Another Slow Start for Tottenham

A point is arguably more than Tottenham deserved from their early match against Liverpool on Saturday.

It was a result in keeping with the prior two performances this season: Tottenham looked listless, aimless and gassed for much of the match but yet still remain undefeated.

Tottenham began last season with a similar run of disappointing results. After losing against Manchester United in the season opener, Spurs suffered three consecutive draws against beatable teams. They were performances that were full of grit and class in defense but lacked penetration or creativity in attack.

Those problems would be resolved in short order. By the end of September Tottenham were heating up. By November they were hot. Tottenham would go on to be the second most prolific attacking team in the Premier League, and those early days were understandably written off as fluke results.

At least that was the case until late in the season. Mauricio Pochettino might cite several other issues that kept the title out of Tottenham’s reach, but it’s hard not to rue those early dropped points. All else being equal, had Spurs begun the season stronger, closing the gap on Leicester City would have been much easier.

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In fairness, there are external factors complicating Spurs’ ability to get a hot start this term. Mousa Dembélé is suspended, Hugo Lloris injured. Most of the team are struggling with the European Championships and a very short pre-season. It was never going to be easy to find rhythm at the start of the 2016/17 season.

There are hints that Pochettino and Daniel Levy are making it more difficult than it has to be however.

Rather than taking a cue from several other Premier League sides, Pochettino ran out with his usual starters without regard for their championship-shortened summers. Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier all started in matches they didn’t necessary have to start in early on.

Many of the players that might have come in for those stars are linked with moves elsewhere — see: Nabil Bentaleb, Nacer Chadli, Ryan Mason — and hence were not ideal starters. Still, why couldn’t Levy have finished this culling earlier in the summer and found replacements? The idea that the transfer market lasts weeks after the start of the season is already ridiculous enough without Tottenham’s powers-that-be waiting until the last minute to make moves.

Add to those complications Pochettino’s unusual dependency on a virtually untested two-striker system, and we have a recipe for a struggling team.

It’s not all bad. That even a lackluster Tottenham remain unbeaten with five points is a testament to the club’s still-stellar defense, even one anchored by Michel Vorm. Players like Alli and Érik Lamela both look on course for another great season. Victor Wanyama already looks like a savvy signing after three games, and Vincent Janssen is clearly eager to impress.

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Things will settle down — perhaps as soon as the turn from the international break. Kane will start to score, Lamela will continue to improve and one or two new faces will liven things up. Tottenham will build on their successes from last season.

With Chelsea and the Manchester clubs all handily winning their opening games, the task ahead looks all the more daunting.

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