the old Spurs.
Spurs opened the new season, with a bunch of new faces but the same old supine, clueless passivity, that plagued them through all three managers last season, in their 3-0 loss to Brentford.
The thing is for all of De Zerbi overseeing the results that kept Spurs up, they were useless in those games, it’s just things were so bad before he arrived, that things seemed better.
But they weren’t. The manager might have shown more life on the touchline than Igor Tudor but the players showed the same lack of life on the pitch.
They started on the back foot and never really got off it, by the time they went behind in the 12th minute, Brentford had already managed 4 shots. All three goals they conceded were goals you saw conceded last season, plenty of times, all the same faults.
The opener was just a simple give and go through the channel, followed by a simple cutback and the scorer is all on his lonesome, seven yards out in the middle of the goal. When he scored only two Spurs players weren’t in the box.
Conceding didn’t kick them into gear. They couldn’t hold the ball,, they couldn’t pass the ball, they couldn’t keep the ball. A lot of this highlighted in Brentford’s second. Kinsky’s ball out to Richarlison, who couldn’t hold onto it, a piss weak attempt to win it back by Bergvall, the shot is saved by Kinsky but ineptly palmed into the danger area for yet another unmarked tap in 7 yards out.
The third came just after the break and how many times did we see this from Flange through Frank, Tudor and De Zerbi a set piece nodded back to someone again all on his lonesome on the edge of the box to have a shot. Again it was saved and again the Brentford player was first to react.
There could have been a fourth, but the penalty was missed after yet again a clumsy effort in the box gave away a spot kick. Spurs players do like doing that.
The new players didn’t show much, apart from Robertson in attack, he can still deliver the ball, you just need someone to finish it off, or you might as well have Tel butchering the delivery. Gallagher, not new, but what’s the point. The thing is Robertson’s arrival must have played a major part in Spence’s departure. And interesting to see the respective performances of van Hecke and Vuskovic. Was Tonali playing?
My view on the summer signings is yes it’s great they’ve actually bought players, got in early in some cases, got a couple of decent free agents but they’ve overspent on most of those players, while selling assets for strangely low prices.
Van Hecke – could have saved a couple of million just keeping Vuskovic – for more than your captain with two World Cup finals and one winner’s medal. Spence coming off a pretty decent World Cup for less than Jones from Liverpool to the same Italian club.
Can De Zerbi turn this passivity around? Well, as I said earlier, it happened last season under him, it’s not like this is a one off. Will the new arrivals make a difference, well Marmoush is quick but if your wingers only though is to stop and cut inside, what point is having pace up front?