Tottenham Hotspur: The tale without Bale

This season hasn’t gone according to plan for Tottenham Hotspur. They lost Gareth Bale, as he departed to the Santiago Bernabau and haven’t looked like the same team ever since. Sure, they’ve bought in the likes of Christian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado but they simply haven’t had the same zing.

Sitting seventh on the Premiership table is something that they wouldn’t have expected at the start of the season after singing so many talented players. They’ve scored very few goals from open play – only 6 in 11 games – and have relied on more than one occasion on Roberto Soldado to convert a penalty from the spot for the winner.

They have been special defensively with 5 clean sheets out of a possible 11. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose have been brilliant down the flanks defensively and Jan Vertonghen has been rock solid. The trio has been instrumental in Spurs’ defensive dominance thus far. They have mastered the offside trap and have played good possession football.

Paulinho and Dembele have been impressive in the center of midfield and will hope that they can continue on this impressive form. Together, they average an 85% pass success rate in all competitions. Spurs have relied on their stability to help in ball retention and in protecting their slender leads.

Andros Townsend has been Spurs’ silver lining as he has shown brilliant promise down the wings. He seems to be a ‘Gareth Bale in the making’. He seems to possess the same speed and sharpness and is able to run past defenses at will. He is quite accurate and dribbles beautifully. The winger has been employed predominantly on the right of midfield but can play on either side.

Questions will be asked of Spurs when they play the boys in Manchester this month. They will have to score goals and ensure that they remain rock solid defensively. They can’t rely on penalties to get through and must try to score more goals.

Gareth Bale has been missed and despite all the players that Spurs have acquired, none have matched the level of the Welshman. Erik Lamela and Nacer Chadli are young dynamites who are yet to show their talent. Bale has been injury marred at the Bernabaeu but has made a decent impact ever since his World record signing. Spurs have missed him in those precious free kick situations and are yet to score a goal off a free kick this season.

They have missed Bale’s brilliance from 40 yards out, from where he has scored many a goal. Spurs fans will hope that their team can bounce back from this mediocre start and kick start their campaign into full swing.

Is Townsend the answer to all their troubles? Will Soldado score? Will they ever be able to move past Bale? All these questions remain unanswered, for the time being.

Their next two games in the Premiership could pretty well decide how far the boys from White Hart Lane can go this season. Wins will certainly boost their chances of Champions League football and maybe even a title charge; it’s the Premier League, so you never know.