And so the world turns, and the universe restores order. Cosmic forces, eternal and unimpeachable, ensure balance and stability, where yin cuddles yang. Joy and pain. For every action, there’s a reaction.
The things that football fans can’t explain to those who do not follow the game, this is the other bit. For every last minute winner, there has to be a breakaway, only they score it, not us. We spend a lifetime fretting over eleven players kicking a ball. A brutal, recurring reminder that we place our faith, hopes and dreams in their hands and have no control whatsoever over the outcome. How to explain the futility of being a fan to others less disposed towards the game? Probably best to keep that bit quiet, on the whole.
Speak to supporters, any supporters of any team I mean, and ask them what they like most about being a fan, it’s highly likely they will mention being part of the crowd, where you can at once lose yourself and at the same time become part of something far greater than your individuality. The camaraderie, the carnival, celebrating together.
That’s real, I feel it every time I go through the turnstiles or enter the room at a Spurs event. It also functions to fill that pool of empty created by the hopelessness of it all when things go wrong. We celebrate together, but what happens when we need to commiserate collectively? Chatter with friends maybe, drown our sorrows for sure, good options. Being the mature individual I am, I endlessly pout and sulk. I’ve never measured the length of time I can go after a Spurs defeat without making eye contact with other people, but I can go some. And I’m better now than I used to be.
But it does seem to be the case, by and large, than individuals develop their own responses rather than seeking support from the collective. Certainly the barest glance at twitter over the weekend, and these days the barest glance is all that platform gets from me, showed that consolation was in short supply. We are skilled in our practiced denial. There’s always next week, just a blip, we’ll get players back, individual mistake, we’re going in the right direction. This is a pick and mix of self-care. At all costs never admit the abject pointlessness of it all.
I’ve opted for ‘going in the right direction’. We are further down the line than I expected after rebuilding the squad and morale cracked and broken by years of neglect. Spurs are blending a new manager and radically different tactics with new signings, many of whom are relatively young and inexperienced. So many fans seem to have forgotten that young players, however good they are, take time to develop and mature, and along the way, mistakes will be made.
Back at the start of the season, I urged that Ange should be given time and that fans’ biggest contribution could be patience, and I don’t feel any different now. Ironically, this defeat and recent performances feel worse because of early and unexpected successes, where we soared like an eagle rather than playing like the fledgling emerging from the nest. We’ve set ourselves a standard, so it’s clear when we fail to live up to expectations. Noticeable how edgy the Park Lane became whenever we had periods of possession in the final third. Granted we have to keep the tempo up and not pass it for passings sake, but nudging and probing, shifting the ball quickly from side to side, that will bear fruit. The alternative, an aimless cross or blocked shot to appease the impatient crowd, won’t.
The truth is that teams have sussed us out. We know how to move the ball purposefully when we have the space but are leaden and predictable when teams shut down the midfield passing lanes, get onto us quickly by isolating individuals and pack the penalty box. West Ham, Bees first half, Villa, Wolves were the best at it but essential similar. Everton too but they were less able in possession. All of which are reasonable responses to our football – the next step in our evolution is to learn how to break these defences down.
On Saturday, Ange repeated his move against Brentford by having two number 10s in Kulu and Maddison but Wolves were not unsettled and kept their shape, whereas for ten minutes, Brentford lost themselves and the game. I feel Ange has to adapt his approach to ensure more players are in the box. Richarlison is playing well but his is a thankless task, alone in the box, making his near post run only for one of several defenders to easily head the cross away.
The crossing game I get, but we don’t have sufficient presence in the box and crossing to (almost) nobody is a fruitless exercise, as is trying to thread passes through the eye of a needle in the area, a repeated failing of ours this season. It’s not about walking it into the net, it’s simply that there’s no room. To be effective, everything has to be precise, there’s no margin for error. Richie and Werner alongside each other would have been a better option once we needed to equalise, with movement in and out of the area to shift defenders out of their complacency.
I really like the way Ange has faith in his players, but Emerson and Davies can’t do what Udogie and Porro can do. It’s often the case that players improve their reputation by not playing, and Saturday was such a case when Porro’s absence robbed us of dynamism on the right. So, we found out that currently, Ange’s tactics work only when we have our best players available, but then again we stuttered versus those other sides, it’s a team problem. At the back, VDV was outstanding one to one even by his own high standards, but teams know to create a spare man or two by progressing down one flank, usually our right on Saturday, then shifting the ball crossfield. This happened repeatedly and we were lucky Wolves didn’t make more of this.
Two weeks now for Ange to make this work. We have the players with the right skills. Get the full-backs fit. It’s the next stage in Spurs’ evolution, in Ange’s evolution.
