A Win for Nuno

Spurs get a good result at our new manager's former home

Well, it wasn't as decisive a victory as we would have liked, but Spurs still got the win away at Wolverhampton. This is a fixture we drew last season, so there's that, and there was also the added drama of it being Nuno's first time back at the Molineux as an opposing manager. It was never going to be an easy match.

Although we carried more possession than during the City match last weekend, I would argue that control of the game was in Wolves' favor for most of the match. The home fan factor is definitely making an impact so far this season across the league, and Wolves fed off the energy of their fans throughout the game.

That being said, our defense was strong once again and thanks to some terrible finishing from Wolves' attackers, there weren't any hugely troubling chances for the home team. Perhaps the defense deserves more credit for forcing those poor shots, of course. With the exception of a slip-up from Dier that led to Lloris making a crucial one-on-one save, the Dier-and-Sánchez CB partnership had another strong showing. And speaking of Hugo, he now holds the record for most appearances for Tottenham in the PL (300!) and celebrated the occasion with a superb performance and his second clean sheet of the season. He was my personal vote for Man of the Match. Elsewhere in the defensive line, Tanganga once again had a tough assignment covering the pacy Adam Traoré, but handled him admirably despite picking up a yellow card in the first half. Reguilón was more of a mixed bag, and could do with improving his short-range passing, in particular.

The midfield struggled to create much, but did pitch in defensively. Skipp is looking very comfortable in the starting XI alongside Højbjerg. His defensive stability actually allows PEH to play more attacking, since the CBs have a proper first line of defense (yes, this is Winks slander). Skipp can also contribute offensively with the long through balls that were his trademark while on loan at Norwich, and I'm sure we'll be seeing him on the assist board soon.

Son seemed to be laboring under a potential muscle issue and wasn't quite himself (fingers crossed it's nothing serious), and Lucas was uncharacteristically quiet, which limited our pressing potential significantly, so the goal was going to have to come from somewhere else. Enter Dele! His penalty was well-earned and well-taken in the absence of Harry Kane in the starting lineup. Apparently this was Dele's first PL goal since March 2020, though he netted quite a few goals in the Europa League last season. Hopefully he's just getting started and will be scoring regularly again this season. We also saw more promising signs from Bergwijn (including an absolutely delicious touchline maneuver) and surely, surely the goals will start coming.

In the 72nd minute, Harry Kane entered the match for his first appearance of the season. You have to think this means a transfer to Man City isn't happening after all, but we can't feel truly assured that Kane will remain a Spurs player until the transfer window closes next week. He wasn't super impactful, missing his one big chance, but at least he behaved well towards the traveling fans after the final whistle. Welcome back, I guess?

I'm still feeling a little miffed with the whole situation personally. I will back him as long as he's playing for Spurs, but some love has been lost. And the whole saga really made me reflect on what matters to me most when it comes to football:  community, belief, and effort. I mean, I grew up a San Antonio Spurs fan, so of course I value loyalty more than individual glory-chasing. But most of all, I think we should reject the video gamification of football, wherein sovereign wealth funds act as a cheat code to build super teams and skew the level of competition. Maybe that makes me naive, but I would rather be naive than feel alienated from the heart and soul of football fandom.

I think Nuno agrees, per his pre-match press conference:

My job here is not to convince players to play for Tottenham Hotspur, it is to prepare players to play for Tottenham Hotspur ... You want to play for the crest you are welcome, you want to come for the money then don't waste our time.

Well said.

So what does this result mean for our season so far? I do think it's worth reiterating that this win came in a fixture that we squandered points in last season by conceding a last-minute Wolves equalizer, so already we're showing more mental toughness and ability to see out a lead under pressure. Promising! Our new transfers have yet to significantly feature (in the PL at least... see the last issue for a rundown of the ECL debacle), and Romero at least should be a regular starter soon enough. My one big concern is that our rivals (by which I mean realistic rivals for top 4, not a certain local rival that is underperforming) are outscoring us by a lot at the moment, though we should keep in mind that some of them have had relatively easy matchups, while we've faced the reigning title-holders and a Wolves team with a personal agenda. It feels like a key victory that we're starting the season off with two clean sheets, considering how poor the defense was for most of last season, but 1-0 wins aren't going to cut it for the whole campaign. Perhaps Paratici has one (or more) trick up his sleeve before the transfer window shuts?

No preview for the ECL second leg against Paços de Ferreira on Thursday, except to say that I really do hope we take it seriously and advance to the group stage. I do not want to witness the banter that would take place if we got eliminated.

Here's one for Ted Lasso fans:

COYS