No buys, but knockout Alli eyes a prize for Tottenham
IT is not very chic to strengthen from within during a Premier League transfer window. it does not give supporters much to get excited about, although they will find plenty about which to moan.
it will not earn you top spot among the pre- season predictions of any expert either, you are more likely to find yourself dispelled from the top four in that regard.
And yes, when we came to survey Tottenham’s opening-day team-sheet on saturday morning there was a stagnant air to it. They were, after all, the first club since the inception of the summer window 15 years ago not to sign a single player.
Even those included at st James’ Park were supposed to be mentally and physically fatigued, for having been lauded as the club who were better represented than any other during the last four of the World Cup it was now being perceived as a weakness. Defeat here would have been in keeping with the narrative which has run since the passing of Thursday’s transfer deadline.
And yet, Mauricio Pochettino’s side won, and they did so by not playing particularly well — a sure sign of a good team, we are led to believe.
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez made a simple yet salient observation afterwards when he declared that spurs were bigger, better and stronger than his men. They will be bigger, better and stronger than most this season.
No player demonstrated that more than Dele Alli, who produced a performance of greater quality than anything he managed during an injury-affected World Cup.
He glided effortlessly through this game as if playing with a resting heart-rate, yet quickened the pulse in the penalty area when needed, heading what proved to be the winning goal in the 18th minute.
Alli was just as relaxed and in control when it came to fielding questions about the inevitable — are the players as frustrated as the fans by the absence of new signings?
‘We’re happy that we know how we want to play, that philosophy. We like playing together, we enjoy it, so we’ll just focus on what we have to do on the pitch,’ he said. ‘ We don’t get caught up in what’s going on around. Everyone is dedicated to Tottenham, everyone wants to help the team. All we can do is keep working, keep improving.’
They have improved this summer, says Alli, after the big-game experience their players took from progression in Russia, although such a claim is hardly likely to enthral supporters.
But perhaps he is right. Alli, fellow scorer Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen certainly looked a cut above on Tyneside. Harry Kane less so, but at least he will be wearing the white of spurs as opposed to Real Madrid this season, and the World Cup Golden Boot winner guarantees goals once free of August, the month in which he has now gone 14 league matches without scoring.
Alli knows, however, that it is the month of May in which they will be judged. ‘Every season since i’ve been here i feel as though we’ve improved, but we want to start winning things,’ he said. ‘We keep coming close, but now we’ve got to start winning trophies.’
The same cannot be said of Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, against whom several hundred supporters protested outside one of his retail stores in the hours before kick-off.
The club had released a joint statement penned by Benitez, captain Jamaal Lascelles and managing director Lee Charnley on Friday, in which it was claimed they had done ‘good business’ during a transfer window which yielded a profit of £21million.
Benitez, who is angry at the lack of ambition shown by Ashley, smiled when the wording was put to him. ‘i want to say that the players we have brought in are good players,’ he said.
With very good players, however, Newcastle could have taken more from saturday’s game.
‘ To make the difference in games like this, it is sometimes that little bit of quality you need,’ added Benitez, pointedly.
And that is why spurs might not be as far away from the title reckoning as a summer of inactivity would have you believe, for that quality already resides within their number.
NEWCASTLE (4-2-3-1): Dubravka 7; Yedlin 5, Lascelles 6, Clark 6, Dummett 6.5; Shelvey 6, Diame 6; Ritchie 6 (Atsu 69, 5), Perez 6 (Muto 80), Kenedy 6.5; Joselu 7 (Rondon 59, 6). Subs not used: Ki, Schar, Manquillo, Darlow. Scorer: Joselu 11. Booked: Joselu, Diame. Manager: Rafa Benitez 6. TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris 6; Aurier 6, Sanchez 7, Vertonghen 7, Davies 6; Dier 6 (Amos 88), Sissoko 6; Moura 5 (Dembele 68, 6), ALLI 7.5 (Son 80), Eriksen 7; Kane 5. Subs not used: Alderweireld, Vorm, Walker-Peters, Llorente. Scorers: Vertonghen 8, Alli 18. Booked: Dier, Kane. Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 7. Referee: Martin Atkinson 7. Attendance: 51,749.