Spurs started the game yesterday with Spurs players making their debut for Tottenham. Vicario, VDV, Udogee and Maddison all started for Spurs and all eyes were on them after the Kane departure. If you saw Spurs in preseason going from a low block under Conte to an all out attacking football under Big Ange it was music to Spurs fans ears when they saw the more attacking line up named against the bees. Son was appointed new captain the day before and Romero and Maddison was given the responsibility of vice captain which was a major sign of intent from the new Spurs manager. The easy thing to do was to give Eric Dier or Ben Davis the captaincy but he went with Son and a newcomer in Maddison and world cup winner Romero too change things up. Dier had taken Spurs down off all his socials after the announcement and he wasn't even named in Big Ange's squad for the Brentford game which was music to the ears of the Spurs faithful. Big Ange liked to play a high line with his Central defenders sprinting back on opposition counter attacks. Spurs have 3 quick Central Defenders. Romero , Davison Sanchez and the new boy VDV. You could tell Dier is down the pecking order and this was the reason that he was not in the squad. Rumour has it there is interest from Saudi Arabia but I think this is just a vicious rumour.
Overall I was happy with the team bar maybe Skipp in for Sarr. I love Sarr and want to see him play but Ange went for Skipp so who am I to argue with this. It was a total different Spurs right from the start as we attacked and attacked. We were not clinical and passes went astray. The new keeper was put under pressure from the home fans whenever the ball strayed near him in a hope he would mess up but in fairness to the young number 1 , he had a good debut. Spurs went 1 nil up early on after a Romero header. He had a clash of heads just before that so Ange took him off as a precaution.
https://twitter.com/MKCOYS/status/1690853657820995585?s=20
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Big Dav replaced him and just like Barcelona a week ago , he had a good game. Spurs were good especially in midfield and defence. van Der Vien looks solid from the start. Udogee the left back looked like he has always played for Spurs. Romero with the new vice captain role might calm down a bit.
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Bissouma was awesome as he was all season. This guy is a class act. Someone on a podcast said he is like a classical street football with a touch of class. Like a Clapham ballerina. Maddison had two assists and what a player he will be when the creases are worked out. What disappointed me was Son and Richarlison. Son still isn't firing and I still think he is playing too wide. He could not get a shot off yesterday as he was too far out. Maybe a rethink to play him in the Centre next game. Richarlison looked off the pace. He should have scored a few times but messed it up. Lack of first team football but he really needs to step up now or Spurs are going to have to bring in a new number 9.
Over all the game finished on a draw and I was happy with the result. We played well and we could have won. It was a great match to watch actually and this is something that has been lacking under Conte and Mourinho. I felt more connected to this team. What Spurs are going to do when Bentancur gets reintroduced to that team. Oh my GAWD. What a midfield we have.
https://twitter.com/mitch_fretton/status/1691002232991350785?s=20
- mitch_fretton
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Another interesting stat is that Spurs had 70% possession yesterday which is more than any other game in their Premiership history which is promising. What I actually thought yesterday is that Brentford were so frustrating playing their low block but then again Spurs have been playing the classic low block for the last two seasons so no wonder why Pep and Klopp get so frustrated with teams trying to nick a goal. I am happy now we are not one of those teams. The team looks really promising and with the Harry Kane drama now over , we can now get on with it but there is an urgent need to offload players. We have a 39 man squad. Arteta said last year a 31 man squad is unmanageable. We have 39 players and 28 of these are going to be unhappy every week so in order to make sure we are not like a Chelsea next season some offloading needs to be done and fast.
United next up. Spurs never beat United but I am confident that Spurs could actually get a result at home against them, They are good but not brilliant and it will be another great game I imagine. Ange is famous for his slow starts and the draw yesterday is a result of that. In his upcoming book it is said that Ange loves this time where he can see his system starting to gel even when the results are not there. Granted this isfine against a team like St Mirren or Aberdeen but when you have United next and Man City a few games later then it may be a steeper learning curve. I am hanging my hat on this guy though. He has navigated stormy waters very admirably over the last two months and it is finally good to see a manager that actually wants to be at Tottenham. A couple more transfers and Tottenham have a serious outfit going on. I am excited. I have zero expectations for this year so anything positive is going to be good. Let's wait and see how this Ange ball turns out but the future is looking brighter even a couple of days after Harry has left.
Goodbye Harry Kane
I knew he was leaving after the Newcastle game. The reporters were hounding him after the dismal 5-1 defeat. And he looked like he wanted to get out there and then, Loris actually did get out there and then by the way. Overall I am disappointed but I am just glad it is not going on for another year. Is he staying or is he going? It was all just a pain in the arse for me. If he doesn't want to be at Tottenham then I am glad he has left personally. No player is bigger than the club. However I hope he does well and wins all around him at Bayern because if anyone deserves it , it is Harry Kane. Sometimes I think the English press underrate Kane. He has been a stellar England captain and one of the best Number 9's ever to grace the pitch. He never gets in trouble, is a model professional and steers clear of the limelight. You have the likes of Balotelli , Pogba and all these pretenders goiong for big money and you look at Kane and think , Bayern have a bargain here. There is never lack of form. Harry is a goal machine. He's the best number 9 in the world. Some Spurs fans are slagging off the German league and Bayern. Lest not forget Bayern won everything in 2020. Everything including the Champions League. They are a top club and with Harry I think they might go far in the Champions League. Tuchel is having a hard time right now. He said sorry to Kane last night for his players performances. That is a first for any manager. But the cream always rises to the top and aside from Pepe, Tuchel is the best manager in world football. So all the best to Harry. He has been Spurs's best player for the last decade. Looking at him in the car arriving in Munich the other day and he look terrified. I actually felt sorry for him more than ever as it brings me back to the time when I was arriving in Germany myself for the first time. I felt that once when I moved to Germany with people speaking a foreign language. But the German people are lovely and very welcoming and he will have the best of times there like I did. Germans are also very funny and have a lovely dry wit about them so I think Harry will get on well there. The Germans have no other sport other than football so they eat sleep and breathe football. So he has no choice but to get on there. But he will. He is a class act.