How Many League Games Have Tottenham Deserved to Win this Season?
By Logan Holmes
Smiles from AVB and Bale after win at Southampton but relief also
While Tottenham are sixth in the Premier, level on points with Everton and West Bromwich Albion, their defeat by Wigan could prove the wake up call that the manager and players need as their displays to date have been less than inspiring. Tottenham have won a number of matches which on another day could easily have turned into defeats which would have left them sitting much less comfortably that they currently are. The early season climb to fourth position has hidden a number of issues in the team’s performances.
Did Spurs Deserve to win?
Newcastle (a) Lost 1 – 2: Spurs played quite well in their first Premier League match under Andre Villas-Boas and were unfortunate not to get a point at St James’ Park.
(Spurs deserved 1 point)
West Bromwich Albion (h) Draw 1 – 1: Controlled the game for an hour, eventually going ahead with just over fifteen minutes to play. In the last half-hour, however, Albion provided a much more potent attacking threat and equalised late on. In the final minutes’ Spurs defensive work was appalling and they could easily have lost.
(Spurs deserved 0)
Norwich City (h) Draw 1 – 1: Norwich were the better team but Spurs went ahead in the second half. Spurs conceded a late equaliser just as they had done the previous weekend and again could have lost the game.
(Spurs deserved 0)
Reading (a) Won 3 – 1: A much improved team performance from Spurs as they achieved their first win for Villas-Boas and relieved the pressure on the new manager.
(Spurs deserved 3 points)
Queen’s Park Rangers (h) Won 2 – 1: Any neutral watching the first half of this match would have thought that it was Spurs who were the team without a win and near the bottom of the League. Rangers deservedly took the lead in the first half and it was only two goals in a two minute spell, including an own goal, that rescued Tottenham.
(Spurs deserved 1 point)
Manchester United (a) Won 3 – 2: The long awaited win at Old Trafford came courtesy of an outstanding first half when Spurs grabbed a two goal advantage. In the second half Tottenham, in a backs to the wall defensive play, held on but on another day United would have scored from the chances they created to turn the match around.
(Spurs deserved 1 point)
Aston Villa (h) Won 2 – 0: Spurs scored twice in the second half but Villa missed clear chances to take the lead before Spurs managed to get their first goal.
(Spurs deserved 3 points)
Chelsea (h) Lost 2 – 4: The visitors were in control apart from a period after the interval when Spurs equalised and took the lead. Tottenham were unable to maintain this advantage as Chelsea recovered to score twice in three minutes midway through the half.
(Spurs deserved 0)
Southampton (a) Won 2 – 1: Another Jeykll and Hyde performance from Spurs – excellent in the first half when they scored twice. Lacklustre in the second as Southampton rallied, scored and could have equalised as Spurs again resorted to defending at all costs. Relief at the final whistle for Tottenham.
(Spurs deserved 1 point)
Wigan (h) Lost 0 – 1: Tottenham were poor and didn’t deserve to get anything from the game.
(Spurs deserved 0)
Andre Villas-Boas admitted to his team’s short-comings after the defeat to Wigan,
"“It was maybe our worst performance of the season. We didn’t manage to keep the ball or pass well. Wigan were superior and our chances weren’t clear cut.”"
Taking those readjustments to the points tally into account, Spurs would have 1o points after nine matches and be sitting with teams like Stoke, Norwich, Sunderland and Aston Villa in the lower half of the table. The pressure on Andre Villas-Boas and the players would be at a much higher level and the fans dissatisfaction would be voiced even more vociferously. Another worrying aspect of the Spurs matches so far this season is that six of the ten games have been against teams at the lower end of the Premier League – they have played six of the teams currently occupying the bottom eight places. There will be many more difficult matches facing Spurs in the coming months starting with Manchester City and Arsenal in the coming ten days.