One very narrow defeat and even a positive goal difference, might be seen as a sign that Spurs are developing as a Premiership force.
Its easy to bemoan the fact that we are not playing the “Tottenham Way” or that we are struggling to score in open play, even in the manner that we did last season, though how much of that is down to one man`s misfortune or misfiring? Though the goals are not firing in, they are not firing into our own goal, as we have the joint best record of not conceding this season, which is a massive advancement on last season.
Sitting eighth in the Prem, might not be a perfect position, but it is nicely in the slipstream of those above us and when we consider the fact we drew 3 and lost one of our opening four games, all results that could and probably should have been better, I believe we are doing well and are looking increasingly strong, especially when the likes of Liverpool and particularly Chelsea are really struggling.
The likes of Palace and Leicester are doing fantastically, do we honestly believe they can sustain this early form over 38 games? similarly, surely Chelsea in particular will bounce back, even if that means sacking Jose or something equally bold or expensive. Regardless of who else does well or badly, Spurs must just carry on developing and accumulating results over the remaining thirty games.
Several players have once again spoken of our supreme fitness, which was evident last season, until we simply ran out of gas, mainly due to the need to over-play individuals. Surely this season we have not only learned from that problem, but in so many young players gaining another years maturity and also seemingly having a squad that is far easier to rotate, now the unwanted players have been removed, you feel there should be optimism. I have no doubt for example that one Nabil Bentaleb returns to full fitness, Eric Dier can get a well earned rest and in Mason we also have genuine rotation with Alli and the same applies in almost every position.
It is possibly easy to assume that we might only need to look at bringing in one striker this January and who knows, if N`Jie and /or Son, shine in a central role in the absence of Kane, even that might not be essential, unless we get in a player that will definitely appear to improve our team and squad. Saido Berahino, might well be on the agenda, but if he is, you hope we are decisive and get the deal done early and with minimal fuss or look elsewhere.
Elsewhere, perhaps we need to consider caution. Can Dier and Bentaleb share the defensive role in midfield, or do we look at another addition in Jan or wait and see what happens. Similarly, in defence, with the emergence of players such as Veljkovic and Carter-Vickers, is it wasteful to sell Fazio now and bring in another big money buy, if they are deemed good enough and nearly ready for a squad place?
This season, might well be about our top four chances suddenly looking much brighter due to the plight of others, but we seem to be developing the consistency we lacked last season and have a squad far better equipped to cope with the stress and strains of the Prem/Europa fixture problem. We still have much to do, but for me, we are certainly heading in the right direction?
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