two or three more goals.
Spurs were also unlucky for City’s first two goals as Frank Lampard was offside
and interfering when Aguero scored the opener while the first of three
penalties awarded to City was extremely harsh as Lampard went to ground far too
easily. To be fair, the penalty awarded to Spurs was dubious. However, a score
line of 2-2 with less than half an hour to go would have tested the nerves of
City and would have made for an interesting finish. As it was, Soldado fluffed
his penalty and less than 10 minutes later, instead of being level at 2-2,
Spurs were 3-1 down, a man down and the match was effectively over as
meaningful contest.
As usual, Hugo Lloris was far too busy for comfort and without
him, Spurs could have conceded more. Fazio had an ok game until he pulled
Aguero back, conceding the game changing penalty and getting sent off for his
troubles. Continental defenders are too quick to pull attackers down and Fazio
will have to take that out of his game. However, he is a big, tough no nonsense
defender and once he settles, should become a commanding presence at the heart
of Spurs’ defence. Younes Kaboul had one of those games that make you question
his worth to Spurs. Danny Rose and Eric Dier, neither of whom are natural full
backs performed gamely enough but were up against some very high calibre
players in David Silva and Jesus Navas. Soldado actually had a decent game
despite his penalty miss and most of the midfield put in a shift. However, Erik
Lamela had a bad day at the office. Despite the final score line, the one-nil
home defeat to West Brom in September remains Spurs’ worst performance this
season by some distance.
Pochettino’s demeanour after the match reflected satisfaction
with the performance if not the results. He knows that Spurs’ fortunes this season will
be decided by their results against the other pretenders, not the top four as
such. Results
have been uninspiring so far, but performances are ever so slowly showing signs
of improvement. It will take more than a year for Pochettino to fully implement
his philosophy on this team. Most fans understand the need for stability and
are willing to be patient. However, Pochettino’s biggest problem is that Southampton,
the club he and half the first team left behind for bigger opportunities are
flying incredibly high and put eight goals past Sunderland yesterday. It shows
that a new manager can make an immediate impact with good buys. He must hope
that their results start to drop soon.
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