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Sterner Stuff |
The question on Spurs fans’ lips - Did last Sunday represented the real start of the season – going to arguably the hardest fixture of the season and coming out of it the happier side. Russell Smith provides an armchair review of the game against Chelsea.The doom-mongers were out in plenty of force for Spurs, having seen two 2-1 turnovers in the previous two games against opposition the club would surely have to have considered beatable. However evidence is stacking that the Premier League is the hardest in the world, and not just for Spurs. Nobody has had it their own way so far, and so it proved again on Sunday at the longest unbeaten record in the League. A comfortable start was soon interrupted by Chelsea’s apparent stepping up a gear and soon we got to see why they shelled out for Gomes in goal, with some real class action and the help of an upright. And a somewhat fortuitous looking error gave the home side the lead they had just about been knocking on the door for. It was no one-sided affair however, and Spurs did actually remind that they didn’t turn up to be beaten. A busy and packed midfield got to work at nullifying much of the attacking threat they were to expect if the papers were all true, and despite a few misplaced tackles, Zokora proved himself something of a colossus that the blue hordes could not get past. Meanwhile, if Darren Bent has a point to prove, he has certainly gone about it the right way with a clinical capitalisation on opposition error against a goalkeeper some rate as the world’s finest. In fact despite the relatively low volume of attacking chances, the industry, stubbornness and function that has perhaps been missing in the previous games was there for all to see. The real thing to see now is whether that starts the ball rolling for Tottenham this season, and they can bring goals and a glut of wins to this improved performance. Villa next, and that is exactly the right kind of test as to where the club are at this stage of the season. Three points there would go some way to erasing the earlier ‘issues’. Russell Smith Click to view author Russell Smith's profile Fancy writing for LiveFootball? Click here to find out more. |