Winning Battles for Perception Can Continue to Drive Tottenham Hotspur Forward
It is the kind of burden Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane will have happily kept on carrying. In the event, though, he will still have noticed a relieving of a pressure he has shouldered for the best part of two years.
The injury Kane suffered in Tottenham's win over Sunderland raised fears of his side's ability to get by without last season's top scorer. Ahead of their first such test against Middlesbrough, statistics from OptaJoe showing their previous difficulties without him suggested they could struggle:
Signed primarily as a back-up option, Kane's replacement Vincent Janssen countered skepticism about his viability in the 2-1 win.
Indeed, in helping create the two goals for another player in the process of reshaping perceptions, Heung-Min Son, the Dutchman has made himself right at home in this Tottenham setup.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino does not come off publicly as someone so interested in using others' opinions of his team as motivational material. The playing and coaching staffs doing their jobs as asked should be sufficient if his footballing philosophy is as strong as he believes.
Yet, used intentionally or just coming as a byproduct of the improvement Pochettino is striving for, disproving preconceived notions has driven and can continue to drive the north Londoners forward.
The need to do so has not decreased, even as things have got better in recent times.
This week, they face CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Champions League, eager to prove their opening Group E loss to Monaco was an aberration. After that, they host Manchester City. Beating them twice last season proved so pivotal in establishing their credentials as Premier League title challengers.
Eric Dier's post-match interview after the 4-1 home win (see above) was a testament to just how big a deal this was.
Spurs experienced a largely torrid time facing Man City in the preceding few seasons, usually at the hands of tormentor in chief Sergio Aguero. It was in keeping with a general view they were not good enough, that they lacked those often intangible qualities required to become a real player among the country's elite.
"I just see like, we choke against the big teams and we don't put our foot in and we can't grind out a result," a peeved Dier said. "I think in the last couple of weeks we've proved them wrong."
Spurs continued to hold their own against top-four rivals, battling it out to stalemates with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool but getting the better of City again, as well as Manchester United. Eventual champions Leicester City narrowly beat them in the league but were dispatched in the FA Cup.
In these games and other vital results that kept them in the title hunt until the final month, they more than backed up Dier's belief in their toughness. This was in large part because of the style Pochettino had implemented.
At their best, Spurs were relentless in attack and focused and aggressive in all other aspects. For months, they belied their general youthfulness and played with a temperament befitting their lofty ambitions—albeit in-game knowhow for certain situations still needed improving.
"We are still very young," Pochettino reflected after they fought from behind but ended up drawing the north London derby in March. "This type of game when you play on the top of the table, in the position that we are, it's important to feel that and improve."
Their now-ingrained nature and the pressure created by their competitiveness ultimately caught up with them, mixing to debilitating effect in a crucial clash with Chelsea in May.
Needing a win to stay in contention with Leicester, Spurs took a two-goal lead but found themselves provoked by the wily Blues and lost their cool. Pulled back to 2-2, the assertive tackling that had been a trademark regressed into stupid and petty fouling.
They were certainly not a soft touch, but this costly result and half-hearted efforts in subsequent defeats undoubtedly damaged their reputation.
Was this a case of same old Tottenham? Though it only cost them pride, their being pipped to the runners-up spot by Arsenal brought to mind previous disappointments causing them to fall short of the Gunners in league rankings.
"We need to improve from our mistakes and we need to show that we are clever," Pochettino said at the start of the new campaign, going on to reflect on the way they lost their heads against Chelsea.
"It's true that this wasn't good in our game against Chelsea [their professionalism and respect for opponents], with our behaviour maybe we crossed the line a little bit, and we cannot repeat that."
Man City are not a despised foe like their London rivals, but it is a big opportunity for Tottenham to show they have benefited from their 2015-16 experiences.
In its own right, the meeting is a vital early test of where the current group stand.
The north-west club are looking a rejuvenated team under new boss Pep Guardiola. New signings like Ilkay Gundogan and John Stones have joined holdovers in taking them to an unbeaten start to the Premier League, four points ahead of second-place Spurs.
Beat City, or at least encouragingly compete with them, and Pochettino's team can firmly begin looking forward to the potential of the year.
They have already progressed beyond some perceived limitations.
Much was made of how integral midfielder Mousa Dembele is to them. It was insinuated they were a far lesser team without his presence, pointing to how he had been missed latterly last season but ignoring performances like the aforementioned 4-1 dismantling of Man City for which he was injured.
With Dembele still suspended for his part in the recklessness at Chelsea, Spurs beat Crystal Palace and Stoke City. The Belgian's return for the win over Sunderland reiterated his value to the club's cause, but the latest three points secured at Middlesbrough show they can get by without him.
Kane's injury has created a similar situation.
Two goals in the two matches up until then—including the winner over the Black Cats—silenced doubters criticising a preceding goalless run. Now the negativity has moved on to how Spurs could fare without him.
It is early days, but Janssen's performance against Middlesbrough is enough to warrant some optimism he can provide cover.
The summer signing teed up Son's first goal and gave the South Korean the ball before a mazy dribble led to his second. Overall, he occupied the Boro defence well, providing an outlet for his team-mates while creating space for them to target attacking.
Though not replacing Kane directly, Son's third and fourth strikes of the season suggest he will contribute in carrying the scoring load until the vice-captain’s return.
The 24-year-old is a pertinent example when it comes to resisting general, oft-misleading perceptions.
Following the win in the north-east, Son spoke about his uncertainty over whether he would stay at Spurs after participating in this summer’s Olympic Games, via the Mirror's Mike Walters. He had a decent first season in England, but inconsistent game time had him questioning his future.
Going by a report from Bild (h/t the Sun) during this period, it seemed many outsiders felt a move was coming too.
Thankfully for Spurs, Pochettino could see the bigger picture.
Like with the similarly doubted Erik Lamela before, the manager did not heed inaccurate, partial depictions of Son's work. His more nuanced take resulted in a belief patience would pay dividends.
"The expectation, when you arrive in a new country with a different style of football, is difficult and he struggled to settle, but he is working very hard and that is the most important thing," Pochettino said, per Walters.
"If you work hard and have patience in football, you can pay back and in the last few games he has started scoring, which is very good for him and very good for us," he said.
Continuing to stick to such principles should keep Pochettino and Tottenham in good stead.
What others think should and likely does not matter much to the manager, at least. Nevertheless, winning these battles for perception can prove they are on the right track.
Getting where Spurs want to be, every little confidence boost and underlining of their values will help.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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