MY TEAM ARE NOT MACHINES
Spurs win after Kane’s double but with injuries piling up before Barca tie, Pochettino pleads...
UNLIKE some notable others, Tottenham are doing just enough. Mauricio Pochettino will not be overly enthused by that, but any deficiencies have been masked by results over the last seven days.
Huddersfield were o bl i gi ng opponents, missing chances and defensively naive, as Tottenham left Yorkshire five points clear of Manchester United. A decent head start as October approaches.
The state of this squad is fragile, however, and Pochettino knows it. Strikingly, the muscle injuries are mounting. Jan Vertonghen’s tight hamstring, sustained before halftime, is another for a list including Christian Eriksen, Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli.
Pochettino confirmed Mousa Dembele also came off at the break injured — with a knock — while this was 2-0 thanks to a Harry Kane brace.
Both Vertonghen and Dembele will be assessed today but it is hardl y i deal preparati o n for Barcelona in the Champions League o n Wednesday. The La Li g a champions, meanwhile, were able to rest Lionel Messi for the first hour of yesterday’s draw with Athletic Bilbao. The Premier League started a week earlier than La Liga and Pochettino is upset with international requirements.
‘The players are not machines,’ Pochettino said. ‘We want to push and push them. It’s not easy.
‘Nobody helps. This season is a massive challenge for everyone, not just for us, a lot of teams have the same problem.
‘The first international game they play after the World Cup is two games into the season but they are not friendly games. It is the UEFA Nations League. It is normal all the national teams want their best players to play. And who cares about the players? It is so difficult.
‘It’s not complaining just to complain. We need a squad of 24 or 25 players ready to play, happy and ready. I’m so upset with comments and questions.’
Kane, somewhat amusingly now the Premier League’s top scorer at the John Smith’s Stadium after two goals here last year as well, cannot be afforded the luxury of rotation.
The England captain insists he is fit and well but very few in this
Tottenham team look it. The muscle fatigue is hitting those who had been out in Russia — most of them having gone deep into the World Cup — and Pochettino must be praying Kane’s fitness does not go the same way.
Pochettino, who is acutely aware of the injury ‘red zone’, will probably not see the best of Tottenham until November at the earliest. So just doing enough must be deemed good enough at the moment. And enough was matching Huddersfield’s intensity and fight. That pleased the Tottenham manager.
‘The game was so aggressive,’ he added. ‘I am so pleased because the team was ready to fight. We deserved it because we played differently.’
The three forwards — Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min ably supporting Kane — were too much for David Wagner’s Huddersfield. Son was terrific, a menace on the break and crucial carrier of the ball all afternoon. He certainly appears fresher, even after his Asian Games exploits earlier in the month.
Huddersfield were caught in behind too easily after looking very bright for the opening 25 minutes. Christopher Schindler did not connect with the first ball near halfway, Moura saw an opening and chipped beyond a wrong- footed Terence Kongolo.
Kongolo manfully tracked Moura into the box, pulling a hamstring in the process, before the move was recycled to Kieran Tripper. His delivery was delicious, Kane’s header accurate and Tottenham led.
Chris Lowe’s 25-yard effort was tipped wide by Paulo Gazzaniga but one became two after 34 minutes. This time Florent Hadergjonaj was not alive to a Danny Rose’s give and go with Son, allowing Rose to make his way into the area and throw himself to the ground at the slightest hint of a tug on his shirt. Wagner was incredulous at Craig Pawson’s decision; Kane sent Jonas Lossl the wrong way. Wagner was slightly calmer afterwards, saying: ‘I thought the penalty we conceded was a soft one. At the other end I thought there was a clearer foul on Chris Lowe and we got nothing.’
Tottenham never looked completely in control but dealt with the aerial bombardment from setpieces well. Huddersfield continued their sense of in justice with Pawson. Huddersfield were not disheartened but lacked the quality to carve something out of an industrious display. Laurent Depoitre crashed a volley against the bar from Erik Durm’s cross, Gazzaniga remained alert enough to divert Isaac Mbenza’s curling effort wide with minimal fuss. The Argentine did his case no harm.
The goalkeeping situation is far from settled and that is mirrored by the tinkering of Pochettino outfield too. He preferred a back three here and has flitted between a diamond or a genuine front trio in a bid to stave off the threat of fatigue in certain individuals.
Even before the knocks that was not really an option available to him yesterday, Erik Lamela potentially the only one saved for Barcelona. Alli will definitely miss out with a hamstring injury. Eriksen should be fit but quite how much the rest of Pochettino’s regulars have in the tank is questionable.
‘ We have risks with different players, some higher or lower,’ he added ominously. ‘All the teams with players at the World Cup are going to have a problem with this.’