In many ways, this should have been a perfect game for Spurs. A footballing side with probably only one player who Spurs fans would be happy to see in their team, a side who have never beaten Spurs since being in the premiership. This being Spurs of course, nothing was quite that simple. At the end of 94 rain drenched minutes, as elated as I felt in picking up a crucial three points, I actually felt a bit guilty at mugging Swansea. Enough of that sentimental claptrap! Barked a gruff voice, with a Spanish twang in my head. Almost at that moment, Mauricio Pochettino appeared for his after match interview. He praised the spirit and character of his men for fighting back. This is however the very least he should expect from aside with top four aspirations. It’s all well and good grinding out results and Spurs seem reasonably good at that, especially away from home. But we played the real Swansea but are still waiting for the real Spurs to show up.
The limitations of Kyle Naughton and the recent struggles of Eric Dier has made us miss Kyle Walker even more so it was good to see him start a match for the first time in nine months. It was just as well he has lost none of his pace because Swansea danger man Jefferson Montero asked questions of him all afternoon. Questions he answered reasonably well despite some signs of rustiness. Kyle Walker may not be to everyone’s taste but he remains arguable the quickest right back in the country and that has real value in Spurs side that can be pedestrian at times. At left back Ben Davies had his best game for Spurs signified by a magnificent tackle to deny Wilfred Bony a scoring chance. If he continues to play like that, Danny Rose will struggle to get back in this team. At centre back, Federico Fazio and Jan Vertonghen are probably Spurs best pairing but Bony found space between them too often for comfort.
This is probably down to the midfield organisation which exposes the centre backs too often. While it gratifying to see academy graduates Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb in central midfield, Mason in particular struggled and the game seemed to pass him by. This is Spurs big problem. The lack of a midfield general to set the tempo of Spurs play. No one in has made themselves undropable. Upfront, Harry Kane impressed again as he covered every blade of grass and scored another goal into the bargain. Heaven help us if he got injured. Roberto Soldado had one of those games which have fans tearing their hair out in frustration. Christian Eriksson appears to be gradually approaching his best form again, he has come up with big goals in wins against Everton and Hull and once again, he came up trumps when it looked like we might have to settle for a measly point.
Unusually for Spurs this season, they actually made a quick start and were ahead after only four minutes, courtesy of a strong header from Kane. The worrying thing is that despite controlling the first 20 minutes, few chances were created and Swansea gradually found their way into the game. A typical sluggish start by Spurs, at the start of the second half meant Swansea were level before you could say second half. Thereafter it looked for long spells like Swansea could win it as Spurs only threatened sporadically until Eriksson’s late intervention.
So where are we now? Going into the Christmas fixtures with a different manager for the third December in a row, it is hard to know where we stand. There have been few standout performances this year and yet we are only four points off 4th place. This is because only Chelsea and Manchester City have looked the part this season. Manchester united with six straight wins have created some momentum while the noisy neighbours have a history of sneaking in. While Pochettino needs time, he knows the expectations at White Hart Lane, he knows the premiership and he believes he could deliver which is why he left the relative security of the South coast for the pressure cooker of Spurs. He should know by now who he needs, use the January transfer window to get who he really wants and let’s give this top four a real bash.
I had a spot of nostalgia watching Gareth Bales highlights during yesterday’s Sports personality of the year. It occurred to me that he is not just a Real Madrid player. He is an important player for them. For Spurs he was a colossus and as Liverpool are finding out much to my amusement, you don’t just lose a world class player and match winner, you lose the aura and swagger. That is what leaves you exposed. And to think Southampton thought he would make a decent left back! My wish for Spurs this Christmas is that we find the next Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Jurgen Klinsmann before any one else does. And please sort out the Stadium sharpish!
No comments:
Post a Comment