After the departure of top striker Harry Kane, many fans and experts had the Tottenham Hotspur not too confident. But before the 11th matchday, the team is at the top Premier League. The reasons.
Last season it was only eighth place, and in the summer the figurehead Harry Kane left the club for Bayern Munich. After ten games they are standing “Spurs” still undefeated at the top of the English team Premier League.
26 points also mean the best start to the season in the club’s history. The city duel with FC is now on Monday (November 6th, 2023, from 9 p.m. in the live ticker at sportschau.de). Chelsea and former manager Mauricio Pochettino.
“Big Ange” makes Kane forget
If you look for reasons for the upswing at the London club, you quickly come across the new head coach Ange Postecoglou, also known as “Big Angel”. The Australian came from Celtic Glasgow to London and stands for possession football. Plays under him Tottenham again dominant, offensive and successful.
Also against the top teams FC Liverpool (2:1), Manchester United (2:0) and FC arsenal (2:2) wins and draws have already been achieved. This season, in addition to good football, Tottenham also stands for excitement until the end: four of eight wins in the league were achieved by just one goal.
New additions integrated immediately
In the preferred 4-2-3-1 system, the new additions around James Maddison (Leicester City) and Micky van de Ven (VfL Wolfsburg) were immediately integrated. The Dutchman forms one of the best central defender duos on the island with Cristian Romero.
Romero is a prime example of how Postecoglou manages to help his players perform better. While the Argentine world champion was very inconsistent last season and repeatedly had failures, he is now convincing as a strong duel and constant organizer in the back four.
Duo as Kane replacement
Kane and his 35th Scorer-Points are picked up by a duo: Heung-Min Son and newcomer Maddison. Son not only took over the captaincy from Kane, but also his position as central striker. As the leading spearhead, the South Korean knows how to use speed, dribbling and finishing skills cleverly and has already scored eight times in ten games. Son also gets into final positions thanks to the good passes from his congenial partner Maddison.
The Englishman, who was deployed on number 10, came from Leicester City before the season, was immediately placed and already delivered five Assists and has already scored three goals himself. So “Big Ange” only has sarcasm for predictions of doom that Kane’s departure is the reason for the soaring (“We would have already accommodated Kane”).
Long term plans
Postecoglou repeatedly emphasizes that long-term success and sustainable changes in the club are more important than short-term triumphs. It definitely makes it easier that Tottenham doesn’t play internationally and is already playing against them in the League Cup Fulham has been eliminated. This results in important, longer regeneration times between league games.
No team has won the Premier League in October and November, although some have already lost it in the autumn months. An example of this is the upcoming opponent FC Chelsea. With only twelve points and eleventh place this season, little has come together so far. While in recent years it has often been difficult to identify a clear favorite in the city duel, this role now clearly lies with Tottenham.
Tottenham one Championship candidate?
In the current situation and without international games, Tottenham has to be counted among the extended favorites. Nevertheless, some still expect the team to slump, especially because it is a bit thin on the ground behind the first eleven. Another striker and a central defender would be good for the team.
The opportunity to add more will come from January 1st, when the winter transfer window opens in England. If Tottenham manages to survive without injuries to their stars by then, the team could still salute from the top of the table. Tottenham would like to take another step towards this with a win Derby do against Chelsea.