SPURS KANED
Diouf seals point at White Hart Lane to leave...
WHEN Harry Kane trudged off on 64 minutes, the substitution seemed sensible enough. Tottenham were so in control of the game at 2-0 up that a case could be made for protecting him for the rigours ahead.
Of course, nothing is ever quite so straightforward. Kane hadn’t scored. Indeed, he had just missed the chance which would have finished the game off. But even so he had been at the heart of much of what was good about Tottenham. And in his absence they wilted.
It was hard to know whether losing their talisman meant the team lost heart; or whether they had simply set such an intense early pace that they ran out of legs; or whether the introduction of Stephen Ireland, who had a dramatic impact on Stoke, caused Tottenham to capitulate.
Either way, White Hart Lane was not a happy place yesterday afternoon. Substitute Kane by all means; but make sure you win, especially when you have no recognised centre forward on the pitch. When Stoke’s surge came — and it came very late in the game — Spurs looked emasculated and unable to respond. And Kane, who returned late because of his duty in England’s inglorious Under-21 campaign and is flagging, cannot carry this team.
‘He was tired, you know,’ said Pochettino. ‘He came later in preseason. He’s better but he needs time.’ Referring to the fatigue caused by his summer, he added: ‘We knew this before. We spoke a lot about Harry Kane and the consequences you can see now. Every game is different but my feeling was — and it was true — that he was tired. After 2-0, 65 minutes, I thought it was enough for him and we don’t take risks with his body.’
All of which is true. But Mark Hughes’s comment was probably the most apposite. ‘I didn’t notice he’d gone off,’ he claimed before adding: ‘I’m glad he did though.’
A centre forward for Tottenham is required urgently. Clinton N’Jie, who confirmed his £10million move from Lyon yesterday, was present but unable to play. ‘He is an attacking player who plays in different positions,’ said Pochettino. ‘He can play centrally.’
However, he doesn’t fit the mould of the traditional centre forward and that is what is required. ‘I think we need to add some more players but today it wasn’t a problem with the strikers but defensive play,’ said Pochettino.
Stoke were also without an exciting new signing. Xherdan Shaqiri has finally made his £12m move from Inter, but was suspended for this game. And both signings look as though they will be needed. Stoke started badly, finished well; Tottenham were the polar opposite.
Hughes cut a frustrated figure in the first half, the assistant referee bearing the brunt of his irritation. He ended up in better temper but recognised the early failings. ‘If we’re going to have the successful season that we all hope for, we’re going to need a 90-minute performance, not a 45-minute one,’ he said.
His angst may have been primarily due to his defenders. The 19thminute opener was ludicrously simple, Eric Dier at the near post rising to meet a Christian Eriksen corner on the back of his head without a proper challenge in sight.
Kane saved his best contributions of the half until the end. First he lifted a delightful ball into the path of Ryan Mason, who took the ball down superbly and prodded it goalwards only for Jack Butland to save with his feet.
A minute later, Kane drifted deep again and struck a ball into space for Ben Davies to chase. He pulled back a brilliant cross which Nacer Chadli met on the volley and it deflected off Erik Pieters and in. It was a fine move but Stoke were pulled apart far too easily.
Stoke would rue one good chance when Mame Biram Diouf headed into the arms of Hugo Lloris, recovered from injury and returning as captain, from six yards out.
Still, Spurs were comfortable and should have extended their lead on 53 minutes when Chadli broke down the right, before lifting an excellent ball into the path of Kane. It should have been his opening goal of the season but, in attempting to stroke it in, he allowed Butland to reach for the ball and pull off what was admittedly an athletic save.
The withdrawal of Kane and the introduction of Ireland and Joselu lifted Stoke. First, Ireland crossed for Diouf, who seemed sure to score from close range but was denied by Lloris on 62 minutes. Joselu then headed over from an Ibrahim Afellay corner on 76 minutes.
Stoke finally established a foothold in the game when Ireland’s raking pass found Joselu, whose neat turn bewildered Toby Alderweireld, who attempted to pull the Spaniard back and conceded a penalty.
Up stepped Marko Arnautovic, whose strut certainly suggests a man who regards himself as something special, and on this occasion he delivered with a firmly driven penalty, his side’s first goal in the Premier League this season. Emboldened now, Stoke pressed on. Ireland again, who had a hugely influentially cameo, broke into space and delivered a fine cross.
This time it was met by a glancing header from Diouf into the corner of the net. Suddenly Spurs looked fragile and Stoke the likely winners. The hosts hung on but there were boos at the end. That pre-season optimism rarely survives the summer.