Spurs are still a work in progress but may yet challenge for the EPL
Andre Villas-Boass Spurs are still a work in progress but may yet challenge for the Premier League title
Andre Villas-Boass Tottenham Hotspur are still very much a work in progress.
This was evident at the weekend against Chelsea, when Spurs looked fantastic at times but slightly rough around the edges at others.
The manager is still working out his best left-back and who to play at right and left wing. All three positions might be frequented by different players in the coming months.
Up front, Roberto Soldado hasnt quite found a goal scoring rhythm.
In midfield, Sandro, who to be fair is not 100 per cent fit at the moment, sat on the bench against Chelsea when perhaps his beastly qualities would have been far suitable in amongst the midfield battles (especially in the second half when our tempo dropped and our football was at times untidy).
Erik Lamela has a breathless elegance on the ball.
Christian Eriksen, for all his technical inventiveness, had a quiet game. He may still be trying to adapt to life in the Premier League as, especially against the better sides, space is a premium.
Paulinho, never relents when attacking the penalty box, but his impact was less dynamic than I hoped for across the 90 minutes and there was no explosive, out of the ordinary magic (something that Gareth Bale spoilt us with) to get excited about.
Erik Lamela will slowly be introduced. His cameos so far are telling, if you choose to take note of his touch and his breathless elegance on the ball.
In defence, Michael Dawson failed to react for the set-piece header that saw the visitors equalise. Romanian international Vlad Chirches looked on from the bench and will surely hope to force his way into the starting line-up at some stage soon.
Andre Villas-Boas rarely fields his strongest side, although arguably youd be hard pressed to agree on that perfect selection if everyone was fit and able.
The mechanics of our play are evident. Were not reliant on individuals; were a unit that work for each other and work hard to preserve the preparation and strategy outlined by our coach.
But its not quite full pelt, understandably so given how many new players we have brought in over the summer, and yet there we are, sitting pretty in second place.
The team have been consistent and confident whilst others struggle to attain form so Ill gladly share the points with Chelsea on this occasion.
We looked superb in the first-half, as Chelsea struggled to get into the game. Spurs could have had the pints wrapped up had we converted our chances or had a tiny amount more luck as Paulinho struck the woodwork.
The introduction of Juan Mata in the second-half saw us lose the initiative, and Fernando Torres was causing trouble.
Ignoring the tangle between him and Jan Vertonghen (the yellow then the red card), we survived a disallowed Mata goal before a Mata set-piece was glanced in by John Terry
Overall the game was a tense and at times lively affair between one club that is accepted to challenge and another that aspires to challenge. Youd be hard pressed to work out which is which.
