Mauricio Pochettino admitted that Tottenham had “crossed the line”. Mousa Dembele conceded that “maybe sometimes it was too much”. Eric Dier simply noted that the club “wanted to show a different side to our game”.
The three individuals were discussing the now-infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’, a game in which Tottenham broke a Premier League record for the number of players booked for one team in a single game. Their dream of a top-flight title perished in dramatic fashion as Spurs self-destructed against Chelsea in May. The tightly-knit squad Pochettino had built threatened to burst at the seams.
At times, it seemed as though Tottenham were trying to make a concerted point during that 2-2 draw. “We are trying to get rid of a certain image and I think that helped,” Dier said a few months later, the dust having settled. “For a long time Tottenham have had an image which I don’t think this group of players and this manager enjoy. Obviously we are trying to change that. It isn’t easy and it is going to take time but that is our aim.”
This ‘image’, of ‘typical Tottenham’, the one that has launched ‘Spursy’ into the popular football lexicon, was once captured by Roy Keane. “I thought I knew what the group might need, that we didn’t need a big team talk,” the former Manchester United midfielder once recounted. “It was Tottenham at home. I thought please don’t go on about Tottenham, we all know what Tottenham is about, they are nice and tidy but we’ll f***ing do them. He [Sir Alex Ferguson] came in and said: ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham.'”
“Lads, it’s Tottenham”. Three simple words that encapsulate the ‘image’ that the club wish to expel; three simple words which, if uttered now, have a completely different meaning. The 0-0 draw __with Bournemouth on Saturday ought to lead to more questioning of their goalscoring capabilities – considering they have scored just once in their last three games – but it showcased the new steely, physical aspect of their style.
Tottenham committed ten fouls in the first half; Bournemouth made just five. Six separate players executed those fouls for the visitors, as Messrs Lamela, Alli, Wanyama, Son, Dembele and Rose set about trying to unsettle a Cherries side who were playing them – and out-performing them – at their own pressing game.
Just as against Chelsea, Tottenham threatened to implode then things were going against them. They found it impossible to breach a stoic Bournemouth defence, as the Cherries relentlessly pressed them in possession. Some claimed that Spurs provided the template to beat Manchester City in their victory earlier this season; it might look rather similar to the one to gain victory over Pochettino’s side.
The problem for the manager is how he tempers this new-found aggression. When used correctly, it is an effective method of asserting dominance. Of the ten teams who finished in the top half of the Premier League table last season, nine had no more than two players in the top 20 for most fouls committed. Tottenham, in Erik Lamela (66), Eric Dier (52), Dele Alli (50) and Mousa Dembele (48), had four. Also found in that top 20 were Moussa Sissoko and Victor Wanyama.
Tottenham also committed the fourth-most fouls (453) of any Premier League side last season, and picked up 72 yellow cards, ranking third. Call it ‘dark arts’, call it ‘tactical fouling’, call it whatever you see fit, but the fact that they were one of only two clubs, along __with Manchester City, not to have a player sent off all season, shows that this is a strategy carefully carried out, not players simply losing their control.
However, just before half-time, it seemed as though Tottenham were threatening to boil over again. Fans suffered flashbacks of that game at Stamford Bridge in May, with three Spurs played booked in eight minutes late on. Lamela was remarkably fortunate not to be sent off. The collective frustration of a side who remain unbeaten was clear to see.
To Pochettino’s credit, he calmed his men down at half-time. By the 77th minute, they had committed just one foul in the second half, having finally come to terms with an impressive Bournemouth. The Cherries soaked up constant pressure then countered with pace and precision, almost forcing the breakthrough. Tottenham’s players once again, with things not going their way, showed signs of exasperation. Then came Vincent Janssen, the second-half substitute roughing up defenders. Then came Wanyama, who instigated a multi-man argument. Then came Sissoko, who was unfathomably unpunished for elbowing Harry Arter.
It is a difficult balancing act for a manager. Tottenham have long since rid themselves of their ‘previous’ image; they are now one of the toughest, most physical, most powerful sides in the league. But there is a line. All it takes is for one referee to take exception to a mistimed tackle, a ‘tactical foul’ or a clear elbow to the face. It is a clever system, but an awfully flawed one.
It was once a phrase used to denigrate a side who were typically seen as all style and no substance, but Pochettino has given ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham’ a completely new meaning. In a way, it is endearing. But, just as against Chelsea in May, don’t act surprised if it ever backfires.
Matt Stead