Football analysis: Why Tottenham are wiser and better than Manchester City?
On 14th August, 2010, a reinforced Manchester City visited White Hart lane for the season opener versus Tottenham, in a match that promised to be a delightful proposition. With both teams comprising world-class players all over the pitch, one
could expect open, attacking football to be played. While Tottenham lived up to this expectation, Manchester City looked relatively shorter on ideas. With eight shots on target versus City’s two, the team in blue could make little happen in the final third
of the pitch. Initially, they were overwhelmed, and the first half was Spurs versus a flying and incredible Joe Hart. In the second, City had enough class to slow down the tempo by keeping possession. All in all, Sheikh Mansour would not have been happy with
the immediate payoff his £106 million provided him with.
So, what exactly led to such a disparity in performance? For one, it could be the home advantage for Tottenham, but if anyone was inspired on the day, it was Joe Hart. It wasn’t possession, as City controlled the complete second half, and restricted Tottenham
to two shots in total. Then what was it? Many would believe it was something greater and larger than that, and something bigger than £106 million of summer spending. To give you a hint, consider the fact that the Spurs first eleven that played on the day had
spent an average of 4.36 years at the club, with a minimum of 2 years. Opposed to that, City’s starting line-up could only muster an average of 2.0 years. The hint, obviously, is towards lack of team chemistry. Apart from the matches against Liverpool, which
are just as disjointed a unit as the light blues, City’s attack has lacked the edge and creativity required to break through defences this season. Against Sunderland, they dominated the first half but were unable to convert their chances, eventually receiving
a Bent sucker punch. In the following match, Hart was the hero-turned-villain, and City could only manage a draw. One may argue that Tottenham lost to Wigan as well, but that was on the back of a Champions League encounter, which is known to impact teams.
Over the years, Tottenham have spent lavishly. Under Martin Jol, Juande Ramos, and now Harry Redknapp, the all-whites have never been afraid to spend at what they deem exciting. But a single look at their squad and one can see that they have laid belief
in developing young players into their first team. The presence of Ledley King, Crouch, O’Hara, Lennon, Huddleston, Dawson, and Defoe in the first team gives ample proof. While these players essentially are not world-class, they bettered the Tevez’s, the Yayas,
and the Silvas on the night, and generally have their say against any opposition.
Look over to City, and we find that Michael Johnson and Onuoha are waiting their turn, while Ireland was used as makeweight in the transfer of James Milner. The future of Micah Richards is also hanging in the balance. Tottenham have been quick to realize
their mistakes as well. Apart from re-signing Defoe, Crouch, and Keane, they quickly reversed their digressive moves attributed to the Damien Commoli era. Unneeded players such as Bent and Boateng, along with many other misfits were quickly shipped out by
the incoming Harry Redknapp. City on the other hand, bought Robinho and replaced him with Silva; bought and sold numerous strikers, with Bellamy, Adebayor, and Santa Cruz unable to get enough game time; bought Wright-Phillips, and replaced him with Adam Johnson;
bought Bridge, and replaced him with Kolarov. It seems the only mission and vision at the Eastlands at the moment is to spend money, and not stability leading to trophies.
Summing things up, with pre-tax profit and Champions League football, Tottenham today hold their heads up high. Their squad is one of the best English squads in the league, and boasts of home-grown players. What they have at their hands is an intricate mix
of local and foreign talent, with foreign purchases justifying their presence by providing something different. The central midfield pairing of Luka Modric and Wilson Palacios pays tribute to that. As for the Citizens, they need to realize that blindly spending
money is not the solution to their problems. They need to look at the local role models, set by Manchester United and Tottenham, as well as foreign ones such as Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, and learn from them. They need to find a balance between home-grown
players and bought ones, so that a sense of belonging, ownership, and spirit remains intact within the dressing room. For now, Tottenham remain wiser, and probably better than Manchester City.
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