Opinion: Why I am so excited about Spurs after that 4-1 win over Southampton

The Premier League was back this weekend, and earlier than usual, but it appears the premature calendar has played into the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, who got most of their transfer business done uncharacteristically early this year.

As we all know, Spurs went 1-0 down early on to a James Ward-Prowse goal, only to blow Southampton out of the water with four goals and a whole lot of attacking chances. So let’s take a look at what we learned from the encounter, beyond that Spurs are top of the league.

I think the biggest takeaway from me was the difference in style of play despite it being the same XI that finished last season. Those players have now had a full season under Antonio Conte, which has worked wonders tactically and physically.

While the feature of Tottenham’s attacking play last season was, more often than not, the Kane and Son show, that was not the case on Saturday. In fact, Spurs scored four goals and neither of the two big guns got on the scoresheet. They also only directly contributed to one.

The main attacking threat this time around was the wing-backs, a classic concept of the Conte game plan. Playing three centre-backs and two central midfielders allows the wing-backs to push all the way up the pitch, providing width, crosses, and late runs at the back post.

Sure enough, Ryan Sessegnon nodded home at the back post, and could have had a couple more. Meanwhile, Emerson Royal created two goals with his crosses into the box. The perfect demonstration of what Conte wants to see, and a great starting point for the season.

Harry Kane was not at his busiest against the Saints, although that’s not to say he played poorly. He actually did very well in the pockets and with his back to goal to bring others into play. However, he should be able to mix his game up even more this season.

Yes, he can drop deep and ping a pass over the top to one of the marauding wing-backs or Sonny, which will be effective. But with Conte’s wing-back system in full flow, he should also be able to hold his line up front and get on the end of some crosses too.

As long as the two central midfielders (Hojbjerg and Bentancur) are progressive in their passing between the lines, Kane shouldn’t need to drop back in every single attack, making Spurs far more unpredictable and far harder to play against in attack.

While the wing-backs should add an extra avenue of goals and assists for Spurs this season, I do not think for a second that Kane or Son will see their opportunities dry up as a result. Instead, Tottenham should (in theory) become a more devastating attacking force in general.

Another positive on the right side, triggered by Emerson getting forward way more than usual, was extra space for Dejan Kulusevski. Having watched him for a short time, he seems to thrive when playing with an overlapping wing-back, as we saw on Saturday.

When Emerson bombs passed him on the wing, Kulusevski is given a variety of choices. Carry the ball himself and take a shot with that wicked left foot. Curl in a cross to Kane or a late-arriving LWB. Or actually use Emerson and slip a pass in behind.

If there is one thing we know about Kulusevski already, it’s that he makes the most of the ball at his feet, very rarely wasting possession or picking the wrong ball. Yes, he needs to work on his weak foot, but that is really the only weakness I see at the moment.

I know some were disappointed that none of the new signings made the starting line-up, but I really don’t think that is going to change much for a little while. Fitness is king with Conte and the established players are the fittest out there at the moment.

Not to mention the fact that they have had more time on the training pitch with Conte too. I assume Perisic will be the first to break into the starting XI, as evidenced by his 25 minutes at the weekend. But the others may take a few weeks to get a look in.

After all, although it may not seem exciting, the XI that started against Southampton were the same XI that picked up so many wins at the end of last season. And now Conte has class options to improve the team and change the game from the bench. That is really exciting.

So I wouldn’t get caught up on who is and isn’t starting and why new signings aren’t getting in the XI. Conte will choose his teams based on who is impressing in training and who is best suited to winning the football match in question. Let’s just roll with his decisions.

I think we have to take a minute to talk about Bentancur because I’m not sure any of the positive things we saw on Saturday are possible without him. The wing-back system does not work without brave and energetic central midfielders.

If you get nothing more than sideways passes from your two CMs, the wing-backs become irrelevant and the forwards are isolated for 90 minutes. Bentancur is constantly on the move to give his teammates an option, then 90% of the time picks out a progressive pass.

Sometimes this is a ball through the lines, a switch out wide, and little flick around the corner to a midfielder in a nice pocket of space. Everything he does is designed to get Spurs as high up the pitch as he can, and as fast as he can.

Defensively, Ben Davies, Eric Dier, and Cristian Romero also continue to compliment each other so much. The steady and reliable Davies on the left, the aggressive Romero stepping up on the right, and the Dier keeping everything together in the centre.

It seemed like there was a lot more of Romero getting forward when Spurs had Southampton penned in too, giving the Lilywhites an extra man in attack. This shows a lot more confidence in the system. Just look at what Rudiger was able to do for Chelsea in a back three.

Perhaps the most exciting thing of all is that Tottenham are not done in the transfer window either. I still expect us to get Udogie over the line and then one, maybe even two, more new faces (creative midfielder and centre-back). Fingers crossed!

Udogie also excites me because he’s a signing for the future AND a Conte signing, recommended by the man himself. Call me a dreamer but that hints Conte is expecting to stick around at Spurs for a couple more years at least.

So, there we go. As a summary, Spurs are in a very good spot at the moment, and I think we will only get better as the season goes on and competition for places increases.

There are always going to be hiccups at the start of a season, so let’s not lose out heads if we drop a few points here and there. Conte has been here 7 months and it is still a process to get where we want to be. But boy does it look like an exciting journey. COYS!

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