Underwhelming Tottenham Hotspur Fail to Assert Themselves in West Brom Loss

LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur fell to an underwhelming 1-0 defeat to previously winless West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

Now without a league victory in three games, the north Londoners’ performance will not have lifted confidence ahead of next week’s derby with Arsenal.

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James Morrison’s opener—he was left completely unmarked to head in a 74th-minute corner—was typical of Tottenham's general lethargy. The goal was particularly galling as head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s side had at least got things right in defence up until that point.

Particularly impressive for 70 minutes had been a dominant Younes Kaboul. An imposing, alert figure in his own position, he was not shy in bringing the ball forward as his team searched for a goal, either (indeed, his 69th-minute cross for Roberto Soldado was the closest Spurs came to scoring all afternoon).

From the off, Kaboul had displayed a confidence perhaps reflecting his confirmation as club captain this week—and crucially not evident in his team-mates on Sunday. It was certainly shaping up to be his best performance of the season so far.

Contesting for the ball with Saido Berahino on several occasions early on, the defender had got the better of the positive young Baggies striker both on the run and in the air. The Frenchman was the first to several West Brom balls forward throughout and 20 minutes in was on hand to clear well from a dangerous Sebastien Pocognoli cross.

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Sadly, though, he was partly at fault for Morrison’s winner. Along with Paulinho, he was closest to the Scotsman before the ball won their attentions and he punishingly went free—Pochettino described it as "a collective mistake."

The Brazilian was one of three second-half substitutions made by Pochettino as Spurs fruitlessly tried to find a way through the stubborn Baggies defence.

Paulinho's passing was poor, in keeping with a wastefulness from the Spurs midfield that was in competition with their lack of imagination for their biggest problem.

Credit must be paid to their West Brom counterparts for stopping them in their tracks, a solid foundation underpinning flourishes from the restored Stephane Sessegnon and the aggressive Morrison and Chris Brunt.

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Manager Alan Irvine played Sessegnon in support of Berahino, but he was part of the unit which quickly dropped back to form an obstructive wall when they conceded possession. Pocognoli and Andre Wisdom added pressure from full-back to ensure the feeling of being outnumbered never left Spurs.

"We knew with the quality they have and with the movement they've got, we'd have to be very disciplined," Irvine told his post-match press conference. "We'd have a good shape about us when we didn't have possession of the ball. Concentration levels and our communication would have to be absolutely perfect throughout the game. Our work rate would have to be good.

"We also knew we couldn't be passive, we couldn't just let them come onto us all the time. We had to take the game to them whenever we could."

Spurs' aforementioned issue with imagination must be tempered by the acknowledged difficulty of breaking down their opponents. Still, it will have been dispiriting to Spurs fans to see their team increasingly struggle to create over the course of the match.

"We played very, very slow from the beginning," rued Pochettino afterwards. "I am very disappointed."

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Erik Lamela almost found Emmanuel Adebayor through on goal in the first half, while he, Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen linked nicely with the supporting Mousa Dembele early on. There would be moments when they looked to have found an opening, but they were quickly swamped and either dispossessed or forced backwards.

Adebayor was comfortably dealt with by Craig Dawson and the impressive Joleon Lescott. They were rarely troubled by more than hopeful crosses, their numerical advantage over the Spurs frontman giving them the advantage each time.

Even with Chadli, and then Soldado in the second half, looking to join Adebayor in the box, Spurs could not put them under substantial pressure. Right now there are shades of the uninspired attacking work that negatively marked the last months of Andre Villas-Boas' reign a year ago.

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At this early stage it is as much an issue of inconsistency. Spurs put four past Queens Park Rangers and then two past Sunderland a couple of games later. Pochettino was not interested in blaming the burden of Europa League football on the goalless efforts in between.

"It's not an excuse. We changed the team, 10 different players from Partizan Belgrade. This is not an excuse. I believe we are in a good position to play the game today and have a good performance."

Nottingham Forest arrive at White Hart Lane in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday. The prospect of Arsenal away on Saturday evening will be hard to ignore, though.

If Tottenham are going to get anything from the Emirates Stadium against an Arsenal side a lot better equipped than West Brom, they are going to have to be collectively more assertive than they were here.

All quotes obtained firsthand.