The start of the season for Tottenham has been massively impressive domestically, with drastic improvements obvious on the pitch, with only seven points dropped, all away to the three London rivals.
Whatever you think of some of the performances, this is massively impressive, and Conte’s squad have overcome barriers which they weren’t able to last season. As a result the points tally is looking impressive, with Spurs only being three behind the unstoppable Man City and the four behind our almost flawless rivals.
Tottenham’s biggest flaw in not having top four secured earlier was what would be branded as ‘silly dropped points’ by a team of its calibre. Particularly, Southampton and Wolves at home were losses during Conte’s early reign, and came consecutively during the push for Champions League football. This season however, both were brushed aside.
Not to mention the away performances at Stamford Bridge, which saw Spurs overcome adversity and show the grit which had not been seen with previous teams. And for newly promoted Nottingham Forest, who acceptably have been poor, a big first home game back in the Premier League meant they were up for it, and this squad didn’t let the occasion get the better of them and remained calm and patient, another quality since the change in manager.
From this alone, you can say the team has been deceptively better, but Antonio Conte’s team hasn’t particularly been shining either - Heung Min Son has had his worst ever start to a season, Dejan Kulusevski has been injured recently and countless of reliable players from last year have been inconsistent in performances.
Credit has to be given to the coaching staff who have drilled a reliable team in terms of performance, where you know the minimum of what you’ll get each time, and you know goals won’t be leaked in a sloppy manner like under previous coaches. If Tottenham’s world class attack can find form, a discussion may begin about becoming challengers for the title.
Despite Tottenham not being able to find their feet properly in the Champions League as of yet, despite a lapse of concentration in Portugal the team has once again remained hard to beat, and with two consecutive home games, including Frankfurt again this Wednesday, Spurs are in pole position to qualify for the knockout rounds.
This season particularly has seen better results due to better depth. ENIC finally invested with £150m in the Summer, and evidently there has been results. Signings such as Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Clement Lenglet and Yves Bissouma have helped with rotation and given us a boost in games.
It’s very much a “trust the process” feel in North London right now with Spurs, where the waiting game may have to be played a little longer, with more transfer windows, including keeping the current crop of top players. Those who doubt Antonio Conte will soon be proved otherwise.
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