The Power of the Bench

Another week, another exciting fixture awaiting Tottenham Hotspur. Its a local derby, a team in the bottom three, a chance to move into the top 4 and the opportunity to condemn our rivals to another week spent in the relegation zone. Yet, on our part, I didn't sense much in the way of enthusiasm before the match. Recent hammerings have sucked some of the fun out of our game and with West Ham coming to town, the first team not just to breach our defence, but beat us outright at our new stadium, the same West Ham that stole a draw here 3-0 down with 10 minutes to play, the negative headlines had begun to write themselves. On our part, I detected only antipathy leading up to the game. That was until 3.30 in the afternoon.

Any Spurs fans struggling for motivation to even watch the match will have had their constitutions reinvigorated and their curiosities piqued when the starting lineup was revealed an hour before kick-off. Son had been dropped for Richarlison - something many of us had been requesting for weeks. But it was another shake-up among the usual suspects that flew somewhat under the radar. Perisic had been dropped from his position at left wing-back in favour of Ben Davies. This as a ploy struck me as odd. The Welshman had just put in a hall of shame worthy cameo in Italy just days prior, where every contribution he made in the final third was woefully wanting of quality. Yet, he had been rewarded with first draft selection in arguably our most important attacking position.

I explained this decision to myself as an outcome of the need to better manage player fitness. Perisic had been just as poor as anybody recently; a possible consequence to overuse. Or, perhaps it was just a ruse. A demonstration for future-Spur Desinty Udogie who today sat in attendance. But I reckon my original theory was right. If that first half taught us anything it was this; that after a horrendous weekend in the Midlands and an arduous, futile trip to Milan, the squad was coming up short. Short of confidence for the routinely beaten, short of sharpness for the new players rotating in and short of cohesion on everybody's part.

The ill-functions of the team made threat with only 40 seconds on the clock, with Spurs failing to react quick enough to a set-piece (a throw-in at that) and gave too much space to Jarrod Bowen on the edge of the box. Thankfully, he fired wide. Up top, Richarlison mirrored that of Kulusevski. A month ago, that would have been the ultimate compliment. In the first half, that meant he worked hard, but produced extremely little. Kane was starting to go the same way, but as the only three instinctively attacking personnel in white shirts on the pitch, their isolation and toil was understandable.

At the back, the picture was that of greater competency, but not to the extent that I felt assured of a clean-sheet. Soucek was totally dominant over Clement Lenglet. He forced the Frenchman into conceded possession, conceded corners and even the concession of a near concussion. Romero at least looked more like his old combative self, but whatever we could do defensively, West Ham could do better. The bulk of our attacking play was condensed into hopeful pot-crosses into a packed 18-yard box; bread and butter stuff for the lumps of footballers playing in the Hammers' back-line. I longed for the likes of Deki to shoot from one of their acute positions they'd found on the regular, instead he often blazed a ball straight out of play. I soon started to wish for Son.

As for the controversy, was it a handball? Yes, but actually no. Was it a penalty? No, but actually yes. Rewind the clock to ten years ago and the incident is brushed aside comfortably as a ball-to-hand. When the ball struck Kehrer's arm, it had traveled barely a yard from Richarlison's boot. Yet, what the Premier League and the FA have introduced to modern football, with their countless rule reformations and the increasingly contemptuous VAR, is a suffocating and pervading skepticism. I doubt every decision made and question every regulation I thought I had learned as a child. One thing should have been certain - if West Ham were not to be punished for Soucek's save last time out against Chelsea, they were getting nothing here neither.

If the first 45 minutes were a tale of frustration and lacking invention, the second half was one of rejuvenation. The tone for the half was set by a rallying Tottenham, who created two clear-cut chances mere moments after the whistle for play to resume. Richarlison may have been the man to strike a tame effort directly into Fabianski's grateful gloves, but in truth, the opportunity was squandered by Kulusevski, who refused to shoot 6 yards from goal, and after having dithered on the pass, allowed West Ham to regroup to restrict the oncoming Brazilian to just the one touch, the one sight at goal. The next chance fell to Kane, supplied again by our beloved Swede, who's decisions were getting better as the game went on. Although the footage suggests the resulting effort came from Kane's right-foot, I simply refuse to believe it. If there were another goal placed beside the real one, his shot had still gone dreadfully wide.

Third time's a charm. Eleven minutes after the restart Tottenham finally took their lead. Where the forwards were letting us down, the more defensive minded stepped up - Hojbjerg playing pass of the game through to a charging Ben Davies who found Royal to his right, clean through on goal. The right-back slotted the ball past a helpless Fabianski and earned himself a goal befitting of his recent performances. The man has become undroppable and received a traditional kick of congratulations from Romero for his efforts. It was a Conte goal, scything through defensive lines, wing-back to wing-back. Goals like that will ease his recovery. Well, either that, or have him rushing back to the sidelines.

One man who isn't undroppable is Heung-Min Son who soon made his way from the bench onto the pitch at the expense of Richarlison. We all remember what happened the last time Son had been relegated to that of a second-half sub. It is one of the most prevalent myths in public discourse that lightning does not strike twice in the same place. Low and behold, that was evident at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. In the 72nd minute, West Ham's composure at the back continued to degrade and electrifying super-sub Son struck a second time. Kane's battle with Ogbonna, his ball through to Son and the Korean's run, touch and finish all had me convinced the first half of the season had been a bad dream. It was a typical goal of the talent we've been watching for years now and Sonny had his smile back. Unfortunately for him, this only convinces me further that he belongs on the bench for a while.

And with that Tottenham had won the game. What we were without in the first half, we found in the second. Those three attributes - confidence, sharpness and cohesion - had to be discovered. Mined like precious gems. Now that we have them, we must protect them at all costs, nurture them where possible. The team with and without them are separate entities altogether.

I now find myself scratching my eyes at the sight of Tottenham sitting in 4th place at the week's end. How that has happened, I dare not enquire. Don't ask questions around here, just take what you get and walk. There is a slumbering, gold-hoarding, red dragon starting to wake in Liverpool - and Tottenham's eventual adventure to Anfield will likely be more hazardous than Bilbo's to Erebor. And do not write off Newcastle just yet. See how their results might change once their cup final is out the way. This match and the one next week against Chelsea are warm-ups to the frying of more sizable fish. This is still my opinion.

But if it is to be defeat to Milan next month, then maybe, just maybe, we might want to try to finish 4th.