West Ham 1-1 Spurs

I have to say, I’m quite disappointed after that, especially considering that the game was there for the taking. In the end, we shot ourselves in the foot.

I thought we played really well in the first half, we controlled the game and looked really dangerous when attacking. Exactly what we all wanted before the game. Our passing was really slick, and the movements off the ball were really fluid. Most of the time, we were defending them with ease, and we looked really assured in what we were doing.

Bissouma was below par on his debut. His passing wasn’t progressive and he had a few loose touches. He probably wasn’t ready for this, and was perhaps thrown in prematurely, but you have to be ready for every game, no matter who you are, as we enter this hectic stage of the season.

In the second half, I’m not exactly sure what went wrong. We started brightly and then a few stoppages disrupted our momentum. Then, out of the blue West Ham grabbed an equaliser, we switched off, and at this level, that isn’t good enough. A learning curve I suppose. After this, as predicted prior to the game, West Ham had something to hold onto and went into a low block. We struggled to break them down and ended up not really being able to create a chance after that. A familiar story.

I don’t think we NEED a creative midfielder. However, a forward who can come on and impact games as well as Richy, I feel is needed. The fact Conte can only bring on Richarlison shows that he still doesn’t trust some players. Someone Conte wants, would be ideal. We aren’t a finished product, by any means and it’s going to be a long process, let’s remember that.

This time though, we simply missed Rodrigo Bentancur. He is such an important player for us, and he was undoubtedly missed in the middle of the park. His progressive passing wasn’t replicated by Bissouma, who will be a fantastic player for us, I’m sure. But he didn’t provide the service that Bentancur usually gives. He was a big miss.

I’m gonna keep it short with the ratings, and just give you them here, as there’s no one which really needs dwelling on.

Lloris - 5.5

Emerson - 6.5

Sanchez - 6

Dier - 6

Davies - 6.5

Perisic - 7

Højbjerg - 7

Bissouma - 5

Son - 6

Kane - 7.5

Kulusevski - 7

Subs:

Richarlison - 6.5

Onto Fulham, let’s put in a real good performance against them. Come On You Spurs!