Tottenham: 3 takeaways from final preseason game vs. Watford

Other Tottenham takeaways

Carter-Vickers looked better than Sanchez on the day. Neither were great and both were at fault for not stepping up to slow the dribbler on the first goal. CCV did show he can run with forwards and he is a smart player that he stays within himself, not trying to do too much.

Sometimes the simplest play, like a back pass or a clearance is best, if Juan Foyth could remember that it would serve him well as he got pick-pocketed trying to dribble out of trouble instead of playing the easy pass out of danger. Spurs have enough players who take chances and the back is not where they should occur, so Carter-Vickers helped himself on the day across 90 minutes, where Foyth did not have the best 45.

Dennis Cirkin did the job most of the first half before he replaced by Foyth. His pull down to concede the penalty was a sign of some youth and inexperience, but outside of that he played well. Cirkin was able to get forward a bit and did demonstrate some nifty dribbling skills, which I think Foyth was unfortunately trying to match, versus playing smart ball.

Regardless, Ben Davies is the starter at left back and it is hard to say where Cirkin or Foyth might be in a week as they both need minutes and they may be hard to come by in this squad.

Jack Clarke again showed some spark in his half of play. Clarke has the quick feet and attacking mentality that make for an excellent winger. At about three minutes, Clarke showed off some of his excellent footwork, beating two defenders with some quick cutbacks, and then laying a beautiful cross along the three-yard line.

Unfortunately for Spurs, no one could really get on the end of it. Unfortunately for Clarke, like Cirkin, Foyth, and CCV, the question for is where minutes are going to come from. With Son, Lamela, Bergwijn, and Lucas in front of him, Clarke may have a hard time getting the minutes he needs to grow.

Of note, Jamie Bowden did make a late appearance, coming on for the last 15 or so minutes for Harvey White. If nothing else, Bowden had one heck of an open field tackle but did not have enough time to show much else in his brief stint.

In the end this match was what it was, a preseason friendly where Watford wanted it more, at least in the first half, so they won. Not the birthday present Spurs wanted, but Tottenham got much of what they needed, minutes for lots of players and no significant injuries.

Now the question is how many of the players seen today will be on the team, let alone in the squad come next weekend versus Everton as Kane and company return. Also, the question of back-up striker remains, but I guess some things never change.