A Walk in the Park at the Potteries

No match should be considered a 3 point forgone conclusion, but with Stoke City planted at the bottom of the league in its opening 3 games and a team that Spurs comprehensively beat at the end of last season, there was no other expectation than a victory - anything less would set off inquests about Tottenham's character as a team.

That character was tested in an end of season meltdown at Chelsea and then an embarrassing 5-1mauling by already relegated Newcastle United.  As Spurs walked to a 4-0 victory today, the real question was how well the new players are fitting into the team, and an opportunity for Spurs striker Harry Kane to break his run of poor form lately.

Kane duly obliged by kicking off his scoring for this season, and this was a desired outcome. Kane is getting tagged as a slow starter, but his slow start last year, when he scored only 1 goal in the opening two months, still saw him end the season as the leagues top scorer.  When he was substituted by new striking recruit Janssen, it was a missed opportunity for Janssen to open his scoring account as well, and if anything Janssen needs his first goal far more than Kane actually needed his first goal of the season.

Delli Alli showed glimpses of what made him a sensational new player in the premier league last year.  Christian Erikson fresh from finally signing a new 5 year Spurs contract, began to look like the playmaker Spurs fans know he is.  Son Heung-min for at least 20 minutes showed why he was the player Spurs paid 22 million pounds for, and his second goal showed great striking instinct - but the jury is still out whether Son is a luxury or the real deal.  

Moussa Sissoko made his Tottenham debut today and nearly scored from a fortunate deflection, but the rest of his play was non-descript.  In a recent Spurs fans opinion poll, 81% thought at 30 million pounds he was a good buy.  I was in the minority voice  of 19% who have concerns that he drifts too much out of the game to be worth that kind of transfer fee.  If Pochettino can instill in him a work ethic for every game, then and only then will Sissoko live up to his promise - for actions speak louder than words.

On a day when Manchester City looked in every way this years league champion contenders and if Everton win tomorrow, then Spurs cannot afford to slip up against teams like Stoke City.  They also have Sunderland and Crystal Palace as opponents in the next two games which should on paper yield maximum points.   When Jose Mourinho is in world-class managerial form, his teams do not lose at home, but had Manchester City had use of banned striker Agruero, United could have been torn part today.   This means that Tottenham are more likely to be fighting for the fourth Champions League spot against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.  That objective of qualifying for Champions League football will be aided by who Spurs manage to bring to the club in the January 2017 transfer window.

Today's game was a nice warm up for Spurs return to the Champions League with their Wednesday group match against Monaco.  With new stadium developments reducing the home attendance capacity, Spurs get to play at Wembley.   The 80,000 tickets sold already demonstrate that Spurs are an attraction, but with the new stadium being built to accommodate 61,000 fans - it seems way too conservative and a statement that Board of Tottenham are over-cautious and still lacking that winners mentality to make a statement by building a 75,000 seater stadium.  Without that mentality, the decades of under-achievement may continue despite fans buying tickets in droves - showing the true potential of the club.

 

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