Tottenham Hotspur lack Killer Instinct
While it is too early to suggest that Tottenham’s quest for another season in top 4 is in jeopardy, there have been signs that there is a newly formed pressure felt by Tottenham players. The added demands of Champions League are having an effect on their
league performances.
Tottenham fans, who booed their players after a tame draw against Sunderland, have sent down a message to the players that they need to produce performances of a top 4 club, week in week out.
The flat performance from Spurs players against a Sunderland side, who were thrashed by Newcastle 5-1 not long ago, tells us about the lack of killer instinct that Tottenham possess.
When Rafael van der Vaart scored in the 64th minute, the reaction was more of relief than that of utter joy. They seem to go off the boil instead of taking the game to Sunderland and kill them off. What happened next was there for everyone to
see.
Unlike Manchester United and Chelsea, both of whom hardly played at their best against Wolves and Blackburn respectively last weekend and yet managed to get all three points. This is the mentality of a top team; the belief and desire were two crucial reasons
behind those victories. Whereas Spurs again lacked the firepower and experience to craft out a victory while not being at their best.
Harry Redknapp suggested two weeks ago that Tottenham are only two major signings away from being title contenders. On their recent form, they might do well with more than just two.
Van der Vaart, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale are three players who look title contender’s material, but then again they lack the experience. The strength in depth of the Spur's squad is probably better than Liverpool and even Manchester United.
However, the key difference is the lack of match winners. Gareth Bale is quickly becoming a top player but he still is quite young and needs time. Every top team has top drawer striker. Fernando Torres has won Liverpool games this season, when being out
of form and not 100% fit. Didier Drogba is Chelsea’s top man and has won them matches on pure moments of genius. Rooney and Tevez are the same for their respective teams.
Arsenal have Van Persie but he has mostly been out injured and only Arsenal fans can tell you how much they have missed him.
If Tottenham can sign a striker who can score goals and win them matches even when the team is not performing at its best, than they probably can take a step towards being title contenders.
A killer instinct is vital at the level Tottenham find themselves now and the return of Jermaine Defoe will provide them with much needed ruthlessness in front of goal. In the mean time, van der Vaart cannot be expected to pull them out of hole every week.
Dropping points against Wigan, West Brom, West Ham, Everton, Bolton and Sunderland suggests that the decline has started a little too early.
Liverpool have had too much going on off the field, new owners and a new manager, a stuttering start (not horrific) was expected and while Manchester City bought almost a new team which obviously meant they needed time to gel, Tottenham should have been
better equipped to tackle the challenges of both the Premier League and Champions League.
Manchester United and Arsenal have shown that even after a few bad performances they are well within the title race. Manchester City are also lurking and with the abundance of talent at their disposal, it’s only a matter of time before they all will gel
and give everyone a good run for their money. Liverpool also seem to be coming out of their miserable start to the season and the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are recapturing top form.
Tottenham need to get their act together sooner rather than later if they want to stand any chance of retaining their 4th place finish of last season.
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