a lot more passion and a win but…
Spurs got the three points with victory over a Brentford side that for the most part were passive, and when they were good they were good and when they were dull, it was like watching England.
One moment in Spurs’ victory highlighted what they can do, it came just after the hour and led to the goal that clinched victory but for the next half hour it wasn’t seen again.
It was fast, it was direct, the wide player went forward, didn’t cut into the middle and he played a good cross over.
There was a number of times this could have been done to some degree throughout the game but far too often the wing-back stopped or cut inside and played an awful ball to no one. It was just like Southgate’s England at times. The infuriating dullness.
Repeatedly Reguilon and Royal had chances to get to the byline, repeatedly those chose the inside route and repeatedly they stopped good chances. Repeatedly Royal looked wide for someone, after coming inside, only to find Moura was further inside than he was.
While they were doing this going forward, they were fannying about at the back with the split centre-backs standing parallel with the ball, inside the box from goal kicks, playing themselves into trouble and pretty much creating Brentford’s chances for them. Bar this the away team offered very little for most of the game. A better team would have punished them.
I mean, with Sanchez and Davies in the back three, is this such a good idea?
At the other end there was more pressing from Spurs than we’ve seen for some time, though at times what with a none flaky keeper, it wasn’t as organised and as effective a press as it could have or should have been.
The middle pair cover a lot of ground as they were again out manned in the middle of the park with Brentford’s midfield three and they get into the box more now than under Nuno. There’s less of that gap between the front three and the rest of the team.
The opening goal was Spurs like in its calamity. From a short corner, Son got the ball back, created space for himself – which he did repeatedly, throughout the game – and got a good cross into the danger area, from where the Brenford player headed the ball out against his own team mate who “headed” it into his own net.
What followed was the usual muffed chances and trying their best to get Brentford an equaliser. The phew moment came in that one move of intent and glory, just after the hour. Sanchez lobbed the ball up to Son, inside the Spurs’ half, he knocked it back to Kane, seeing plenty of space wide left, Reguilon was off and Kane played the perfect ball through to him. One touched knocked it further ahead, into the box, the next was the perfect cross for Son to tap it home.
The person I was watching with asked “why don’t they do that more often?”, to which I shrugged and replied “you won’t see them doing it again this game”. And you didn’t.
Kane. What about Kane? Lovely ball for that goal but again another nothing display. The formation is basically 3-4-2-1. With Kane at the point, Son and Moura behind him. Well the way his goal scoring is not going, why not shift it to a more 3-4-1-2 to 3-5-2? With just the speed merchants up front and Kane as the play maker?
The commentator, or was it Hoddle, said he felt Kane was trying to hard to score. It didn’t look like that. If he was trying to hard he would have been taking shots from left right and centre. When in reality when chances came he passed them off. One incident when he picked up the ball and was running across the front of the area, before he would have had a bang, here he played it out to Moura, but too far and the Brazilian messed up the opportunity.
The one good chance Kane had he hit it straight at the keeper, where in previous seasons he would have banged it either side and scored. Keeping him on while taking Son off looked like Conte knows who to protect. He can do without Kane, so yes keep him on there, he might have a chance. Don’t know why he brought Winks on. To pass sideways and give the ball away, presumably.
It was a win, Brentford weren’t good, next up Norwich, who aren’t very good, it might not be pretty to watch but at the moment wins are all that really matters…