Strong stuff as Spurs swipe aside Swansea

Article by @ginolasleftfoot

Well this is more bloody like it. Tim Sherwood, it seems has overcome the ‘new manager’ impetus and averted the usual drop off in form. Instead, as the fog lifts from under Villas Boas’ heavy affair, Spurs have emerged hungrier, more creative and most importantly more clinical under Sherwood’s short tenure.

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Against a backdrop of epic exit based transfers speculation, The Spurs head coach has navigated his team to five league wins in six, and finally, we are scoring goals.

Flippin three of them today.

An overtly optimistic interpretation of the awful goal difference Tottenham have been carrying since their heavy losses to West Ham, Man City and Liverpool; is that, only points will do. The team has looked intent on winning matches, creating chance and scoring goals. Put simply, it seems a mildly childish outlook, for surely all teams poses the same intention.

Indeed they probably do, but there are many ways to win a football match. For all of Spurs success with Villas Boas, there is a steadfast argument that we operated as a highly efficient counter-attacking team. With Gareth Bale as the mighty wind coursing through defences, dragging his fellow team-mates along for the ride. We blitzed teams.

Then with the loss of our talismanic Welsh aegis, we became a possession-based team, efficient in restricting attacking opportunities, maintaining a diminished yet still functional counter-attacking philosophy. But the problem that Villas Boas’ seemed unable to untangle was how to arrange his team to capitalise on their high levels of possession. Goals were not being scored. Wenger once spoke of ‘sterile domination’ when discussing the topic of possession based football when it was at its peak. Tottenham, at times mirrored this malaise.

Upon reflection, perhaps it was too great an ask of Roberto Soldado to expect him to up sticks from Valencia C.F to our beloved Lilywhites and hit the ground running. Adebayor has proved with his return of four goals in six matches, that he has the capability to score at this level and so his isolation from the opening half of the season raises serious questions over Villas Boas’ decision to omit him from any contributions.

And so we arrive at a simpler style of football. Sherwood opted to play Eriksen behind Adebayor against Swansea, allowing the young Dane to exert his poise, control and awareness on the game. Sat behind him, the even younger Nabil Bentaleb, a player who goes about his business with the air of man perfectly comfortable in his surroundings.

The irony of his rise to the XI through the academy under the tutelage of Sherwood, in spite of the immense outlay of midfield talent over the summer, is so great some girl should include it in a song based around ironic events that my or may not have happened. She could be Canadian. It’d be cast forever in musical history alongside some witty, well-phrased anecdotal, topical lyrics.

Alongside Nabil, Moussa Dembele has been given the confidence by Sherwood to play his natural, preferred game and the Belgian is developing a level of consistency in line with his talent.

The wingers will undoubtedly change; such seems to be the nature of wide players in current times. A hope is that Lamela is not shipped off before he has the chance to showcase the undoubted ability we paid so much for. The prospect of Townsend and Lamela being able to contribute over the second half of the season, is one Spurs fans haven’t had the luxury to comprehend before.

The talent of our squad is without question, and if Sherwood continues to generate the level of performance currently being achieved at Spurs, then we might still have a say in fourth place.

I bet Tim Sherwood shouts Yarrrrrrrr….!!!

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