We survived.

West Ham on the opening day. I've seen prettier sites checking the bottom of my shoe to see if I'd just stepped in dog shit. I wrote a piece detailing how, although pre-season results shouldn't be given an inch of your time (and they shouldn't), the style and system in which we approach these games inherently should. This game seemingly worked try and go out of its' way to contradict literally every word I wrote.

Although, that wasn't quite what was top of my mind when I was watching us play at West Ham. I couldn't help but imagining the dangerously unsettling comparisons between our performance across the 90 minutes and the regular drivel we had to endure under Sherwood. The notable thing that we did manage to avoid was an all too typical collapse at the first sniff of danger. The game almost reminded me of the Cardiff away fixture last season. We flattered to deceive for much of it before a new boy popped up and scored a late winner.

That first sniff of danger was our back four. Hands up at the end of last season who'd have predicted Naughton & Rose would be starting our first Premier League of the new season. Neither did I. Kaboul, sadly, is not the player he was in 2011/2012 & the wildcard that is Eric Dier could be hit or miss.

I must've watched this game with my hands over my eyes because up until Naughton saw red, I've been informed that we were doing admirably up until this point. I remember us being slack in possession and moving the ball at a snail pace. We looked a minor shadow of ourselves system wise that we saw more or less in every pre-season fixture. It wasn't the fact that we even put into practice this fresh approach and West Ham stifled it, it was more that we lacked the confidence to try and put it into practice in the first place.

We'd seen a far more pragmatic side that were more direct in their passing style but we struggled to get out of our final third at times on Saturday. We lacked that extra midfield option when the defence had the ball or lacked that option in the final third when Bentaleb came deep to collect that first pass. Maybe pushing Capoue back into CB affected this but we struggled even at 11 vs. 11.

We've big hopes for Lamela this year but I feel giving him this seemingly free role almost stifles Eriksen's effectiveness in the final third. Lamela consistently picked up the ball but struggled to know his next move when receiving and often tried too hard to impress. He'd miss the more simple-yet-effective ball more often than not and looked a little lost positionally when out of possession. I maintain that giving him a permanent role right would allow him to work on his game as well as a role that would exploit the best of Erik as well as the system we're trying to implement. This would further allow Eriksen to adopt a more permanent role centrally and allow him to flourish where he is arguably his most dangerous.

Maybe the system needs time. In fact, there's no doubt it does. One player that slotted like he'd been at the club for years was Eric Dier. His positioning, no-nonsense attitude and versatility were exceptional. Considering his debut was arguably made all the more difficult as he was forced to shift over to RB when Naughton did see red, he performed admirably in his first outing.

It's always satisfying to pick up three points on the opening day but I think it's understandable to expect the more pragmatic approach we'd seen in pre-season to be adopted more regularly as time proceeds. We've still to welcome back a host of players from the World Cup as well as a couple of weeks left of this window. The signals have definitely been quietly optimistic, but it's clear that time is still the most valuable thing Pochettino needs at his disposal.

Regards,
Ben

Bewildered.

No lasagna to blame. No scapegoat to point towards - although I saw some attempt berated towards Michael Dawson. We lost in quite emphatic style. I was slowly adjusting to this gritty-just-about-hanging-on Spurs. It was growing on me, slowly becoming an expectation - a reality - would we battle a whole Premier League season biting nails and pulling hair out? No. The rather bewildering defeat to West Ham may ironically be the defeat we needed to kick us into shape. We'd started to look a little lacklustre in our play, lacking that bite in midfield and that emphasis to get the ball into the final third and find that final pass. We buckled miserably against a disciplined West Ham side. We lacked invention at times it was required the most and couldn't break down an ever growing brick wall.

Was it tactical or was it fan pressure? AVB rarely gives away a lot and his introduction to begin Jermain did fathom an element of surprise. He'd been scoring goals. The opposition understandably questionable but in all fairness you can only score against what's in front of you. The issue I found, for me, was that it wasn't the forward that was the issue but the supply for that forward. Eriksen had yet to fully click with Soldado and only time will build this relationship between the two. Defoe mustard a similar frustration, gaining just one clear cut chance in which he should've punished West Ham. His fault, our midfield's fault or West Ham's impeccable tactics? You tell me. As the game progressed Defoe dropped deeper into the number 10 role, relieving West Ham's defence of a forward to keep an eye on, forcing them higher up and making it easier to break.

With Dembele & Paulinho operating similar roles we looked incredibly exposed. Paulinho initially started further forward and made some intelligent runs without being found too much or blazing some abysmal shots way wide of the target. Dembele has played the majority of the season thus far and we could've possibly utilised more bite in the centre as well as a deeper creative outlet. Hotlby's starting to show more of the disciplined player that experienced an early run of successful form for Schalke and this game seemed to be set up nicely in which to start from.

But do we change a winning formula?

Our system remained constant, the players were there but there was no psychological emphasis to win this game. We didn't look bothered. I still fully believe that a 4-2-3-1 is a system that can bring the best out of our players. It's likely we won't know our best 11 until around Christmas. We've barely seen the tip of the Lamela iceberg and Eriksen is still embedding into our style. The problem falls that with so much money invested there's immediate pressure for success. Time is shortening, we naturally demand more as our expectations heighten with so much expenditure.

I wouldn't pin yesterday's defeat down to one particular person. It was an abysmal team performance. Townsend proving one less terrible performance in a team of terrible performances - to put bluntly. So where do we go from now? Sandro? I'd fight the point that Dembele and Paulinho were more than capable of bossing yesterday's midfield but had a severe off day. We'll want a big reaction, expect even and I can only envisage a change or two from AVB.

The international break has probably fallen about on time. We've time to brush ourselves down and regroup in over a week. A bad defeat, maybe the reaction will help shape our season in the long run.

Onwards.

Ben