Tottenham fall at Vitesse; result proves Spurs desperately need January invesment
Shock loss along the Rhine
Tottenham’s relaxing stroll along the Rhine was not meant to be tonight, after Spurs’ trip to the Dutch city of Arnhem resulted in a 1-0 away loss against Eredivisie outfit SBV Vitesse at the GelreDome.
Former Germany U20 international left-back Maximilian Wittek scored the only goal of the match, putting Vites one goal to the good with just 12-minutes remaining in the second-half.
The strike would be enough for Thomas Letsch’s outfit as Nuno Espírito Santo’s Tottenham slumped into third in Group G after the Portuguese manager fielded a second-string match day XI for the European tie.
I still believe Nuno made the right decision in the grand scheme of things, with the group and fixtures to come. That starting XI was more than good enough, but some of those senior Spurs players showed exactly why they’re not getting near the Premier League starting line-up.
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) October 21, 2021
But the reality remains that, despite a reserve side being fielded, there was more than enough quality for Tottenham to find a result with the likes of Steven Bergwijn, Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso, Dele Alli, and Bryan Gil all in the team at kick-off.
A piece on tonight’s dismal displays from some of Tottenham’s more senior players and why Fabio Paratici must now know, if he didn’t before, what he must do in the January transfer window. https://t.co/IRFxfEDQrA
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) October 21, 2021
Alli was pointed out for particular heavy criticism in the wake of the result, with Football.London Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold stating “The most glaring of them all will have been Dele Alli, who was barely noticeable on the pitch in Arnhem so small was his contribution on a night when other younger players were looking to him. This was an evening when challenges were laid at the door of Alli and others and they came up wanting.” Note: full article can be found here.
Squad needs confirmed after Tottenham loss
Fan frustration has reared its ugly head in the direction of Espírito Santo in the wake of such a disappointing defeat while Tottenham fans have called for the January sale of both Dele Alli & Harry Winks.
But more so than the desire to ax under-performers should be the highlighting of the absolute necessity that Tottenham dip into the transfer market in January to solve what is currently ailing them in two key positions.
Yes, Harry Kane is still on the books at Spurs and whether or not he remains past this season is irrelevant given the fact that Tottenham do not have a proper number 2 striker under NES let alone answering the question of how they can replace him should he march out of north London.
NAPLES, CAMPANIA, ITALY – 2020/01/18: Fiorentina’s Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic celebrates after scoring a goal during the Italian Serie A football match SSC Napoli vs Fiorentina ACF.
Fiorentina won 2-0. (Photo by Salvatore Laporta/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Persistent links in interest with Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahović at least shows intent by the club, but also highlights how difficult it is to find a player willing to play second-fiddle behind a striker that is undroppable unless he is rested for recovery or dealing with an injury.
Even more importantly, the lack of a true creative player in the middle came home to roost tonight for Tottenham in another position where depth is more than lacking.
The hard truth remains that without the required depth to tackle a two-front campaign both at home and the continent, Tottenham may have a very decent first-choice XI, but without quality behind the key figures, neither front can be pushed to success.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 8 | 13 | 19 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 8 | 16 | 18 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 8 | 13 | 17 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 8 | 3 | 15 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | -3 | 15 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 8 | 6 | 14 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 8 | 5 | 14 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 8 | 4 | 14 |
| 9 | Brentford FC | 8 | 3 | 12 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 8 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 8 | -1 | 11 |
| 12 | Arsenal FC | 8 | -5 | 11 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 8 | -3 | 8 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 8 | -4 | 7 |
| 16 | Watford FC | 8 | -8 | 7 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 8 | -8 | 6 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 8 | -8 | 3 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 8 | -9 | 3 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 8 | -14 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 4 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 3 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 4 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 4 |
| Veltman, Joel | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 4 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 3 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 0 | 3 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 3 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 3 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Struijk, Pascal | Leeds United | 1 | 2 |
| McArthur, James | Crystal Palace | 0 | 3 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Djenepo, Moussa | Southampton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| Manquillo, Javi | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Azpilicueta, Cesar | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
