West Brom vs. Tottenham Hotspur: 6 Things We Learned
Tottenham Hotspur came from three goals down to rescue a point away at West Bromwich Albion in a 3-3 draw that did neither team any favours.
Tottenham got off to the worst possible start when Morgan Amalfitano easily drifted past left-back Danny Rose. Having attracted the attention of Hugo Lloris and his centre-backs, the French midfielder saw his blocked cross fall to an unmarked Matej Vydra who gleefully tucked it away.
Just two minutes later, Steven Reid was allowed similar space on Spurs' left to put the ball in. It found its way to Chris Brunt on the far side—another Baggie again going unmarked—who volleyed in sublimely.
Spurs were awarded a debatable penalty 14 minutes in after Rose went to ground. It did not matter anyway. Emmanuel Adebayor hit a soft shot which Ben Foster saved easily to his left.
On the half-hour mark, things got worse for the visitors as Stephane Sessegnon put West Brom three-nil up. Younes Kaboul's aimless header fell into his path, and the attacking midfielder raced away from Vlad Chiriches and then fired past the onrushing Lloris.
Just with the game looking like getting away from Spurs they were handed a lifeline. Harry Kane played Kyle Naughton in space down the right and the full-back's subsequent cross came off Jonas Olsson and looped in for an own goal.
After West Brom enjoyed the better of the first half, post-interval it was practically all Spurs. Kane brought it back to 2-3 after heading in Aaron Lennon's cross with 20 minutes still to be played.
Pepe Mel's side pushed back but struggled to create anything of note and were punished deep in stoppage time when Christian Eriksen leveled the scores.
Coupled with Everton's 1-0 win over Sunderland, this draw has left Spurs needing a turnaround of seven points to move ahead of the fourth-placed side. Down the other end, a win for Fulham now means West Brom are only three points off the drop zone.
Read on for a few more things learned from Saturday's clash.
Passive Baggies Back Line Could Cost Them Dear
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West Bromwich Albion's defence was not as shambolic as their opposition's was at times (more on which later). Ultimately, though, they were just as culpable for their side not winning.
Somewhat forced by Tottenham pressing the issue, Pepe Mel's team decided to focus on holding onto their lead in the second half. Yet, even prior to that, they were allowing Spurs too much time to operate.
It was the case with their opener. Harry Kane was allowed to veer to the right and play in Kyle Naughton for the cross which went in off Jonas Olsson. Not wanting to be drawn out of position is understandable, but doing it to them before they do it to you is sometimes a must.
When the Baggies defended aggressively—for instance, Liam Ridgewell quickly got out to deny Aaron Lennon space throughout—they often stopped Spurs in their tracks.
Squawka's tally of West Brom making no blocks compared to Spurs' five does not account for a couple of close calls semantically—Craig Dawson as good as blocked Emmanuel Adebayor on one occasion, while Gareth McAuley intercepted a Kane effort which was as good as.
The statistic does, however, highlight the stand-off nature of West Brom's defending at times. Given the urgency of their situation, they cannot afford to be so passive.
West Brom Will Need Foster to Stay Solid If They Are to Survive
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If West Brom are to stay up, they will likely need Ben Foster to play as well as he did against Tottenham.
Prior to last week's 1-0 win over Norwich City, the Baggies had not kept a clean sheet in their previous 11 games. As the previous page dealt with, their defence are giving Foster a lot to deal with at the moment.
Even in the case of marginal improvement from his defenders, the goalkeeper will almost certainly be called upon to save them before the season is out.
Unable to do much about Spurs' three goals, he kept his team ahead as long as they were with a clutch of fine stops.
It was nothing spectacular. The penalty save against Adebayor and another low dive to deny Aaron Lennon in the second half were smart rather than sensational.
But in the desperate search for points, to have one of their players protecting their goal in any sort of form will be vital.
Sherwood Was Too Adventurous but Defence Let Him Down Again
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Measuring midfield dominance is difficult. Incorporating as many facets of the game as it does, it is subject to interpretation.
Tim Sherwood's decision to again field Nacer Chadli and Paulinho in central midfield after their appearance together in the 5-1 win over Sunderland was with the position's more attacking responsibilities in mind.
With neither mustering a shot on target and little of note otherwise contributing going forward, it did not particularly pay off (though the Brazilian was a little better here, linking well with Kane especially at times in the first half).
At White Hart Lane on Monday, they were always going to be the team taking the initiative. Away from home, playing Chadli and Paulinho left Spurs' defence a little more exposed than was ideal—Matej Vydra almost certainly should have been picked up by someone in midfield for his goal.
Yet, while Sherwood's approach did not work especially well, there was little he could do about his back-four's shambolic first-half display.
The centre-back pairing of Vlad Chiriches and Younes Kaboul were on different wavelengths. Neither had much idea of the other's position, though the captain was at least a little more urgent in his overall work (something probably backed up by the Romanian's half-time withdrawal).
How Kyle Naughton conspired to leave Chris Brunt free for West Brom's second, only he knows. But he was easily the better of Spurs' two full-backs.
Danny Rose has the makings of a good left-back. He has zip in his work going forward, and when he is at it is a fine one-on-one defender.
The latter was not in evidence at all, particularly against Morgan Amalfitano. The Frenchman was always going to be dangerous, but Rose did little to try and stop him.
Save for a good cross for Kane in the first half, his work on the ball was decidedly below-par too. The theatrics which saw him booked in the second half further tarnished a bad afternoon's work.
Spurs' defence let down Sherwood again. Their work should be a point of personal pride. That they continue to underperform and make costly errors does not speak well of some of them individually.
Lennon Needs to Reevaluate His Game as His Form Continues to Suffer
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Aaron Lennon's assist for Tottenham's second was the winger at his best.
He offered his defender a glimpse of the ball but quickly burst away towards the byline. Using his pace to get ahead, he floated his cross in reachable distance to a team-mate who proceeded to head in.
Kane made the most of it. He was unlucky not to get on the end of an angled pass from his team-mate not long before that. It was also a Lennon cross that eventually found its way to Eriksen for his equaliser.
The last 30 minutes showed a version of Lennon bordering on what Spurs want to see from him.
The right-midfielder has largely underwhelmed in 2014. At times he has appeared to be going through the motions—a notion that was hard to dispel on the 22nd minute when Chris Brunt easily dispossessed him.
Lennon's improved performance as the game progressed backed up the idea it's not so much a work-ethic problem, though. When you see him racing to cover Naughton and win the ball back as Spurs sought to get back in the game, you know his heart is not in question.
The 26-year-old's speed is clearly diminishing, however, and with it he seems to be at times struggling for ideas.
Pace has always been an important element of Lennon's game. But he has also used ingenuity in beating full-backs, and creativity in finding players from his own team.
He is likely to retain a good level of acceleration a while yet. But with opposition players finding it easier to catch up to him, he needs to find more imaginative ways of using it.
As his game changes, he needs to call on these resources to find another layer to his game.
Kane Impresses Again to Earn a Continued Run in the Team
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Kane's second goal in two matches has been just reward for a player who has waited patiently for starting opportunities at Tottenham.
The all-around quality of his display against West Brom not only highlighted the strides he has made these past few years, it should also be enough to earn him him a continued run in his manager's team.
Sherwood had Kane to thank for keeping Spurs in a game in which key attacking players like Adebayor and Eriksen struggled to make an impact for large periods.
Kane did miss a first-half chance he should have scored from close-range. Oppositely, he played a large part in Spurs' first and obviously scored their second—a well-aimed and weighted header.
In between, the striker was prominently involved in his side's better moments too.
He was a frequent threat in the air, while his movement in the box almost saw him get on the end of another couple of second-half chances. His powerful, purposeful running saw him win three free-kicks too—as tallied by Squawka—though they ultimately led to nothing.
Spurs' season may be fizzling out, but Kane's emergence from the reserve ranks is providing something to cheer about.
West Brom Should Utilise the Threat of Vydra's Untapped Promise
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One of the disappointments of West Brom sitting back as they did in the second half meant it nullified the threat of Matej Vydra.
The Czech Republic striker's goal was the highlight of a fine opening 45 minutes work.
Inside, he got between the Tottenham defenders at will, and might have scored another but for Lloris saving.
Out wide his turn of pace was causing problems too. Just prior to the 40-minute mark, he easily outstripped Chiriches, lured the attention of Naughton and squared the ball to Brunt in the resulting space. Unfortunately the Northern Irishman put his shot wide.
As the Baggies sat behind the ball thereafter, he was left to chase the few balls that made it towards the Spurs penalty box. Saido Berahino replaced him late on.
It was only Vydra's sixth Premier League start (he has come off the bench 13 times) and his third goal.
After a 22-goal haul on loan at Watford last season, adjusting to the top flight has proved trickier. A process not helped by an eventful campaign off the pitch at The Hawthorns with a managerial chance and the Nicolas Anelka affair.
Yet as they search for a happy ending in 2013-14, the eager and nippy Vydra offers a semblance of hope.
His potential at the club is clearly not yet fully tapped. As shown by the number he did on Spurs for a time, he is a player teams are not quite prepared for either.
One player will not ensure another Premier League campaign for West Brom, but Vydra could be the one to make the difference.
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