Are Spurs The Real Deal?

Who could honestly say that we would even be asking ourselves this question 3 months ago If someone told us they would lose Gareth Bale to Real Madrid one day before the close of the transfer window? 

This week, Tottenham drew at home to Chelsea, a game they dominated in the 1st half and rightfully took the lead, prompting Mourinho to change tactics in order to get back into it before a horrible refereeing decision led to a Torres sending off and 10 minutes of Spurs pressure before the final whistle meant a deserved 1 point each. The game itself, and certainly the first half makes me confident that Spurs, particularly at home, can compete with anyone in the league. 

Do I think that Spurs are ready to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title? Short answer: No. I do like the spurs team though.

If you go down the Spurs team, you find a lot of good players. Lloris is a very competent 'keeper now that he's found his feet in a Spurs shirt. The back 4 is still, in classic Tottenham style, shaky. Kyle Walker is a defensive liability at right-back, as is Danny Rose at left-back. They are decent prospect for Spurs and England, but I don't rate them nearly as highly as the likes of Sagna, Zabaleta, Cole and Evra. The centre back partnership of Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen is more solid than the wing backs. However, I still have to compare them to the likes of Kompany, Vidic etc and i'm not sure they pack that kind of punch. I would never bet on Spurs to keep a clean sheet in the league, even though the John Terry header yesterday was the first goal they've conceeded this season. 

Moving upfield, I'm not sure that Andre Villas-Boas knows his strongest midfield yet. Against Chelsea he played a fluid 5 in midfield consisting of Paulinho, Andros Townsend, Moussa Dembélé, Glyfi Sigurdsson and Cristian Eriksen. The first thing I notice about this is the lack of out-and-out wingers, the threat of which comes from the oncoming Walker and Rose. I rate Paulinho, Dembélé and Eriksen very highly indeed. Paulinho and Dembélé are both capable defensively but can also drive Spurs forward from deep. Eriksen is a different player; clever, tricky with the ability to create and unlock defences. Andros Townsend is a similar player to Dembélé in my opinion, and i'm unsure of how important he is to Spurs at this moment. Sigurdsson has really found his eye for goal at the start of the season, which cannot be undervalued while new front-man Roberto Soldado finds his feet in English football.

The biggest change I see in this Spurs team to previous seasons comes when you look at the options AVB has on the bench. Record signing Erik Lamela is joined by Jermain

New Boys: Soldado & Lamela

Defoe, Lewis Holtby and Nacer Chadli and really allow Spurs to bring something new off the bench to change a game - Something they did very well against Cardiff when they scored a last minute winner. Personally I think spending so much money on an unproven winger like Lamela is a huge gamble. The English game is unique in it's physicality and rigidity of teams, which leaves many European wingers struggling. That is part of the reason I rate Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the world, and why I also think Chadli and Lamela are best suited as impact subs to the bench before leading the line.

The only problem I have with Spurs is that I don't think they'll be able to perform as well as the other contenders over a 38-game season. When I envisage Spurs playing away Stoke or Hull on a cold tuesday night in February, I don't think they'll be as competitive as a Chelsea, Man Utd or Man City. 

With Arsenal & Liverpool both improving too this year, I can see Spurs having to fight harder than even get into the Champions League, before they can eye up bigger prizes