Tottenham vs. Liverpool: What Did It Tell Us About Spurs' Title Hopes?

Tottenham's latest match against Liverpool was preceded by a number of questions.

Would new signee Louis Saha make his debut? Who would replace Rafael Van Der Vaart? How would the team do with manager Harry Redknapp unable to make the trip? Could Spurs hold off a decent, mid-table side like Liverpool looking to leapfrog Arsenal for sixth on the league table?

The resulting answers were mixed. Tottenham certainly showed determination—especially in defense—to grind out a draw away from White Hart Lane. A point come May could be very important. Louis Saha did little while he was out on the pitch, but how much can be expected of a guy who's been with his new club for less than a week?

In the end, however, both sides left Anfield disappointed. Liverpool should have won the three points in front of a raucous home crowd. Tottenham should have won as Gareth Bale had a golden chance in the form of a late one-on-one opportunity against Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Even though the end result was a scoreless draw, let's look a little deeper and see what Tottenham's performance with Liverpool taught us—for better and for worse—about the club's title hopes going forward.

Tottenham Has to Have Redknapp

If Spurs midfielder Scott Parker's post-match comments are indicative of how the rest of the squad feels, one thing we know going forward is that the absence of manager Harry Redknapp has taken its toll on the players.

"Our gaffer inspires us, he gives us that extra bit of energy, so we’ve missed him to be fair over the last two weeks," Parker told Sky Sports shortly after the scoreless draw to Liverpool. "He’s key to our team and key to what we’ve done this year. We’ll be absolutely delighted when he gets back and we’ll keep going on and keep fighting."

Right out of the box, Tottenham looked a bit sloppy. Emmanuel Adebayor, who hasn't hit the back of the net since December 27, was again out of form. Even the ever-dependable Gareth Bale wasn't anywhere near his usual self.

Tottenham showed—and then later confessed—that they need Redknapp for their title hopes to come to fruition. The distraction of having a manager in court seems to be mounting. Assistant managers can get the job done for a match or two, but if the club is going to be a serious contender for their first Premier League title, it needs to be with Redknapp on the touchline.

Adebayor Needs Another Forward

Manager Harry Redknapp was just one of many key exceptions from Tottenham's squad on Monday night.

With Rafael Van Der Vaart sitting out due to a calf strain he suffered against Wigan Athletic and Jermain Defoe nursing a pulled hamstring from the same match, Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha were the only two forwards on the Tottenham bench.

It obviously wasn't enough.

Strong and powerful, Adebayor is at his best when he has a quick-thinking, speedy striker like Jermain Defoe at his side.

Luka Modric is about as good a player as there is in the world, but when he's forced to play the attacking role (instead of sitting back and deciding when the right time is to strike) he's not able to take full advantage of opposing defenses. He wasn't the right person to pair with Adebayor, but with Saha still learning how to play with his new team, it was the best the club could do.

Tottenham learned at Anfield that fielding one striker, even if it's a world-class guy like Adebayor, isn't enough to win games.

To make a serious title run—and match up with high-scoring teams like Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United—Tottenham need to give Adebayor someone to partner with. The Togolese international won several headers against Liverpool, but there was no one near him to take advantage and put it in the back of the net.

Bale Can Score Against Any Team at Any Time

Here in America, our national pastime is baseball. In baseball, we have a phrase that goes something like "He needs to take something off his fastball."

You see, pitchers can sometimes throw so hard that they lose some control. By slowing down their pitches slightly, they can dramatically increase the amount of control they have when on the pitcher's mound.

So it goes with Gareth Bale.

In the 84th minute, Bale raced through the Liverpool defense, found himself one-on-one with Reds 'keeper Pepe Reina and looked like he was going to score the game-winner and be the toast of north London.

Instead, the Welsh international couldn't compose himself and fired his shot straight at the Spaniard.

Bale was going full-tilt, running towards goal so fast that he lost control. If he'd slowed down even slightly, he could have gotten off a much more controlled shot.

Tottenham showed against Liverpool that they have a player in Gareth Bale who can outrun any defense even in the waning moments of the game—and he'll score if he can take something off that fastball of his.

Why's that important? Three reasons—Newcastle United, Arsenal and Manchester United.

And that's just the next three league matches.

Tottenham Has Depth at Defense

For any club to make a serious run at the title, they must have depth in their defensive back line.

Arsenal is learning this the hard way.

At the beginning of the season, Tottenham's weak spot was their defense. I mean, come on, these are the same guys who gave up eight goals to both Manchester sides to start out the season.

But where Tottenham's defenders were green, they've matured. Where they were injured, they've recovered. Where they were thought aging, they've taken a sip from the fountain of youth.

Ledley King played all 90 minutes against Liverpool, something he's done 14 times so far this season. He's played a full match in more than half of Tottenham's 24 league matches, exceeding most everyone's expectations (including mine).

Michael Dawson stepped into the starting role he rarely sees with ease, looking comfortable and composed in just his fifth appearance of the season.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto continued his campaign towards most improved Spurs defender with a strong performance.

And what can you say about a player like Kyle Walker. The 21-year-old England international impressed everyone at Anfield (including Fabio Capello). He tackled well, he supported the attack and his passes to Gareth Bale on the wing were a thing of beauty.

Tottenham showed they have a solid back line of defenders, even when one of their starters—center back Younes Kaboul—couldn't go.

Friedel Can Hang With the Best of Them

You probably know that Manchester City 'keeper Joe Hart has a league-leading 10 clean sheets. You might also know that Liverpool's Pepe Reina is even with Hart, earning his 10th clean sheet of the season at Tottenham's expense.

But you might not know that Tottenham's Brad Friedel is just one clean sheet behind both of them. He's third in line right now to receive the coveted Golden Glove.

The 40-year-old American showed against Liverpool that he can put the clamp down on mid-table sides like Liverpool and dig out a draw even when his offense isn't going to be doing him any favors.

That's going to be incredibly important in the next few weeks when Tottenham faces inferior—yet still dangerous—sides such as Newcastle United, Stoke City and Everton.

Tottenham Can Grind Out a Point When Needed

But most of all, the most recent match against Liverpool showed that Tottenham can play a gritty—sometimes frustrating—brand of football when need be.

Their manager was stuck in London, two of their top three choices at forward were out due to injury and their up-and-coming center back had banged up his knee in the previous match, but Tottenham still ground out a draw away from home.

At this point last season, Tottenham was struggling against clubs that were relegated by season's end. They would have surely lost a match away from White Hart Lane where everything was seemingly going against them.

But instead, Tottenham showed they're a different club, a club with maturity and leadership on the pitch. Instead of self-pity, they found self-determination. Instead of digging their graves at Anfield they dug in their heels and snatched a point against a Liverpool side that was ready to welcome home Luis Suarez from his eight-game ban with a victory.

Tottenham showed, above all else, that they are a club who believes in itself. As it relates to their title hopes, that's one of the best things Spurs fans could hope for.