No throne at the Palace
It feels like a waste, right? Losing two points and only gaining the one. On paper, you’d have to be disappointed because out on the field this season Spurs have got the job done against far more impressive opponents. I did predict this would be a banana skin of a game. We didn’t quite fall on our bums but I can’t muster up that much of a complaint about the draw. Sometimes you don’t deserve the win as much as the other team deserved the point.
Before kick-off, Gareth Bale was declared unwell and missing due to a non-COVID related illness and Dele Alli surprisingly made the bench with Carlos Vinícius missing out completely. The first half was very decent on the eye. Both sides countering but Spurs bossing the possession and dare I say swaggering a little with professional assertiveness. We looked confident, strong and enjoyed the tempo we set and controlled.
Enter Vicente Guaita, the Palace keeper, projecting a future haunting that would ghost Spurs out of a win. It started brightly for him with two sharp saves including one from Tanguy Ndombele that looked a near certainty. And then it went to pot, Harry Kane with a long range shot that swerved, with Guaita already going the wrong way. He would re-enter proceedings later on with ample dollops of Spurs related frustration.
We had over 60% of the first half possession, commanding on the ball and incisive with movement, getting the ball forward. A good first half ending with the home side clipping the bar late on.
Then we’re mistreated with the second half.
If the first was a pleasant day, walking in the park, wrapped up nice and warm, the post-break football was like getting pelted by rain whilst struggling to keep hold of your umbrella. The game flipped, not to a degree where Spurs were getting bullied, not at all. I’d actually prefer that sometimes because at least you can say with certainty the opposing team are battering us. This was that passive, non-eventful football we occasional spit out. When the proper variant fails to materialise. It’s more painful watching this because you know we’ve switched off rather than had our lights sparked out.
The tempo had dropped, more fouls were being given away and the play was untidy. Palace had more of the ball and wanted to do more with it. It’s pretty straightforward stuff this. You could see how the game was beginning to shape up. Spurs just defended, reactively. Gio Lo Celso replaced Ndombele, perhaps to muster the desire to get hold of the ball because, I don’t know, if you have the ball you might want to do something with it. That old chestnut.
It’s humorous because at this moment in time (taking in the season thus far), THIS is Spurs not playing well. It’s barely a disaster but it’s also not that effective in protecting a lead or looking to improve the score line.
Spurs kept on losing the ball cheaply in the area ahead of their own penalty box. Zaha and Gio sized up, Palace fluffed a decent chance. This started to smell of the ominous conclusion that we deservedly got.
I’ve noted this before. There is a massive difference between deliberately inviting teams to press and pressure us and then to counter with ruthless calculations and clinical finishing. Compare that with what we got at Palace; which was Spurs not killing the opposing sides buzz by reclaiming the ball and holding onto it for a bit. This is the passive football that remains a flaw. When we are not setting out to counter, we invite punishment. Add to it the unnecessary freekicks we consistently gave away and it turned into a bit of a mess late on.
We all know we can pass the ball in possession. Getting it back off them was the problem.
Eric Dier failed to cleanly connect his head from a free kick, with Palace caught sleeping. Shame that, because we might have got away with it in that moment.
I was neither surprised or upset when we conceded, it was that telegraphed. The 1-1 coming by way of a freekick out wide (shock, horror), the ball finding its way into the space between the keeper and the congested group of players. Hugo Lloris with little chance to defend with his hands.
Okay, so I guess it’s caveat time here. We conceded for the first time in eight hours of football so you have to say we’ve been spoilt. We’ve had it good. This game, out of all the recent matches is the one we probably expected to win and there’s an argument it’s just as important as the performances and results against the teams considered rivals. That winning here is the real difference maker. I hear that. I get that. But in context of the fixtures we’ve played, it isn’t the end of the world. It’s a reminder, a stern shout out from the echoes of complacency that our style of play isn’t perfect and that as much as we adapt and change for opponents - we have to do the basics right too.
In this case - stick your sodding studs on the ball and dictate with more authority.
Or maybe it was just one of those days. We’re allowed to have them. It’s not just about winning pretty and ugly. Sometimes it’s boring and we draw.
Do want to mention this; that extra bit of energy teams find after they’ve been pegged back and concede always does me in. Where does the urgency birth from when delivery was required much earlier?
Post-equaliser, Dele Alli and Ben Davies came on. Dele with an astute bit of defending, nicking the ball off a sweeping counter attack. Then Davies flew in a cross shot that came off the bar, Serge drilling it back in with Kane connecting but somehow Guaita saved it. He’s back for that aforementioned haunting. Then towards the death, Dele was fouled and Dier’s free kick was perfectly placed into the top corner only for the bastard keeper to tip it over. Madness.
It ended with the home side winning back the point but not stealing the other two off Tottenham. Spurs didn’t do enough to deserve the three and got the one for half a days work.
Look, I’m not saying I’m not disappointed. I am. Mainly because a repeat of the first half in the second would have been enough for us to see the game through and win. The reality check is that game management has to be 100% of the 90 minutes. This might include some of that deliberate passive play we’re obviously very good at. But most of the second half was not deliberate. It was a consequence of not doing enough to change the games narrative. Obviously, we can’t always have it our own way. The worst case scenario would be for us to get run ragged but that rarely happens. We lost the two extra points because we dipped and the hosts spiked.
Maybe it really is just one of those blippy days (post Europa), a lull in application off the back of the prior league games and those European fixtures. I don’t think I’m being overly harsh here, just stating what I saw. Good first half, bit rubbish second half but not worryingly so. We have played an abundance of games this season and our win to draw to loss ratio remains mighty impressive. I can’t hate on this Spurs side.
Perhaps this ilk of result is the best medicine to swallow before we have to travel up to Anfield. Liverpool drew 1-1 at Craven Cottage. I guess the same thing applies to them too right? They have to be winning ‘these games’ yadda yadda yadda.
The test for Spurs is how we react and we’ve been brilliant with the learning curve and if Spurs know how to turn up against the bigger sides, then we’ll probably reclaim some of our lost pride in the next game. Which would wipe away the disappointment of the 1-1 at Selhurst Park.
Onwards then. I’ll end on a Twitter rant.
If you’re moaning about our 1-1 draw away to Palace, consider the fact that the worst thing to happen to Spurs this weekend is us staying top of the league.
We can’t win ‘em all. Beat City and the scum, drew against Chelsea. Shame about the Palace result but we got what we deserved, a point. Didn’t do enough to win ugly. This Spurs team don’t f*ck around. They hate dropping points even in games like today. Decent trait. Live, learn, kill.
Here’s the thing. It ain’t easy doing what we’re trying to do when we haven’t really done it before. Expectations shouldn’t be fused with entitlement. Sure, winning would have made us believe a little more. Lots of teams up for it this season. Quality at a level pegging.
It’s probably going to the wire. Let’s make sure we’re there for it.
*Liverpool away won’t decide the title but it might give us that psychological dimension we’ve often failed to experience.
The season starts now.