By Thom Gibbs
For so long the Harry Kane team, Spurs are seeking a new identity. Now that Bayern Munich are the Kane Crew who will fill the void? Ange Postecoglou has said he is not looking for a new striker, perhaps he will be after this semi-eventful 2-2 draw at Brentford.
As Thomas Frank pointed out afterwards they have swapped England’s number nine for Brazil’s, but Richarlison toiled alone up front with little notable output. He dallied over one late shot to give Nathan Collins time to block. Too often in a Spurs shirt his first touch is less Garrincha and more Gisele.
Son Heung-min has assumed the captain’s armband but looked as cowed and erratic as he did for most of last season. Creative fulcrum elect James Maddison delivered a devilish free kick which was converted by Cristian Romero to open the scoring but later put a shot straight at Mark Flekken from presentable range.
By then the game was drifting pleasantly towards a mutually agreeable draw after a first half which used up the action quotient. Four goals, four Spurs bookings, one penalty, Bryan Mbeumo sending Gugliemo Vicario the wrong way, and kick-off delayed by seven minutes due to water supply issues. Sadly Matthew Benham’s powerful algorithms are unable to fix the plumbing.
At half time there was a concerning announcement about non-functioning toilets, suggesting a doomsday scenario of effluence engulfing the pitch. There was a portent in Spurs’ defending for Brentford’s second goal, the excellent Rico Henry skinning Emerson Royal to find Yoane Wissa in a defensive exclusion zone. His shot deflected off one debutant, Micky van de Ven, past another, Vicario. Then 11 minutes of first half injury time seemed to spook Brentford, dropping deeper and eventually conceding an equaliser to Royal.
Spurs did not look bereft, they did not play like a team in mourning. “Football clubs move on pretty quickly,” said Postecoglou. “I haven’t needed to address it, I haven’t needed to give them a warm fuzzy cuddle to just to see how they are. We had a game to prepare for, they knew that.
“If you felt like they were distracted or I was, I think you would have seen evidence of it today. We showed a real resilience that we’re going to need because it’s going to be a challenging year for sure.
Ange Postecoglou waves to Spurs fans at the end of the match against Brentford. Credit: AP
“Second half I thought we controlled the game but probably could have been a little bit more threatening in our front third because we had so much of the ball.”
Spurs can reflect on several positives. The doom seemed all-enveloping last season, this team recovered from adversity after falling behind. Royal came inside from fullback, a Postecoglou trademark, for that equaliser. Destiny Udogie looked unruffled at left-back. Best of all was the way Yves Bissouma emerged as the main character in the second half, a potent mix of steel and skill in central midfield.
Empires rose and fell in the time it took former manager Antonio Conte’s team to find a way through opposition’s lines. Postecoglou’s incarnation did not pick the lock successfully many times but the ball was worked forward at speed and the press to recover it was committed. The mood might have been wake-like in the away end. It was, but only like one of those wakes which become defiantly fun. And where nobody is able to wash their hands.
“It was the most crazy reason for delaying a Premier League game that I’d ever heard,” said Thomas Frank about the lack of running water. Two years ago a game here was disturbed because of the presence of a drone. “It reminded me of that, against Wolves. Probably the first time in the Premier League. So, again, making history.”
In quieter moments you looked around at Kane-less Spurs and wondered who will write their history in the many tough games to come. Early in the second half a poor Maddison corner was only half-cleared, dropping just beyond the far post. From a distance it was not immediately clear which Spurs player was beneath it. Fair hair, gracefully gangly, a touch over six foot. The mind fills in blanks at these moments. For a moment mine shouted “Kane!” Then Dejan Kulusevski miscued a shot harmlessly wide.
A single player rarely replaces one as totemic as Kane. But there was enough here to suggest that eventually Spurs can be rebuilt in the image of a new hero. No longer Harry Kane FC, but perhaps, in time, the Ange Postecoglou team.
London Telegraph