3 Points

Article by Brent Weber

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Liberty Stadium is a tough environment for visitors and it is always great to get 3 points on the road. The weather was nasty and the play at times matched the weather. Both teams fought very hard for the entire 90 minutes. I thought we controlled the 1st 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes while Swansea controlled everything in the middle. Swansea produced more scoring attempts but we took advantage of our opportunities and put the ball into the back of the net when it counted most. A draw would have been a fair result, but we dug in, never gave up, and found a way to win. Here are 3 points I took away from the match:

Kane Impresses Me

I’ll be completely honest. If you had told me that Harry Kane would be our most dangerous striker when the season started, I would have told you that you were absolutely crazy. However, he is proving that he can play at a high level and is definitely our #1 option up top. I am actually more impressed with his work rate, tenacity, and his desire than his skill. He was all over the pitch on Sunday and worked harder than any other player in the match. He is gaining confidence in every match but we need to be careful not to burn him out.

Lamela Continues To Struggle

Sunday was more of the same for Erik Lamela. His first touch was poor, his decision making was too slow, and he lost the ball too many times. Regardless of whether he is still transitioning to the style and physicality of the BPL, he does not deserve to be starting in our league matches. He should be starting in cup and Europa fixtures, but he should be nothing more than a sub in league fixtures until he gains more confidence and adjust to the competition. Lennon and Chadli should be playing ahead of him. More concerning yesterday was his lack of composure. He could have easily been sent off with the high elbow to Montero. He had several poor tackles yesterday and played out of control. I thought he should have been subbed at the half.

Eriksen Is The Man

AKA….Christian Erik-The-Man! Although he was quiet for much of the match, he wanted the ball when the match was on the line and came through again! There is a lot to be said about players who want the ball at the most critical times. He is very confident and knows he can create when needed. Eriksen is easily our best attacking player although he is playing out of position. Hopefully, we can bring in a winger or two in January so he can play more centrally behind a striker. He is just not involved enough on the left and needs more touches throughout the match. He has quickly become one of my favorite Spurs players in his short spell at WHL!

I can’t finish this article without saying how impressed I was with Wilfred Bony. He is an incredible player and gave our 2 CB’s fits the entire match. He was getting good service but he works for everything he gets with smart runs, physicality, and direct play. He single handedly kept Swansea in the match on Sunday and deserved his goal. I truly hope the reports are true about us buying him in January, although his goal celebration suggests he will be staying at Swansea!

Although 3 points were nice, we still have plenty of room for improvement heading into our Capital One Cup fixture and rematch against Newcastle. We need to improve defensively. We didn’t pressure the ball enough in the wide positions and our CB’s struggled against Bony. In attack, I would like to see more attacking runs from the midfield and more balls into the box from the wings. Most importantly, I want to see a good work rate and effort. Our effort has been inconsistent from match to match, so I would like to see the intensity against Newcastle on Wednesday as we had versus Everton! We can’t afford a mid-week let down with a Semi-Final place on the line. This could be our best shot for a trophy!

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