Tottenham's inconsistency: A woe yet to be addressed
15/02/2023
Tottenham's inconsistency: A woe yet to be addressed
When Tottenham's assistant manager Cristian Stellini apologised for their humiliation by Leicester City, it raised questions about their mentality. Those with Tottenham Hotspur tickets were bitterly disappointed.The Foxes were remarkable as they twice rallied behind to win with four goals.
Rodrigo Bentancur's deft redirection of Victor Kristiansen's sliced clearing gave Spurs, with manager Antonio Conte back in charge after a gallbladder procedure, the perfect start.
However, the revitalised Foxes scored twice in less than two and a half minutes to change the match's course completely.
Nampalys Mendy scored the first goal, the second of his fledgling career, when he slammed a first-time long-range screamer from the edge of the box into the top right corner.
Soon after, Wout Faes' midway tackle on Harry Kane ricocheted into the path of Kelechi Iheanacho, allowing James Maddison to score.
Iheanacho scored Leicester City's third goal just before halftime by drilling a shot into the bottom corner while being defended by Tottenham's Eric Dier.
The video assistant referee overturned Harvey Barnes' goal for offside, but Spurs didn't learn their lesson. Ten minutes later, the winger tucked in a fourth from Maddison's pass.
Stellini, who spoke to the media in place of the injured Conte, said: "To be consistent is a long process, it's a mental process, you have to be better mentally."
"Something happened as soon as we scored the goal, and something must change inside the team, not on an individual basis."
"We must apologise to the fans with Tottenham Hotspur tickets since we fell short in this performance. We have dropped too many duels and tackles. You have the inner strength to do this."
After an hour, Spurs lost their in-form goal scorer Rodrigo Bentancur due to a knee injury sustained when tackling Mendy, capping off an awful afternoon.
After a team meeting following their 4-2 loss against Manchester City one month prior, Tottenham had started to show signs of improvement.
Then, victories over Fulham, Preston, and champions City followed.
Conte missed the City victory since he was recuperating in Italy, and after seeing this capitulation firsthand, he probably wishes he was still there.
Hugo Lloris, the team captain, was forced to sit out the first of many games due to a knee injury, which will keep him out for at least six weeks.
In just his second league game since joining Spurs in the summer, veteran Forster began in goal.
Even though they had to wait two minutes to celebrate following a lengthy VAR check for offside, everything was looking so wonderful when Bentancur scored.
But throughout the entire afternoon, just four shots were on target.
Their all-time leading scorer, Kane, had to wait until the 90th minute to take his solitary shot of the contest. Son Heung-min only made one attempt despite having a hat trick in the previous match.
Their new right-back Pedro Porro had a dismal start as he battled against Barnes' pace.
Bentancur's need for oxygen after being harmed in a collision with Mendy added to an extensive list of injuries that continuously saddened those with Tottenham Hotspur tickets. However, he could leave with assistance rather than requiring the stretcher that had been sent out.
Harry Kane: Officially Tottenham's all-time top scorer
Alan Shearer, the all-time leading scorer in the Premier League, believes that Harry Kane should stay to entertain those with Tottenham tickets if it makes him happy and that he is unlikely to care if he never wins a title.With 267 goals for Spurs, England captain Kane, 29, is one of just three players—along with Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney—to reach the 200-goal mark in the Premier League.
But he has never taken home a significant award.
"I can understand why he would decide to stay at Spurs," Shearer remarked.
Shearer, a former England striker with 260 Premier League goals, won the championship with Blackburn in 1994–1955, his lone career trophy.
He declined Manchester United in 1996 to join Newcastle, the team he had grown up supporting.
With the exception of loan stints, Kane has played his entire career for the Spurs after passing out from their academy. With 53 goals, he and Wayne Rooney are England's all-time highest two scorers.
Shearer stated to BBC Radio 5 Live: "In no minute of any day do I reflect on my professional life and say, "Manchester United would have given me medals."
"Harry currently holds the record for Tottenham and will soon have a statue. He will also likely receive the England record and a figure at Wembley, and his medals are those.
"I can understand why he would choose to remain at Tottenham. He already has greatness surrounding him, so it will not upset him in the slightest if he doesn't take home a trophy.
If he can respond, "I'm the happiest guy living, I have all the records and the statistics, I might not have silverware, but I'm happy," he is the only person who can.
Jimmy Greaves' mark of 266 goals for Spurs, which had stood all the way from 1970, was recently surpassed by Harry Kane. He has 60 fewer goals than Alan Shearer's record in the Premiership.
Martin Keown, a former Arsenal defender, concurred with Shearer that records measure success.
According to Keown, if he manages to score the most Premier League goals ever, that will be a prize in and of itself if he doesn't win any other awards.
"I do respect him for sticking with the Spurs, and I appreciate that he only plays for one club. But he faces a serious conundrum because he undoubtedly wants to win some awards?"
"He's top-notch; he'll break that record, and we won't have to bring up Alan Shearer again," someone said. He will definitely score 300 goals.
Spurs financial results announced
Tottenham earned £444 million in total for the fiscal year 2022, a 22.7% increase in total revenue. Tickets for Tottenham Hotspur increased by £82.1 million during the course of a year after the Covid epidemic caused the preceding fiscal year's income to rise to £361.9 million.The most considerable increase in match receipts was unsurprising given that their financial results for the year ending in June 2021 only totalled £1.9 million and that all but two of their home games in the 2020–21 season—against Arsenal with 2,000 fans present and Aston Villa with 10,000—were played without admission.
Tottenham did experience a decline in one area, with their UEFA prize money dropping from £23.6 million in 2021 to £10.2 million in 2022. A Covid-enforced group stage departure also significantly impacted the club's earnings because they were not participating in the competition's knockout stage and instead played in the newly-formed Europa Conference League in 2020/21 as opposed to the Europa League.
TV and media revenue fell from £184.4 million in 2021 to £144.2 million in 2022, a decrease from the previous year. This was brought about by the fact that certain games, along with associated TV and media income from 2020, were played out and recorded in 2021.
Tottenham did have an impressive 20.7% growth in their commercial revenues, going from £152 million in 2021 to £183.5 million in 2022, an increase of £31.5 million. The addition of new sponsors, the opening of club stores, the expansion of e-commerce, and the beginning of recent significant events held at the stadium throughout the year all had a substantial role in this.
Due to increased first-team costs and the return to entire matchday operations, the club's operating expenses (before football trading) increased by 18.7% to £403.4 million (2021: £339.8 million). The profit from operations, before depreciation, amortisation, player trading, interest, and taxation, increased by 15.7% to £112.3 million from £97.1 million.
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