In today’s Tottenham Hotspur roundup, we take a look at what news has been making the headlines for the Lilywhites. Harry Kane believes the players are not learning from their mistakes after the draw in Greece, Pochettino insists the team are conceding too many goals early on in the new season, and former England international Matthew Upson states there are “no signs of Spurs taking the next step”.
Kane rues same old mistakes
Report: Kane expressed his frustration to reporters following Spurs’ 2-2 draw against Olympiakos, after his side let a 2-0 lead disappear. The striker said: “You can see why the manager is frustrated, he has been here for five years now and we are still making similar mistakes as we were the first year.
“We are not young anymore, we are not inexperienced. We have played in big games for club and country. We have to try to find a way to get around it and improve and get better. That is all we can try to do.”
Verdict: It is clear to see where Kane is coming from. Just three weeks ago, Spurs conceded a 2-0 lead in the north London derby, just a week after they lost 1-0 at home to Newcastle in a game they were expected to win and indeed dominated possession in with over 80% of it. Now they’ve surrendered a two-goal lead in a Champions League opener.
Indeed, a team that has been together and worked under the same manager for this long should have a natural organisation and consistency about them, but it feels like Spurs have regressed in 2019 despite reaching the Champions League final. In fact, since late February Spurs have won just five Premier League games.
Upson questions Spurs’ progress
Report: Former England defender Upson has questioned the club’s progress after telling the BBC: “I was looking for some signs against Olympiakos that Tottenham have progressed as a team since reaching last season’s Champions League final, but I did not really see any.
“Their remarkable run in this competition last year relied on last-minute goals and drama, right from the very start when they dragged themselves out of despair after it looked like they would be going out in the group stage.”
Verdict: Similar to the quotes from Kane, Upson spoke a lot of truth post-match in Greece. Spurs struggled to play at their own tempo all night and seemingly succumbed to the hostile environment around them against Olympiakos. Indeed, as Upson alluded to, it seems the same old issues are causing Pochettino’s side the same problems.
Then again, Spurs did turn around their results in the group stages last year after losing their first two games, then taking eight points from four, so perhaps they shouldn’t hit the panic button just yet.
‘We are conceding a lot of chances’, says Poch
Report: The Spurs boss is unhappy with the way his team have defended during the early stages of this season. He said after the Champions League draw: “We are conceding a lot of chances and we are conceding a lot of goals from the beginning of the season. We need to be more focused and more aggressive like we were against Palace. The moment we drop, the team starts to drop.
“It’s very disappointing because we are not talking about quality, we are talking about intensity, will, aggressiveness and that’s what’s disappointing to us most.”
Verdict: The Argentine has a right to question the mentality of his men, just as a lot of fans have over the last few years. Spurs have world-class quality at their disposal, but whilst Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, and Son Heung-min are amongst the best around in their respective positions, as a collective unit, the team seems to crumble under pressure too many times and certainly lack that killer edge.