Match Report: Predictably Aimless Spurs Outdone by Lively Stoke at White Hart Lane
It was a familiar old story at White Hart Lane on Sunday, as Tottenham followed up Europa League action with yet another terribly meek performance, lacking in inspiration as much as it was quality. Stoke, in the meantime, took swift advantage to romp to a 2-1 win.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino had left over £80m worth of talent on his bench, succumbing to calls to field fan-favourite Harry Kane after a glut of goals in Europe and the Capital One Cup, as well as his deflected winner at Villa Park a week ago, but after very nearly breaking the deadlock with a header with which he probably should have scored in the game's opening minutes, his impact was largely kept to a minimum.
While Roberto Soldado remained unused on the bench, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mousa Dembélé and Erik Lamela all had to wait for their opportunity to make an impact on the match. When they did appear, it was only as their team was chasing the game.
Stoke were by a distance the better side across the 90 minutes and restricted Spurs going forwards, whilst looking to attack on the break and pounce on mistakes that were, in all honesty, a guarantee from this Tottenham side.
Andros Townsend, preferred to Lamela after a goal and assist in Greece on Thursday, gifted possession to Steven Sidwell in the 6th minute, before N'Zonzi then set Bojan on his way forwards. The former Barcelona man burst through the heart of the Tottenham team, bending onto his right foot before unleashing a drive past Hugo Lloris to give the visitors an early, but wholly unsurprising lead.
The home crowd, exasperated at how predictable it all seemed, turned on their players and the atmosphere that André Villas-Boas had complained about during his reign filtered through once again. As frustration in the crowd grew, Spurs surrendered possession more and more easily as they tried to force the issue without an obvious game plan shining through. Younes Kaboul, with little in the way of options ahead of him too often looked long and Stoke's defence lapped it up.
The visitors doubled their lead when a weak clearance was fired back towards the Spurs goal, and Mame Biram Diouf crossed for Jonathan Walters, unmarked with Kaboul a fatal distance out of position. It was the seventh successive shot on target that Hugo Lloris had faced without saving; the last save he had made at that point was in the 65th minute at the Etihad, 22 days previous.
A two-goal half-time lead was the least Stoke deserved. Man of the match Walters, Bojan and Victor Moses, in the attacking 3 behind the forward, were a constant danger. In stark contrast, Townsend, Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli - his late consolatory goal aside - lacked any true threat.
Mark Hughes is building a team that looks like it is evolving and could even improve on last season's ninth-placed finish. After this impressive victory, they sit 9th in the table and only 3 points behind West Ham, who have had a much-celebrated start to the campaign.
Spurs, meanwhile, still lack direction under new boss Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine has put their woeful home form down to a small pitch, but it is difficult to see how much blame he can honestly posit on that pitch. With only relegation battlers Burnley, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace averaging few home points per game than Tottenham this season (1.0 per game), there are greater problems at hand.
The Europa League continues to be a hindrance rather than anything exciting for Spurs. Since the start of last season, the north Londoners have a record on Sundays following Thursday night European action of 18 matches played, won 7, drawn 1, lost 10. For a club of their size, stature and ambition, a squad of their quality and a manager of his pedigree, current proceedings simply aren't good enough, and worryingly, it isn't clear that anything drastic will change any time soon.
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