Nuno.
One of those lacklustre performances, rescued by a Kane goal, saw Spurs back up to second place in the league after beating winless Wolves, all a bit Nunoish.
You’d think after the joy of that comeback point against Chelsea last week, they’d be up for a home game against a team with just one point and one goal but from the off it looked like Dr. Tottenham were the few docs taking face to face appointments.
The first half could be summed up with one stat. Spurs had one attempt, while Wolves had 12. That one attempt came from a Kane header, some 45 minutes in.
It was just such a limp display.
Changes had been made to the starting XI. After getting away with his hair pulling last week, Romero was out with an injury picked up in that game. So Davinosn Sanchez was back in and the subsequent horror of the thought is temporally halted when you see that Spurs haven’t conceded in something like 6 hours with Sanchez on the park. Makes you think.
Anyway we saw what Sanchez is good at, making some blocks. We saw what he is bad it, receiving the ball under any pressure. Unfortunately Spurs keep doing that, fannying about at the back, playing themselves into trouble.
Luckily Wolves are a bit toothless up front, from those 12 attempts they only managed 2 on target and Hugo wasn’t exactly challenged by either of them.
That only chance came from a cross by the other change, Perisic getting is his first start, in place of Sessegnon. His excellent cross was met by Kane’s head.
You felt there needed changes at half-time, again, but none came, again. Personally I’d have removed Emerson, who wasn’t doing anything, shifted Kulu to RWB, brought Bissouma on to match them in the middle, where Spurs were again out manned 3 to 2. And replaced Son, who was having another stinker, with Richarlison, if only to show Son that he’s gonna have to buck up his ideas.
There was a period last season, when Kane came back into the team, that Son looked out of sorts, he eventually pulled it back but he looks slow and clueless this season. Summed up perfectly when on a breakaway he just stopped and came inside killing the whole movement. Last season, at his best, he just heads for goal, past any defender and it leads to something. This season, his touch seems to have deserted him, as does his confidence. Strange.
There was no personnel changes but there seemed to be an attitude change after the break. Spurs higher up the park and actually showing some effort. Kulusevski more involved, his cross producing another Kane header that went close. But it was all near miss stuff, half chances. No real out and out clear cut stuff.
The winner came after a bit of a breakaway, Hojbjerg playing the perfect ball to the marauding Perisic, his step over saw him into the box, where his cross was blocked out for a corner, by Wolves’ best defender, to that point.
From Son’s near post corner, Perisic headed it on to the back post where Kane had got free of that previously best defender, to nod in his 250th goal for the club. His 185th in the league, setting the new Premier League record for the most goals for one club. Which moves him into sole fourth spot in the overall scoring chart. Three away from sole 3rd.
And that as it. In the final half an hour, they came closer to equalising than Spurs did to making it safer earlier, It was a win but apart from the odd good bit, it wasn’t much more than just a win. It’s the usual Spurs of playing down to the opposition. Is it that they can’t get themselves up for the lower half teams?
There’s still a lot of questions. Why are they a one half team? Are they cream crackered already? Would they be better with three in the middle? Will Bissouma get a run? Will they get some real creativity from the middle? Is Emerson the best bet for RWB?