1. Ballon D’OR
Only one place to start, what? In honour of Savio changing his name and promptly bagging himself the Ballon d’Or, AANP ought probably to change his name to AA, out of respect.
Of course, one must insert the usual dreary caveats about the quality of the opposition and all that guff, but nevertheless this was probably the best cameo I’ve seen since Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder. Arriving circa minute 70 to decent fanfare, I’d have settled for Savio simply not getting injured. What we were treated to instead was a couple of goals of the mazy-slaloming-dribble variety.
I’m fully aware that the second goal is officially the property of Davies, B. but if you think I’m about to let a minor detail let factual evidence get in the way of a damn fine narrative you’ve got another think coming. Produce a moment like that every week or two and Savio will be the toast of the town.
The rather turgid first half itself formed part of the narrative, creating the useful context of precisely why we need a character like Savio in the ranks, capable of whistling some magic out of nowhere and turning three or four opponents inside out before landing them on the deck.
Mikey Moore helpfully gave us all a sense of precisely what we need on nights like this, when it’s all plot and no action, by taking matters into his own hands and slicing through the Charlton defence. Savio, however, raised the level by another notch or two.
As a result I’m actually rather looking forward to whatever Saturday brings, which was not a phrase I’ve muttered too often since the Brentford debacle.
2. The All Plot, No Action First Half
The human psyche is a peculiar old kettle of fish. Finish 5-1, and irrespective of the rather bland first half slop, the natives all skip out of the stadium relatively content.
But that first half was not quite the rip-roaring response to the weekend for which we all hoped. Plenty of the ball, which I suppose was the bare minimum, but those in attendance seemed content that possession and possession alone was sufficient. As a result, nary an attacking pass was played, and despite the welcome presence of a great, hulking Solanke prowling the penalty area, not one cross was sent his way.
Instead we were treated to the sight of Moore and Gray tying themselves in knots out on the right flank, obsessed with short passes between themselves rather than the lobbing of anything penetrative into the area; while Tel – presumably now on borrowed time with the arrivals of our Ballon d’Or winner and Marmoush to contend with – peddled his usual routine of scuttling busily in what might be termed ‘build-up’ without ever exploring the concept of ‘end-product’.
On the plus side, Bentancur absolutely purred away in the centre, and M. Fernandes appeared to be getting the hang of things, while Solanke took his goal with generous helpings of aplomb.
Less pleasingly, Bergvall still seems convinced that the game is too easy for him, even though evidence still suggests plenty to the contrary; and the disconnect between life outside the area and life inside the area remained a little too prominent.
Mercifully, however, we pootled around in the second half with a degree of control that is pretty unusual for our lot. Additional goals helped, there were welcome returns for various of the walking wounded and of course our new man did his thing. All of which meant that by the time the final whistle tootled I was able to quote a spot of Sarah Connor:
“The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope.”
2 replies on “Spurs 5-1 Charlton: Two Tottenham Talking Points”
To have a winger in Lilywhite, who plays as if leaving opposition defenders flat on their arses is just business as usual is an absolute joy, and something we haven’t since since… well I can remember when. His goal made my hair stand on end, and that’s even an even rarer feat. £85million you say? Peanuts says I
It’s been a while since we had someone who could get the ball delivered to his feet and have everyone feel the electricity that this kid is about to make something happen. Bale in his final season. Lennon in his early days (probably because of his youth, unpredictability and pure pace). Ginola, because he was always “worth it.” I even thought Kudus at the start of last season was going to be that player until Frank-Ball ruined the team. How exciting now that potentially we could have Kudus, Savio and Marmoush providing moments like that across our front line, with people like Tel and Odobert doing the same. Even youth backups in LWB and Moore. Then to have the creativity and vision through Maddison (if he ever stays fit), Xavi and Deli as options is brilliant. Ultimately secured by a number of combinations in Fernandes, Tonali, Bentancur, Bergvall (if he leaves this boring plateau he has reached) and Gray. Defensive options seem commited and solid now with Robbo (a winner), Porro (proving he can be a disciplined World Cup winner), El Capitan with his blistering pace and new responsibility, backed up with proven players in Senesi, JPvH, Danso, Davies. In Kinsky we hope he grows into that potential we can clearly see. And again, let’s hope a few academy players get some minutes after we gain commanding leads more often in the first half of games.
If this squad stays fit, with so few games this season, it’s all down to how quickly De Zerbi can make them gel as a team and become a ‘family’ in the eyes of Vin Diesel. But given he’s invested in Marmoush who’s already played with Mickey at Wolfsburg, Savio with Xavi at Eindhoven, van Hecke with Mickey with the national team, Fernandes and Porro at Sporting, Robbo knowing Spurs through Huddlestone and Dawson at Hull, Tonali through his Brescia connection it’s *almost* as if he’s been given everything possible for a platform to succeed – unlike any Spurs manager I’ve witnessed.
There we go, it’s only 8am and I’ve got myself all excited and I’m a 41 year old that should know better! (Sorry for going off on one mate.)