Three Point Pain
Tottenham Hotspur win a football match. Don't hit the refresh button, there are no errors on this page. We've played five games and can finally celebrate thanks to a lovely sweeping counter attack with Ryan Mason marauding through to slot the ball away. A majestic ten pass move that delivered a finish the movement deserved. Erik Lamela paying back his transfer fee one assist at a time.
It was not for the want of trying, Spurs finally rewarded for their untidy endeavour. The type that isn't wholly entertaining or fluid. That ruthless end product has eluded us. We've created lots of opportunities throughout the first month and bit but it's been far from clinical. We are desperate for an injection of pace when we collect the ball and push forward. Leadership is still lagging and our shape is like a half-eaten jelly-baby...often headless.
Against Sunderland we finally saw a glimpse of light. Even if Mauricio Pochettino's famed 'philosophy' remains a phantom, at the very least we avoided the psychological pain of dropping more points by stealing in with the solitary goal. We all know how it works. Another winless game and confidence can be drained, the supporters get more aggressive with their disdain and just give up and look towards the chairman they malign to sack and recruit the next victim. We won. It's fuel for the team to look ahead to the next one.
It might remain a frustrating, laborious experience watching Spurs but that's our reality. It's been our reality for a while. We're currently hard pressed to see the refined style we lust for. So there's no harm waiting to see how this attempt to break into expressive glory pans out.
Clinton N'jie will offer more pace, something Andros Townsend gave us when he came on. Son Heung-min will settle far quicker into the tempo of the league and influence more than so many of the players we've said goodbye to over the summer. Harry Kane still hasn't scored for Spurs but there's no crisis of faith. Danny Rose will give us that missing width on the overlap. The enthusiasm and energy of Dele Alli will at the very least offer something fresh. Kudos also to the lad Woodwork with some great positioning at the back putting in a pretty solid performance, twice making sure Sunderland didn't score.
The question of leadership still remains key. The fixture list (daunting in places) is about to churn out games thick and fast which might be a good thing to aid us with building momentum in our application. Rotating could also produce healthy competition for places.
Although I'm accepting of the points, although the game was at times lifeless, we got better in the latter stages. We should have scored more than one. Could have conceded a couple too. If you look back on the chances not taken and the costly defensive lapses in prior games - even though we continue to struggle for identity, we're not doing that badly. We're just not doing that great either. We have to stop making hard work of something that really should come to us naturally.
Extra blurb:
He's gone. Emmaunel Adebayor, the striker that seemed to be on a perpetual spiritual strike has departed the club by mutual consent. Personal problems aside, even when he played he only played in patches of form. So much talent yet so very little application over the course of a full season and his time at Spurs. Or any club for that matter.
I'm disappointed that he turned out to be a disappointment even though I knew he'd be disappointing.