Back on Track in the ECL

Harry Kane returns to the starting lineup (and the scoresheet)

Time for another short and sweet European Nights™ edition of Spurs Across the Pond. With a much more experienced lineup this time around, Tottenham made easy work of Paços de Ferreira in the second leg and advanced to the ECL group stage on a 3-1 aggregate score.

Even with all three of our new signings starting the match, this starting XI was clearly more comfortable playing with each other than the "mostly kids" lineup from the first leg. It also helped that our erstwhile striker has decided to commit to playing for Tottenham... or at least, he's staying "this summer." Perhaps this is my distrustful side showing, but to me, that statement could possibly be foreshadowing a January move. Either way, I think we can all agree on a couple of things:  Harry Kane is very good at scoring for Tottenham, but he is also very bad at communicating. I suppose we just have to enjoy watching him play for our club while we still can, however long that ends up being.

Harry scored a first-half brace on his return to the starting lineup, and Lo Celso forced an own goal off of a free-kick midway through the second half to seal the deal at 3-0.

A few positives from the match:

∙ Bryan Gil was possibly the most exciting player on the night, showcasing exactly why the club brought him in. I think we're going to see a lot of creativity from this young player, and he could soon be forcing a tough decision for Nuno for a starting lineup spot. His assist for Kane's first goal was the highlight of the game for me.

∙ For what it's worth, Harry Winks put in a very strong performance, including a superb tackle and follow-up pass to Gil to get Kane's goal started. Whether that performance gives him a lifeline to remain at Tottenham this season or increases his value for a move late in the transfer window remains to be soon.

∙ We got a few glimpses of what Cristian Romero has to offer on the attacking front and probably would have seen his first goal for the club if it hadn't been for a terribly unfair booking. Even just seeing him empowered to make such a foray on offense at all is a promising sign that Nuno has been encouraging the whole team to press and not be as negative as they were under Mourinho.

And a few areas of concern:

∙ While Gollini made the (very few) saves he was required to make, there were a few dicey moments with the ball at his feet. It kind of reminded me of watching Manuel Neuer for Bayern, who frequently gives me a heart attack with his unconventional goalkeeping, but at the end of the day, I trust him after years of proving himself. Gollini has a long way to go prove himself! As things stand, there should be no doubt that Hugo Lloris still holds the first keeper spot.

∙ Lucas was definitely more active than he was in the Wolves match but was back to his head-down, passing-too-late ways. He's one of the players that we really need to be more consistent this season if we want to seriously challenge for a cup title and top 4 (which I think is the consensus goal amongst the fanbase). My suggestion:  with Kane coming back into the PL starting XI (we can only assume), Lucas may serve the team better as an impact sub than a starter, putting his energy and pace to good use while managing his minutes and ensuring he can contribute steadily all season long.

∙ Ryan Sessegnon is still a bit of an unknown quantity. He had some bright moments in the first half but faded fast in the second, and his decision-making can leave a lot to be desired. Still, if Nuno's post-match comments are anything to go by, he and the club are still backing Sess to come good. I foresee him being more of a rotation option than a PL regular, at least for this season.

The good news is that Spurs' draw for the group stage doesn't involve nearly as much travel as it could have. Rennes should be a decent opponent, but I'll admit I don't know anything about the other two teams in our group. Another positive:  no early matchup with Mourinho's Roma.

Up next, an old friend on a new team

That's right:  Danny Rose returns to (the new) White Hart Lane, this time in Watford's yellow & black. Moussa Sissoko will be reuniting with him on the Watford squad, but to my understanding, the transfer went through too late on Friday for him to be eligible to play against us on Sunday. So no worries of a Sissoko debut goal 😉

Looking at the injury report for Sunday, it appears that CCV and Rodon are our only players out. Did we ever find out what is going on with Joe Rodon? Seriously, I'm asking. Watford have several players out (apparently the Chelsea player Chalobah that's been lighting it up lately has a brother!), but no one who would be a huge miss for them besides their keeper Ben Foster.

I can't say I watched any of Watford's matches during their previous season in the Championship, but they must have been doing something right to get promoted back to the PL. Ismaïla Sarr is always one to watch out for.

As I said before, I think Lucas will probably be the one to make way for Kane in the starting lineup, and we'll likely see Son shift to the right wing (where he's already had some success this season, in terms of his actual positioning if not his specified role) so that Bergwijn can stay on his stronger left side. On the other hand, Nuno could decide to have Bergwijn be the one to start on the bench and let Son wreak his usual havoc on the left wing. Speaking of Bergwijn, it's great that he was called up to the Dutch squad for the upcoming international break. It can only build his confidence!

Although the Dier and Sánchez CB partnership has worked out well so far this season, and kind of feels like an "if it's not broke, don't fix it" situation, this match would be an ideal opportunity to give Romero another opportunity in the starting lineup against a relatively weaker PL opponent, perhaps testing him out with Sánchez this time since he played with Dier on Thursday. I'm just spitballing here. Trust in Nuno, either way.

Other than those two scenarios, I wouldn't make any other changes from the lineup that's been getting us results in the PL so far. We've seen in the past that too much change in personnel from game to game can make it difficult for the team to develop on-pitch chemistry, build on strengths, and improve on opportunities. Much as we love Poch, he was frequently guilty of this destabilizing tactic. As we progress further in the league campaign and layer in more cup ties, it will be important to have an established squad for each competition.

Elsewhere in the world of Spurs

If you're an insatiable podcast listener like I am you're probably already tuning in to the 2 Robbies pod (if you're an American PL fan, at least), but even if you aren't a regular listener I would highly recommend you check out their recent episode on the CL draw and transfer news for the intriguing discussion of Harry Kane (starts about a third of the way into the episode). I tend to agree with Robbie Earle's point of view that Levy had to do what was best for Tottenham football club, no matter how "unfair" it might have been to Kane personally. I do think that their juxtaposition of Lukaka's transfer from Inter Milan to Chelsea is not a seamless comparison, because a) Lukaka is not a homegrown player for PL teams and b) he didn't mean nearly as much to Inter Milan fans as Kane means to Spurs fans, nor is he such an outsized representation of Inter-Milan-the-club as Kane is for Tottenham. Anyway, give it a listen if you get a chance and let me know what you think.

I also enjoyed this interview with Spurs Women's captain Shelina Zadorsky about her Olympics experience (as well as her bold jacket choice--I think it works!). She also gave a preview of the WSL season to come, and I agree with her that more clean sheets and more goals from Spurs this season would be absolutely fabulous 🤞🏻 It's going to be interesting to see how the abundance of new players will mesh into the team and hopefully provide support in the areas we were lacking last season.

Back on the Men's side, several Tottenham players were called up to their international squads, though unfortunately no such luck for Dier, Dele, and Winks. Dier and Dele could be possibles for the next call-ups if they continue their upswing in form, but I doubt Winks will be able to work his way back into the English midfield at this point. The tricky thing with this season's international breaks is that once again, coronavirus travel restrictions are complicating participation for certain players whose countries (or their opponents' countries) are on the "red list." Regardless of who gets to play in these World Cup qualifiers, let's hope they stay healthy--and injury-free.

COYS