1. Kulusevski
One of those knowledgeable sorts once told me, “There’s no ‘i’ in ‘team’”, which I suppose is true enough if you’re going to be linguistically pedantic about these things, and looking back I suspect that if I’d bothered to hear any more of what they had to say they may well have continued, “And there’s a dashed sight less creativity and energy in that same team if there’s no Dejan Kulusevski contained therein”.
This seemed to be an epithet taken to heart by the magnificent Swede himself yesterday, for he swanned about the place with all the majesty of a man upon whom has been the thrust the personal responsibility to conduct the afternoon’s entertainment.
Apart from what one might call his measurable outputs – goals, assists, chances created and so forth – I was particularly taken by the sheer joy with which Kulusevski seemed to oil about the place. Here was a big kid in the playground, who, upon receiving the ball, simply wanted to dribble towards goal (and, if at all possible, round the ‘keeper before stopping the ball on the goal-line, crouching down and heading it in along the ground).
If an opponent were in his way then all the better, or so seemed the Kulusevski mantra, as this merely presented an opportunity for him to reach into his box of tricks in order first to bamboozle and then to remove from consideration said opponent. Accordingly, he could be spotted dipping a shoulder, shimmying in between flailing opposition legs or simply using what I suppose you could call his trademark combo of pace and strength to bulldoze his way through trouble and off into space.
While there were decent contributions from the supporting cast – Sonny and Johnson certainly got into the spirit of things and played the game, in terms of contributions to the build-up or attempts to finish off the manoeuvres – Kulusevski was the pulse that beat at a merry old pace throughout.
Too often over the years a well-meaning lilywhite has received the ball just over halfway, with opportunity spreading itself in front of him, only for him to put his foot on the ball, have a bit of a think and play a neat but meaningless pass that does little to speed things along. By contrast, the present iteration of Kulusevski seems inhabited by a spirit of adventure that dictates that on receiving the ball he’ll charge towards goal, all else be damned. And who amongst us cannot cheer to the rafters such a cavalier approach?
A tip of the cap to the man as well, for the precision of his strike for our equaliser. I don’t doubt that there are some who would scoff, and label him lucky for having utilised both posts in striking gold; as one who regularly berates our heroes for missing the target rather than sympathising with them for lack of luck whenever they hit a post (I’m looking at you, Sonny – hit the target and I’ll laud you), I’m happy to lavish praise upon anyone whose shot has such precision as to strike first the left upright and then the right-hand one too before trickling in.
2. All Hail The Great Half-Time Tactical Switch
Much has been made of Our Glorious Leader’s half-time toggling of the knobs, with Maddison yanked from the stage and young P. M. Sarr shoved on in his stead. In fact, the adulation for this move has been pretty startling. To say that the corridors of the shiny THFC Stadium are still strewn with yesterday’s garlands is not to overstate things too dramatically. One could not jab a finger in the phonebook without it pointing towards someone queueing up to praise Big Ange for that Maddison-off-Sarr-on routine.
Truth be told, however, the AANP eyebrow has being raised skyward on a surge of bemusement and surprise at this particular element of the post mortem. I should probably whisper it, but I thought we were doing pretty well in the first half anyway, and was fairly confident that we would score more in the second half if the personnel had remained the same. Conventional wisdom over the last 24 or so hours seems to be that Kulusevski was practically impotent until Sarr was introduced to sit (I use the term loosely, as Sarr is the sort of young twig whose energy levels mean he can go about 48 hours non-stop without needing a sit-down) alongside Bissouma, and it was only thereafter that the Swede was able to cast aside his shackles and really impose himself.
Now this is a pretty violent desecration of history. Kulusevski was having an absolute whale of a time from the off, and didn’t seem to mind or care too much whether he had stationed to the rear James Maddison, Pape Sarr or Steve Sedgley. In fact, the entire attacking mob were on their mettle in that first half. Sonny, Johnson, Solanke, the so-called full-backs – everyone who could, was, if you follow my gist.
Come to think of it, the only member of the attack who wasn’t scooping up great armfuls of attacking goodies in that first half was possibly Maddison himself – not a particular criticism of him, as last time out at Brighton he dovetailed quite neatly with Kulusevski, as the deeper of the two attacking midfielders, but yesterday he seemed slightly neutered in what was presumably supposed to be a deep-lying creative role.
Anyway, all of the above makes me wonder if the fables of Sarr’s arrival releasing Kulusevski’s inner Maradona were actually just dubious media constructs, given a spot of the old polish in order to fit the narrative of three second half goals. The AANP theory is that Sarr’s great virtue was actually in helping to ensure that the back-door was kept firmly shut in the second half.
Within the opening 20 of the first half, the all-swinging-all-kicking Kudus had been allowed two unopposed shots from inside the area, despite West Ham barely having had a sniff of the ball in that period. The whole thing rather stank of that constant flaw in the Angeball set-up, that of being too open defensively. As has been harped on about relentlessly for about fifteen months now, with Porro and Udogie so fond of life in the final third, we regularly find ourselves desperately undermanned at the back, all of which has a tendency to undo all that attacking potential.
And given that Maddison was having a quieter time of things, the logic of replacing him with a chap whose defensive instincts register a bit more clearly on the grid made some sense. Sarr came on; the aforementioned attacking mob continued to attack just as they had in the first half; but, crucially, when out of possession our lot then had a bit more protection at the back. The gap between the two centre-backs and the midfield supporting cast was not quite as seismic as we’d been used to. In layman’s terms, Kudus did not fire off any more shots unopposed from just inside our area.
So I suppose I can allow a grudging word or two of commendation to escape my lips and fete the big boss, but as a matter of principle I emphasise that his achievement was in adding a layer of defensive security rather than in unleashing Kulusevski.
3. Porro (In The First Half)
Amidst all the chatter about Sarr, and the wholesome goodness of the second half, it seemed that the first half and its contents were rather banished to the vaults of history, never to be revisited. Fair enough, I suppose, but rather harsh on young Senor Porro, who I thought was contributing quite usefully in that opening 45, in his own unique way.
This is not to suggest that he was the standout performer amongst the general rabble; far from it. I was just rather taken by his contributions.
I suppose it stems from the fact that while all around him – and particularly those on the left – were trying to fashion increasingly intricate approaches into the penalty area, involving one-twos of ever decreasing distances, and feints and nifty footwork and so on, Porro seemed to see the value in the more rudimentary method of getting the ball out of his feet and whipping in a cross.
AANP was all for it. It gave the West Ham mob something different to get their heads around, and provided Solanke and the back-post mob some scraps to fight over. Moreover, peculiar though it is for me to fathom, the art of the cross from wide is one that precious few elite-level footballers seem able to master these days, but it is most certainly a string to the Porro bow, so if he is at all inclined to line one up then he has a fully signed-up supporter over here.
On top of which, as early as the first minute Porro also slid a delightful ball around the back of a defender for Solanke to chase – the sort of pass one rather hopes Maddison will churn out once or twice a game. He also very nearly scored one of the goals of the season when he arrived to meet an airborne cross from the left and decided, as any slightly unhinged sort would, that the best option to pick would be a mid-air karate kick. His choice having been made he did not hold back, and made a contact so sweet that the ball was almost scythed in half, shooting off like a rocket but unfortunately missing its mark.
A quieter second half followed, and as mentioned, we all focused on other things thereafter, but I did like the options he added on the right in that first half.
4. Sonny
Of course, it won’t be long now until Timo Werner races onto a through-ball and buries his one-on-one chance, leading to the confidence coursing back through his body and the emergence of a credible, menacing left-wing alternative.
Until then, however, we can all slaughter a small animal as an offering of thanks to the footballing gods for returning Son to the starting line-up. He did plenty of well-intentioned scurrying in the first half, and notably produced a gorgeous swivel of the hips and shoulder-drop that sent Wan-Bissaka out of the stadium, resulting in a curled shot just wide of the post; but it was in the second half that he really hit his stride.
In the sort of display that would be lapped up by mathematicians the world over, his contributions to each of the second half goals steadily increased in quality. The pass for Udogie, in the build-up to Bissouma’s goal, was expertly-weighted, and while there was still plenty of shovel-work to be undertaken (for which Udogie in particular deserves credit), the presence of mind and delivery of foot that Son demonstrated did much to create that initial crack through which the West Ham defence was pried open.
Sonny then raised the bar a few inches with a similarly well-weighted pass in the build-up to the second. One would have to carry a heart of stone to fail to purr a little at a pass delivered with the outside of the foot, inside a defender and into the path of a speeding colleague, so that alone would earned a spot of the good stuff; but as befits any attacker worth his salt Sonny was then seized by the potential for glory at the other end of the production, and sped away in search of a return pass, benefiting no doubt from a spot of fine visual slapstick but still doing enough to earn the acclaim as the scoreline ticked over to 3-1.
As for the fourth goal, there are few finer sights – or, I suppose, few more terrifying sights, depending on one’s perspective – than Son Heung-Min at full pace and with ball at feet, throwing in no fewer than three mesmeric stepovers without breaking stride, before lashing the thing into the net. As well the ability and stamina and everything else, the fellow seems in those moments to be blessed with an exceptional sense of theatre, for the aesthetic value of that type of goal is sky-high.
One eagerly awaits the day when Timo Werner produces similar – surely only a matter of time now – but until then a Son Heung-Min fast getting back up to speed will, I suppose, suffice.
15 replies on “Spurs 4-1 West Ham: Four Tottenham Talking Points”
“One eagerly awaits the day when Timo Werner produces similar – surely only a matter of time now”. Probably 20 years, if his dismal cameo yesterday was anything to go buy. One useless error after another, alas.
Madders was good in the first half, but Sarr definitely added manic energy (see goal 4).
You might have put in a word for Solanke. Few if any chances, but a lot of skilful and as necessary brutish work hustling for the ball. Strangely deft for someone so tall.
Had we crushed both Brighton and Leicester as we should have done, we’d currently be TOP. Maddening. Attacks win matches – defences win titles, as the saying goes.
Ooh that line about attacks and defences and titles and whatnot is an absolute corker. Mind if I purloin that one for future use?
And a very valid point on Solanke, didn’t realise his drop-deep goodness extended beyond mere body-strength to fancy footwork and unlikely deftness, as you rightly point out.
Spot on
I think you will find that the keeper got a hand to Kulusevski’s shot, pushing it on to the post.
Like a Pavlov puppy, I was still expecting us to blow it at 4-1 though!
Re Timo, surprised he was awarded minutes when Mikey Moore was available. Maybe it would have taken too long for his Mum to come and do up his laces?
Point 4, paragraph 2, sentence 1 – hee hee!
To add to your exceedingly worthy account, I’d just mention that young Gray’s three-&-a-half minute appearance was enough to showcase the lad’s great sang froid in tidying up a late alarum in our penalty area. He’s bound to feature on Thursday, probably at right- or left-back, or maybe centre-forward; anyway, looking forward to it.
Keenly observant you are…(as usual),
But it would be a travesty not to give honourable mention to Sarr’s long range,well weighed assist for Sonny’s goal.
The young lad is indeed posting a healthy rate of return for someone whose main duties includes defensive actions.
I’m still trying to crack his profile but it’s tricky, his ability to be very busy without actually cracking into the top 10 in the EPL for most distance covered stats- this quite bamboozles me.
Right you are, that Sarr pass for Son was exquisite (particularly the manner in which it took out of the game the stranded West Ham full-back)
[Just between us girls] here’s some full disclosure: No matter the extent of our lead, I always fear the worst & for the longest time. Below are my approx timing thresholds for crossing that line between i) fraying on tenterhooks at the possibility grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory, and ii)finally concluding “Job done, 3 points!” :
1 GOAL LEAD – literally the final minute
2 GOAL LEAD – deep into injury time
3 GOAL LEAD – probably the 90th minute, assuming the usual 6/7 mins injury time
4 GOAL LEAD – sometime between the 80th & 85th minute
Thankfully Mr Kudos’s 86th minute enforced retirement from yesterday’s fray shifted forward my siesta mood, enabling me to metaphorically unfurl my beach umbrella & order a celebratory pina colada a whole 4 minutes early!!
I’d be interested to know at what point in a game the other AANP courtiers, here gathered, feel cosily confident & relaxed, and exactly how many goals ahead we need to be.
Even at 4-1 I was still worried after the final whistle!
That did make me chuckle
Clearly I’m a wildly complacent optimist then!!
I knew the result but had been working so didn’t watch it until the full match re-run on Discovery+ the next day and was still nervous haha.
I hope this finally puts paid to Ange playing Bentancur whist Sarr warms the bench. PMS does EVERYTHING better than Bentancur, who by the way was at fault IMHO for Brighton’s third.
A well-crafted analysis as always AANP. I was of the same mind as you at halftime – goals would come in the 2nd half as West Ham ran out of steam and the inclination to work (a feature of their performances this year). I assumed Madders had offended Ange in some way during the halftime review. This was clearly not the case as the lip-reading Alan Shearer reported that Ange told PMS to warm up as they left the field at halftime. So our coach is in fact capable of Plan B.
However our coach is not capable of identifying a complete dud in Timo Werner. Fair enough he has cleaned out all the other dross more or less but perseveres in giving the completely hapless Werner game time. Surely this must end now.