Tag: kane

On Spurs: Oh Gareth, where art thou?

It all seems a like a hazy, distant dream now.

It was only three months ago, where he stood, triumphant, refreshed and relieved to come back to the club where he first made his name. He returned as a conquering hero, with all his fans reliving all the glorious pictures of the past, attempting to recapture even a sliver of the warm feelings he made them feel in those days of yore.

Gareth Bale had returned to Spurs a four time European Cup champion, owner of some of the most spectacular goals in European Cup history, and a bonafide global superstar of first order. With his return, immediately, Spurs’ attack became the envy of world football. Surely, adding Bale to a lineup featuring Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn, Dele Alli, Eric Lamela, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele, gave manager Jose Mourinho a wealth of options that his predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, never had the luxury of even dreaming of.

Yet, nearly three months since Bale returned to Spurs, the Welshman has failed to make any tangible impact on the club, and his merely average performances during this span are starting to create some anxiety over what Spurs actually have underneath the hood.

The mounting stress results from a dreadful week for Spurs, in which they won only one point in three Premier League matches; drawing Crystal Palace 1-1, losing at Liverpool and falling at home to Leicester (2-0). The sequence of bad results saw Spurs plummet from first in the table, to sixth, underlining just how competitive and tight the margins in the Premier League are this season.

Much of Spurs’ early success came from the otherworldly, sheer brilliance of Kane and Son, who combined exceptionally well to take Spurs to the top.

However, over the past week, although the two have scored (Kane against Palace and Son against Liverpool), there has been a slight lack of synchronization and sharpness from the pair. Part of that can be explained by opponents recognizing the dependence of Mourinho on his counter-attack, prompting them to neutralize the transition from the back to the midfield, nullifying opportunities for Kane to drop deep, and distribute for Son. This was evidenced in all three of the matches this past week, most recently with the dodged and determined efforts of Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans to conquer the midfield battle for Leicester.

Yet, in the few goal scoring opportunities that Spurs have managed over the past week, both Kane and Son have more often than not flubbed their chances, and with it, altering the narrative that follows. Against Liverpool, Kane mishit a header from a perfectly placed corner, straight into the ground, rather than at goal. Similarly, against Leicester, moments prior to Serge Aurier’s foul on Wesley Fofana which resulted in a Leicester penalty (and a 1-0 lead), Kane hit a pitch perfect Son corner with his head once again, but this time, well over the Leicester goal. Kane is credited for being one of the most clinical finishers in Europe, but his finishing was left wanting this past week.

Similarly, against Leicester in the first half, Son had a series of opportunities, where he chose to play a cross or head for an opponent, rather than take the prime opportunity for himself, squandering some of the rare dangerous opportunities that Spurs were able create.

Had any of these chances been taken (as they were in earlier matches this season), the story would be different. Yet, when Kane and Son are slightly off, based on Mourinho’s wealth of attacking options, it would be reasonable for others to occasionally take the burden off the sensational duo.

Much of that expectation should fall on Gareth Bale, who even with Spurs covering approximately 40% of his salary, is still the Premier League’s highest weekly earner. Sadly, Bale’s time at Spurs thus far has been unremarkable. He missed the first month of his return, recovering from a slight knee injury, and it feels like he has never fully settled since.

Since coming into the team against West Ham in mid October as a substitute (and watching the Hammers storm back from a 3-0 deficit, to equalize 3-3, in his 18 minutes on the pitch), Bale has only appeared in three Premier League matches (against Brighton, West Brom and Leicester). Although he did score a sitter against Brighton, his impact has been nominal. Bale has done most of his work in the Europa League group stages, where he featured in all six group matches, scoring once (against LASK in Linz), but never playing more than 82 minutes in a match.

Bale’s playing time at Real Madrid was cut short last season, as he gradually fell out of favour with manager Zinedine Zidane. As the club chased down another La Liga title, Bale featured in the team only twice since the return to play following the coronavirus lockdown, with his last action coming on 24 June. Given the long absence from playing top flight football, it was reasonable to expect that Bale would take some time to regain his fitness, especially with trying to acclimatize to a league that plays at a break neck pace like the Premier League.

Though harsh, it is completely fair to say that thus far, Gareth Bale looks merely a shell of the player that absolutely electrified the crowds at White Hart Lane many years ago. With the Wales national team, Bale often appeared like an all conquering, all action hero, involved in all phases of the game. His performance at Euro 2016 was scintillating, out of this world, as he guided his small country to the semi-finals of the competition.

Increasingly, in his return, Bale looks isolated on the right wing, seemingly out of sync with the rest of the midfield. In general, he looks far too languid, and bereft of the explosive thrust that marked his game during his first spell at Spurs. Perhaps at age 31, our expectations of him rampaging down the right flank were miscalculated. Perhaps, his history of muscle injuries have created a sense of hesitation and tentativeness, which has robbed him of his attacking flair.

Indeed, Mourinho has preferred Steven Bergwijn and occasionally Lucas Moura, to play in Premier League matches since Bale’s arrival. This season has brought a greater buy in of Mourinho’s tactics by the team. Over this time, it has become clear that much of his defensive philosophies require attacking players to track back and contribute to the defensive phase. This has been of paramount importance as Spurs now have attacking fullbacks on both flanks.

Over recent weeks, it has been Bergwijn who has demonstrated the requisite work rate and commitment to defensive duties, providing reinforcement for Serge Aurier at right back, while still having the pace to burst out on attack during the counter-attacking phase. Son Heung-min has also provided a similar service to help support Sergio Reguilon on the opposite side. Until now, Bale has yet to show Mourinho the level of fitness, pace and defensive acumen that he expects of his wingers, to earn a spot in his starting XI, week in and week out.

Against Leicester, after trailing 1-0 at the half, Mourinho brought on Bale to change the complexion of the game, substituting him on for Spurs’ creative spark, Tanguy Ndombele. It was quite unfortunate that mere minutes after that switch, the other creative spark, Giovani Lo Celso was injured with a muscle strain, and also had to be substituted (for Lucas Moura). Within such a short period of time, Spurs were without two of their most creative players, who could unlock a defense, and find space in contexts devoid of it.

The once feared trio of Son, Kane and Bale failed to make an impression, their play so disjointed, so static, so listless, and Leicester gradually took over the match. It truly was no contest at the end.

Given the wealth of attacking options that Mourinho has at his disposal, it is unfair to expect Kane and Son to provide all the offensive impulses for Spurs going forward. Yet as this season has progressed, it appears that without their contributions, the rest of the team has been unable to provide a similar lift.

Counting out Gareth Bale and Spurs now seems somewhat rash, and it does not appear that anybody is keen to partake in that, considering how tight the Premier League is at the moment. But for Bale to maintain the sheen of genius and upkeep the striking legacy that he left in his first spell, it would serve him well to find, if only a mere glimpse, of what made him special all those years ago.

If Bale can find that quality, and ultimately contribute towards a veritable title challenge for Spurs, perhaps that dream can last just a little bit longer.

Jaideep Kanungo

On Spurs: Disappointment and 0 points after a top of the table clash

Moments after the final whistle of Tottenham’s 2-1 heartbreaking defeat to Liverpool at Anfield tonight, the cameras panned to the ritualistic handshakes between Jose Mourinho and Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp. It initially appeared to be a civil exchange, but clearly Mourinho had said something inciteful, which caused Klopp to look at him with a toothy grin of disbelief.

After the match, it was revealed that Mourinho had told Klopp that “the better team had lost.”

Although the run of play, the possession dominance (76% v 24%) and shots on target count (11 v 2) all favoured Liverpool in the end, from a Spurs perspective, it felt hard-done by not coming out of that match with at least a draw, if not with complete victory.

It was clear to anyone that had watched Tottenham this season, that Mourinho would set Spurs up in this defensive, low-block posture, trying to wait for Liverpool to lose possession, and then marching up the pitch with explosive and clinical counterattacks. It was entirely expected that Liverpool would win the bulk of possession, take the majority of shots (most of which being low percentage in nature), and the match played out almost exactly to Mourinho’s best laid plans.

For much of the first half, Liverpool comfortably hemmed Spurs in their own end. Spurs’ back line was under significant pressure, and failed to provide any service to either Son Heung-min or Harry Kane in the few flits of possession. After a series of grazing Liverpool shots which were comfortably stopped by Hugo Lloris, in the 26th minute, it was Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who pounced on an errant clearance at the edge of the box, and took a dangerous shot which took a slight deflection off Toby Alderweireld, and floated over a frozen Lloris. The Kop celebrated in delight. Advantage Liverpool.

In the brief moments Spurs did win the ball after the Salah goal, Liverpool harangued Spurs’ backline with its usual ferocity. On one occasion, Serge Aurier was guilty of giving the ball straight back to Mané, to recycle a sequence of possession for the Reds, and Trent Alexander-Arnold had his way, with an audacious nutmeg of Son. Everything seemed to be going well for the defending champions, and the Anfield crowd, all kept in the Kop end, were in their usual rapturous delight.

Spurs were able to release some of the fizz from the can in the 33rd minute. The equalizer came from a goal kick, that was quickly taken, and retrieved by Giovani Lo Celso in midfield. Lo Celso played an excellent through ball to Son on the left flank, and he exploded past Liverpool’s back line and hit a tidy right foot past the on-rushing Liverpool keeper, Alisson Becker. It was a textbook example of ” route one football,” and in a match where Spurs simply could not hold onto the ball, it was a brilliant goal that brought them back into the game.

While the first half was decidedly one sided, and Spurs managed only two counter attacking opportunities, where Spurs feel hard done by the end result, is that in the second half, they missed a series of high quality scoring opportunities. Of note, straight after the restart, Alderweireld launched Bergwijn on an attack down the left flank. On another day, Bergwijn would have finished, but sadly today, he fired well wide of goal. The look of regret was painted on his face, as if he sensed that such a glorious opportunity would not come again against such a high quality opponent.

As Spurs continued to valiantly defend, Bergwijn did indeed get another opportunity to score. This time, in the 63rd minute, Kane headed a goal kick onto Son, who flicked onto Bergwijn. With time, space, and his head up, Bergwijn hit a shot which incredibly went off the far post. That should have put Spurs up. While that was easily the best chance to go ahead, the next best chance came seconds later, when a Spurs’ corner found its way onto the head of an unmarked Harry Kane. Rather than hit it convincingly, it glanced off Kane’s head, took a heavy bounce on the grass, before being calmly collected by Alisson. Back to back chances, gone in an instant, nothing in hand.

Liverpool continued to turn the screw, ratcheting up the pressure, but Spurs generally coped with this tension well. The front three of Liverpool of Mané, Firmino and Salah were frenetic in their movement and danger. Most impressive of the three was the Senegalese Mané, who had a catalogue of turns, flicks and shots, but who was largely contained by his Ivorian rival, Serge Aurier.

Kane, who had missed his golden opportunity minutes earlier, like Bergwijn had a chance at redemption. He brought down an Alderweireld ball in the 79th minute, and even with seemingly endless time and space, he seemed to hesitate (possibly because he may have brought down the ball with his arm, or possibly because he could not believe the fortune that allowed him to be in such a wide open position, without being offside), and mishit the ball. Once again, for the fourth time in a half-hour, chance gone.

Spurs genuinely had a constellation of incredible opportunities, all flubbed, and so in the 90th minute when Firmino was first to the ball on an Andy Robertson corner, and placed a well timed and placed header past Lloris, it all felt slightly heartbreaking and unfair. They defended generally well, Aurier, Ben Davies, Dier and Alderweireld had been brave and overall, solid. Hojbjerg and Sissoko were exemplary in their reinforcement. All the attacking players made commendable defensive contributions. Yet, Liverpool took their chances, while Spurs misfired on theirs.

Mourinho’s quip to Klopp, that “the better team had lost” may seem petulant, and out of touch with reality to observers that looked at the box score, and saw the one sided possession and shot totals. Yet, for nearly the entire second half, Spurs had the growing belief that they could indeed eek this match out, and create a gap at the top of the table. The 90th minute winner popped that bubble.

To walk away from Anfield with a point would have been acceptable. For Spurs to leave with nothing from that brave match, to lose their place at the top of the Premier League table, it all feels slightly empty.

Jaideep Kanungo

In a strange year, Spurs are on top of the league

Much has changed since my last correspondence on this mostly deserted, infrequently visited, uninspiring looking website.

Most strikingly, our understanding of the planet has been challenged, as a ‘once in a century’ pandemic has wreaked havoc on the world’s health and economies, and has thrust a spotlight on the range of social inequalities that many have ignored for far too long. In football land, the once antiquated, much maligned Jose Mourinho is now manager of Tottenham Hotspur, and against a backdrop of trendy pressing and high-line rivals, Spurs find themselves tied atop the Premier League table after eleven matches played in this most unusual 2020-21 season.

Many other excellent writers (namely Charlie Eccleshare, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Michael Cox of The Athletic, David Hytner and Jonathan Liew of The Guardian) have contributed exhaustive pieces for the reasons for why Spurs are top of the Premier League table for the first time since August 2014. In an effort to get back into writing, I will provide a succinct explanation, with hopefully more regular pieces to follow in the coming weeks and months:

Trusting the Manager

Undoubtedly, the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019, was a jolt to anyone associated with the club. In his five full seasons at Spurs, Pochettino became a legendary manager, imposing an attractive style of football, developing several youngsters into star-calibre players, and taking the club to four consecutive ‘top 4’ finishes in the Premier League. His crowning achievement was leading Spurs to an unlikely Champions League Final appearance in 2019.

Unfortunately, during the peak of Pochettino’s era, as the club made the move from White Hart Lane to the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium (with a prolonged, inconvenient sojourn at Wembley Stadium), for a two year period, Spurs failed to invest in new players for their manager. Even though the 2019 summer transfer window brought new midfielders Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso to the club, the rest of the squad had grown old together and had become stale. Pochettino’s high energy system placed extreme physical demands on his players, that by the end, many likely felt burned out after years and years of his training methods (it is somewhat surprising to see that in the 18 month period after the run to the Champions League Final, four significant players (Danny Rose, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen (at Inter Milan) and Fernando Llorente (at Napoli) no longer play regular, first team football) Through the early fall of 2019, results petered out and Pochettino became increasingly irascible and without an answer for his team’s mounting woes.

His sacking was an emotional blow for Spurs’ supporters, who experienced such heights under the Argentine manager (rivals will gleefully point to an empty trophy case), and the feelings of ill-will were further compounded when chairman Daniel Levy appointed Jose Mourinho as manager. Mourinho was loathed by a large segment of Tottenham supporters, from his tenure managing rivals Chelsea and most recently Manchester United, where he spectacularly flamed out with the club’s supporters and some star players. It became a genuine talking point in online forums, about what was more dour, Mourinho’s tactics, or his mood on any given day.

Mourinho’s first several months at Spurs were a mixed bag, as his footballing philosophy could not be more different to that of his predecessor. His job was made more difficult with significant injuries to his stars, Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min. Before football shut down in mid March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Spurs had fizzled out of the FA Cup in penalties to Norwich, were rendered impotent in the Champions League last 16 to RB Leipzig and were likely going to plummet down the Premier League table as well.

However, the three month lockdown on football, allowed Mourinho learn the idiosyncrasies of his squad, provided him the opportunity to indoctrinate them on his tactics, and allowed his star players to regain their fitness. With both Son and Kane fully fit, Spurs managed to claim points in all but two of their final nine matches, and finish a respectable sixth in the Premier League (Spurs had been 14th when he took over). His players were starting to buy in to his message, and even a malcontent like Tanguy Ndombele (the club’s most expensive transfer acquisition), who once appeared to be a lost cause and in the transfer heap, has rediscovered his joy and purpose.

Learning the Tactics

Over time, Mourinho has come to learn all the gadgets on his dashboard, and has had the opportunity to impose his tactical vision onto Spurs.

Of note, Mourinho has found confidence in his back line, which has been bolstered by resurgent performances from Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld. While both players lack the pace and nimble footwork of a modern centreback, they make up for it with their excellent football intelligence, and extremely well timed challenges. Spurs also now have three dynamic, roving full backs in Sergio Reguilon (left back), Matt Doherty (right back) and Serge Aurier (right back). Last season, following the transfer of Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid, full back was a position of weakness for Spurs, with Ben Davies and Serge Aurier being the only consistent first team regulars (Japhet Tanganga filled the role admirably in spot duty, and Ryan Sessegnon and Kyle Walker-Peters proved to be too raw for full time duties). Mourinho felt comfortable playing a lopsided fullback system, where Ben Davies (left back) would remain deep and static (forming a back 3 in attack), allowing Aurier to roam forward and play as a right wing back, providing overlaps and crosses. This required Mousa Sissoko to drop back from his central midfield duties and occupy the right back role when Aurier was caught high up the pitch.

This season, with two roaming full backs, Spurs have been able to drop Sissoko and the impressive Danish central midfielder, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg into the back line to provide further reinforcement (Michael Cox has pointed out that against Chelsea, this took on the shape of a back 6). Højbjerg has been a revelation for Spurs this season, playing as a classic ball-winning, box to box central midfielder, the type that Mourinho had in his disposal in his previous table topping clubs. After defeating Southampton (at St. Mary’s) 5-2 and Manchester United (at Old Trafford) 6-1, where Spurs exposed the opposition high-lines and erratic defending, they have felt more comfortable conceding possession and playing Mourinho’s classic low-block shape for the bulk of their matches.

This structure has proven to be extremely effective. Thus far, after 11 matches, Spurs have conceded just nine goals, representing, for the moment, the best defense in the league. Impressively, in Spurs’ last three matches in a difficult series of fixtures, at home to Manchester City, at home to Chelsea, and at home to Arsenal, they did not concede a goal. Impressive stuff for a team that was hemorrhaging goals against toward the end of the Pochettino era.

Of course, low-block defensive football alone cannot win football matches consistently. Spurs have benefitted from explosive counter attacking options, led by the intelligence, skill and graft of their leader, Harry Kane, and the blinding pace and sublime clinical finishing of Son Heung-Min.

Whereas in previous seasons, Kane spent much of his time in opposition boxes, terrorizing defenders, playing more as a classic number 9, over the last year under Mourinho, Kane has evolved into a more complete player, and plays more as a number 10, who is involved in all facets of the game. He is often the player that clears balls out of his own box on opposition corners and has shown an incredible work rate, building on Mourinho’s tenet of having his attacking players involved in the defensive phase.

Kane’s game appears more complete this year, as he is often found in midfield areas bringing down balls from Dier or Alderweireld, briefly holding up the play, allowing Son to overlap him, and sending him perfectly placed and weighted passes into space behind opposition defenders. This simple, yet effective tactic has yielded superlative results, and remains largely unplayable (Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka were the most recent victims, in the North London derby). After 11 matches, Son is on 10 goals (second in the league to Dominic Calvert-Lewin) and 3 assists, while Kane is on 8 goals and an eye-popping 10 assists (first in the league).

Having Squad Depth

Unlike under the final month of the Pochettino era, Mourinho has already earned the trust of a fawning chairman Levy, and has received greater investment in the squad. In addition to Doherty, Reguilon and Højbjerg, Spurs reinforced at centre forward with Carlos Vinicius (from Benfica), who has shown a touch of skill and pace in his Europa League duties, and centre back Joe Rodon (from Swansea). All of these new faces have blended in well at Spurs, and provides Mourinho with a veritable list of options, as the fixtures pile up in the coming month. This is true, without having even mentioned the return of Spurs’ progigal son, Gareth Bale, who came to Spurs as a raw, string bean 18 year old in 2007 from Southampton, and left six years later to Real Madrid as a fully developed world beater. Four Champions League titles on, Bale is back at Spurs (on loan, as he had not been able to get into the Madrid side, and quarreled with his manager Zinedine Zidane) with his smile intact, and his mood apparently lifted.

Curiously, Bale has yet to settle fully on the pitch, missing the first month due to a muscle injury, and only really appearing in Europa League matches, and occasional Premier League substitute appearances. Although he has scored twice, he has looked devoid of the thrust that defined his game during the apotheosis of his Spurs career. Thus far, he also does not appear to have the fitness to perform the level of defensive commitment that Mourinho seeks in his wingers (and what he has unlocked in Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura, who appear to be getting more Premier League looks).

Spurs overall look to be on the up after eleven matches. Too much football remains to make definitive conclusions, but reassuringly for us famished supporters, Mourinho appears to have bought the trust of his players, instilled them with his philosophies, unlocked the world class potential of Kane and Son, and has a bench full of hungry and committed players who will likely push their rivals to the end.

It really has been a gruesome year, but football once again reminds us, that there may be light at the end of the tunnel after all.

Jaideep Kanungo