Gone are the days when a manager could stride into his dressing room, say “Lads, it’s Tottenham” and leave the room satisfied that his message had been delivered. That was Sir Alex Ferguson’s way of motivating his players at Manchester United before games against the north London club, back when a streak of self-destructiveness threatened to undermine Spurs at every turn.
Squander a 3-0 lead? Spursy. Score a comical own goal in the last minute? Spursy. Roll over in a daunting away game? That’s Spurs for you. They can’t be trusted.
It has not taken Mauricio Pochettino long to rid Tottenham of that mentality. They are no pushovers these days. The Argentinian has constructed the best defence in England and it has taken Tottenham 10 matches to concede from open play in the league this season.
Perfection is impossible, however, and when Victor Wanyama’s careless header allowed Ahmed Musa to earn Leicester City’s first away point of the season, Tottenham were reminded that winning the title requires more than a good defence. It is a fine starting point, but it is not enough on its own.
Although it is entirely possible that Leicester would not have scored without Wanyama’s error in the 48th minute, given how obdurate Tottenham have become, the onus was on Pochettino’s attack to render the midfielder’s slip irrelevant after Musa’s equaliser. But they never looked like regaining their lead.
Leicester kept Tottenham at arm’s length and Claudio Ranieri was satisfied with a spirited performance from the champions. After collapsing at Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, Leicester needed an improvement in their away form before Wednesday’s Champions League game at FC Copenhagen.
Tottenham host Bayer Leverkusen on the same night, when they will be looking to win for the first time in six games. They have drawn five of their first 10 league matches, scoring 14 goals, and they have stuttered since beating Manchester City on 2 October.
There should be no talk of a crisis given that Tottenham are unbeaten and remain three points off first place.
Yet as if it were not bad enough that they dropped more points against Leicester, it hardly helped the mood that it came on the same day as scintillating shows of attacking might from Arsenal, Liverpool and City.
Sergio Agüero was in sharp form for City in their 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, Alexis Sánchez and Olivier Giroud lifted Arsenal in their 4-1 win at Sunderland, and Liverpool shared their four goals around as they won a thriller at Crystal Palace. The comparisons do not flatter Tottenham. Vincent Janssen toiled up front, despite winning and scoring a penalty in the 44th minute.
Pochettino thinks his players need to be more clinical. That was not quite true here, though. A lack of invention was Tottenham’s biggest dilemma. They did not create enough chances, even though Dele Alli crashed a shot against the woodwork in the first half.
There is not a lot wrong with Tottenham at the moment. Yet there is a sense that their biggest strength, their furious intensity, can also be a weakness at times. Although they were dominant against Leicester, there was not enough control to their attacking play. Christian Eriksen disappointed on the left and the thought occurred that Tottenham needed greater subtlety, a player who could dictate the tempo.
They will probably be sharper when Harry Kane returns from the knee injury that has kept him out for more than a month. Pochettino said that his main striker has a 50% chance of being involved on Wednesday. How they could do with Kane to be fit and firing against Arsenal on Sunday.
Janssen is yet to prove that he is a suitable alternative. The Dutch striker has scored three penalties since his arrival from AZ Alkmaar and he was not a threat in open play. More damagingly, there were few signs of any understanding with Eriksen, Alli and Son Heung-min. Erik Lamela is likely to start against Leverkusen if he recovers from illness.
Those creative players must accept some of the blame. They all flattered to deceive and Pochettino wants them to be more determined in the hunt for goals. If they develop that hunger, Tottenham will take some stopping.
