Spidey Senses are Tingling for Spurs

Skipp shows no mercy to his former loan team in Tottenham's' 3-0 home win over Norwich

The clean sheets keep stacking up, the goal difference is almost back in the green, and set pieces are becoming more of an opportunity than a weakness--and Harry Kane still only has one goal. While the recent upturn of form in the PL feels a bit tenuous, like any minor setback (say, a COVID outbreak in the team) could throw a wrinkle in the plans, it's refreshing to see Spurs comfortably beating the teams that they should be comfortably beating.

The 3-0 win over Norwich City was mostly comfortable, if you ignore the fact that our opponents had the majority of possession for the first half. Spurs could stand to dominate games more comprehensively, but that will hopefully come with time. Norwich certainly had chances to score but were wasteful with their finishing. Since they were never really out of the game, I didn't feel confident that the win was secure until our third goal went in. That's just the reality of being a Tottenham fan; no result ever feels truly safe.

Maybe that wariness will finally change under Conte though! You can tell that game by game, the players are becoming more comfortable with the new formation and Conte's tactical plans. That is, when they're playing in their favored positions--Tanganga didn't look entirely natural filling in for Emerson Royal (illness... COVID?), but right wing-back is not his usual role. On the flip side, some players are finally getting to play the position that does suit their talents best (Davies at left center-back, Reguilón at left wing-back for example) and they have left their previously patchy form behind. Davies especially looks like a man reborn and had another nearly-flawless performance, notching an assist for Son's goal.

Speaking of Sonny, he's officially back to scoring goals for fun (and thoroughly enjoying his new Spiderman celebration). Most importantly, it looks like he's playing with joy again. He couldn't look more confident out there on the pitch. In the PL this season, he's contributed to 50% of Tottenham's goals, with six goals and two assists. I have also been appreciating the improvement in his corners, as well as the variety of corner strategies the team has employed. We've actually scored from a corner two games in a row now; technically one of those was an own goal, but it was still Sonny's corner delivery and Davies' aerial pressure that forced it. I actually get excited when we win a corner now! Anyway, I don't think there's any doubt that Son is the team's talisman player at the moment rather than Kane.

I promised myself I wasn't going to talk about Kane as much in this issue, so I won't dwell too long. But can anyone deny that he's still looking way off his usual pace? Maybe it's a fitness issue that Conte can take care of, maybe it's a leftover mentality block from the summer transfer debacle, but either way, I'm sticking by my assertion from my last match review that Kane needs to modify his game for the time being. More of his effective through balls and less of his shaky shot attempts, please.

The third member of the forward line deserves some huge praise for his performance on Sunday, that being Lucas of course. We all kind of laughed when he said in his post-game interview that his goal against Norwich was one of his "top three" ever for Tottenham, but I mean... is he wrong? His hat trick goals against Ajax in the CL semi-final should probably count as a collective best goal because individually they weren't as memorable as the outside-the-box screamer he scored against Norwich. Scrappy, important goals, but not as visually unforgettable. The silky footwork and effortless interplay with Son that led up to the goal were also very impressive. Take a bow! Lucas is another player who seems to be revitalized under Conte, and long may it continue.

Our second goal came from another player who hadn't scored in the PL in a very long time:  Davinson Sánchez. (Remember when he scored twice against Everton in the FA Cup last season? I'm still so mad that we didn't get the win after that remarkable occurrence.) Davies isn't the only

Our second goal came from another player who hadn't scored in the PL in a very long time:  Davinson Sánchez. (Remember when he scored twice against Everton in the FA Cup last season? I'm still so mad that we didn't get the win after that remarkable occurrence.) Davies isn't the only outer center-back venturing into the opposing box these days. And that's a good thing--it's the mark of a well-rounded team that goals are coming from more than just one or two key offensive players. We registered our second-highest number of shots on target against Norwich--unsurprising, since the confidence to shoot is increasing all across the squad. Back to Sánchez though, as happy as I was for him to get his goal (and his ice-cold celebration was something to behold), his constant slips in our defensive box continue to worry me. Romero should get his starting spot back easily enough when he returns from injury.

I can't wrap up the recap without mentioning Oliver Skipp, who deservedly won Man of the Match for the second game running. Funnily though, I was concerned at the beginning of the game that he was going to have an embarrassing hero-ball kind of performance because, in the first half, he was clearly pushing for a goal of his own against his former loan team. But after a while he settled down and merged with the team effort. It really is hard to believe that he's only played consistent first-team football in the Championship before this season. That being said, if you paid any attention at all to his loan spell with Norwich last season, you would have known he was capable of these kinds of defensively solid yet offensively creative performances. I was giving major side-eye to everyone grumbling earlier this year that Skipp couldn't make a progressive pass. Please! The whole team struggled to play up to their potential under Nuno, but the quality was always there to be unleashed.

Can we talk about this combination slide-tackle-and-pass maneuver that has become his signature? *chef's kiss*

In conclusion, Skippy for skipper (post-Hugo reign, of course, long may it continue).

As for another young Spurs player, Ryan Sessegnon got a much longer cameo than expected since Reguilón went off with an early knock (sounds like it was just a precaution, and I'm sure the yellow card he'd picked up contributed to the decision to sub him off). Sess is still struggling a bit with the rawness of youth, but surely Conte can help him to polish his game. We did see a bright moment from Sess when he sprinted on the touchline to win a ball. He reminds me a lot of Regui, honestly. Lots of potential offensively, but maybe not the best decision-maker when it comes to defensive duties. Better to have those strong attacking instincts, at least for Spurs' purposes, because we have a fairly solid defensive base at the moment.

We end the matchday in 5th place, two points behind 4th-placed West Ham and *broken record scratch* with a game in hand. If you didn't catch the dramatic ending to the Everton vs Arsenal match that allowed us to stay in 5th, you really missed out. Thank you, Spurs of the North.

Now for the bad news...

As I linked to earlier, it's very likely that Tottenham has a COVID crisis on its hands. We can hope that some of the second tests will come back negative, but Royal and Gil are probably positive for sure, since they missed out on the Norwich game with "illness." Sigh. We just can't have nice things (momentum in the season). In all seriousness though, I hope that whoever does end up testing positive doesn't have too bad of symptoms and gets well soon.

This complicates the match against Rennes on Thursday, obviously. Conte might not have much choice about who to play, whether he wanted to take the chance to advance out of the group stage seriously or not. There's a possibility that Rennes could field a weaker team of their own since they've already won the group, but maybe not.

I'm finding it impossible to speculate what our lineup might look like since we don't yet know who will be available and who won't. So... see y'all on the other side!

...and a bit of good news to end on.

Tottenham got a very favorable draw for the FA Cup third round:  a home match against League One side Morecambe. The Shrimps! How delightful. They are currently 20th out of 24 teams in League One, so this should be an easy ticket into the fourth round. The match won't be until the weekend of January 7, so any COVID quarantine absences from this current breakout will be in the past by then.

COYS