David JamesStanding in unison for a rendition of when the spurs go marching in was ironic considering the Tottenham players walked sheepishly in after surrendering a one nil lead on Thursday. Against Besiktas they led through a Harry Kane strike, only to see Demba Ba level the tie after Vlad Chiriches handled in the penalty area.
It was all too familiar for the North London club under Mauricio Pochettino, who are embracing a new philosophy and era. They stuttered and looked tired towards the latter stages of the match, which is no coincidence to Besiktas cavalier approach to the last five minutes. What was encouraging and there were positives, is that Spurs tried to pass the ball. Ben Davies is the modern day full back that over laps Paulinho to good effect. However he must work on his end product because he regularly got to the byline and scooped the ball either into touch or at the first defender. Likewise Paulinho could support the Welshman more and not leave him option less in his stride forward.
Against Nottingham Forest it was Fazio that looked suspect. This time it was his partner in defence, Vlad Chiriches, that was found wanting in several one on one duals with Demba Ba. Grappling and desperately trying to keep tight to the former Chelsea player, the Serb looked very unconvincing.
In the middle of the park, Bentaleb has impressed me for Spurs and has proved he is going to be a useful player. Powerful, vocal and a good engine are the words I would use to describe him. Stambouli was efficient if unspectacular and grew in confidence as the match went on. It is just a shame that Paulinho offers so little to the play. He plays stray passes and doesn’t offer anything to Tottenham on current form.
Based on this, I would play Dembele in an offensive midfield role with Chadli, Stambouli, Bentaleb and Townsend around him. Chadli’s goal at the Emirates was reward for a surge in form. He can be skillful and strike a lethal shot when he is in this vain of form so expect more goals to follow. Lamela had a good pre season and will need to have his own emirates moment if he is to displace the fit again Townsend and Chadli.
The most impressive player for Tottenham according to what I have seen of them lately is Harry Kane. He makes intelligent runs and has a turn of pace to take players away from him, supporting the team. He also chips in with goals and will be a prominent figure for England in the future.
Watching from the stands, Franco Baldini was pictured alongside Daniel Levy. The Italian may have been left cursing a lack of interest in Demba Ba on his performance at White Hart Lane. He was a throne to a Spurs side that couldn’t live with his agility and off the ball running. Would Chelsea have sold to Spurs? answers on a postcard folks as I hazard to guess they wouldn’t although a player of this ilk would be splendid. Adebayor is still very able to score a flurry of goals, yet a reliance on a player that isn’t at optimum level is self destructive.
Whatever way you look at it, Soldado has and is likely to continue flopping in England. Come January one suspects that Tottenham may move again for Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez and this would be a very astute buy. He is fast, can hold the ball up, scored more goals than Lambert and is young. Oh and he is English so he will help the home grown ruling that club’s will need to abide by in future.
English Premier League
| Home | Away | |||||
| P | GD | Pt | Res | Res | ||
| 1 | Chelsea | 6 | +12 | 16 | 01.01 | 03.12 |
| 2 | Southampton | 6 | +7 | 13 | 05.10 | 25.04 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 6 | +5 | 11 | 02.05 | 18.10 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 6 | +4 | 10 | 07.02 | D1-1 |
| 5 | Swansea City | 6 | +2 | 10 | 04.03 | 13.12 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 6 | -3 | 10 | 11.04 | 02.11 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 6 | +2 | 8 | 28.12 | 14.03 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | +1 | 8 | ||
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 6 | 0 | 8 | 06.12 | 10.01 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 6 | 0 | 8 | L0-1 | 31.01 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 6 | 0 | 8 | 09.11 | 09.05 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 6 | -1 | 8 | 21.03 | 26.12 |
| 13 | West Ham United | 6 | 0 | 7 | 21.02 | W1-0 |
| 14 | Liverpool | 6 | -1 | 7 | L0-3 | 10.02 |
| 15 | Everton | 6 | -2 | 6 | 30.11 | 24.05 |
| 16 | Hull City | 6 | -2 | 6 | 16.05 | 23.11 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 6 | -1 | 5 | 17.01 | D2-2 |
| 18 | Queens Park Rangers | 6 | -9 | 4 | W4-0 | 28.02 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 6 | -7 | 3 | 26.10 | 18.04 |
| 20 | Burnley | 6 | -7 | 3 | 20.12 | 04.04 |
| League Matches Only | |||
| Index / Trend | 905 |  -6 |
|
 |
Full | Home | Away |
| League Record | |||
| Rank | 8th | 13th | 7th |
| Played | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Wins % | 33% | 33% | 33% |
| Draws % | 33% | 0% | 67% |
| Losses % | 33% | 67% | 0% |
| Current Form (6 games) | |||
| Rank | 8th | 13th | 7th |
| Record (W-D-L) | 2-2-2 | 1-0-2 | 1-2-0 |
| Goals (F-A) | 8-7 | 4-4 | 4-3 |
| Attack | |||
| Rank | 11th | 10th | 9th |
| Average goals | 1.33 | 1.33 | 1.33 |
| Failed to score % | 33% | 67% | 0% |
| Since FtS | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Defence | |||
| Rank | 5th | 12th | 1st |
| Average goals | 1.17 | 1.33 | 1.00 |
| Clean sheets % | 33% | 33% | 33% |
| Current CS | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals Supremacy | |||
| Rank | 7th | 9th | 6th |
| Avg supremacy | +0.17 | 0.00 | +0.33 |
| Total Goals | |||
| Rank | 13th | 10th | 13th |
| Avg total goals | 2.50 | 2.67 | 2.33 |
| Under 2.5 gls % | 50% | 33% | 67% |
| Over 2.5 gls % | 50% | 67% | 33% |
| Current Sequence Summary | |||
| Full | drew last game, w/o win in last 4 |
||
| Home | lost last 2 | ||
| Away | drew last 2, unbeaten in last 3 |
||
| Season Longest Sequences | |||
| W-D-L | 2-1-1 | 1-0-2 | 1-2-0 |
| w/o Loss-w/o Win | 2-4 | 1-2 | 3-2 |
| Score Distribution | |||
| Most common | W1-0 D1-1 D2-2 L0-1 L0-3 |
L0-1 L0-3 |
W1-0 D1-1 D2-2 |
| Occurence % | 17% | 33% | 33% |
| League Matches Only | |||