Sunday's clash between the teams ranked 2nd and 4th in the Premier League has the potential to be a symbolic changing of the guard for Spurs' young and vibrant squad

COMMENT



HARDER, FASTER, STRONGER

Not for the first time, Tottenham and Manchester City go head-to-head in what feels like another seminal moment for both clubs. So often their respective peaks and troughs have coincided; six years ago, at the Etihad, Spurs snatched Champions League qualification, though since then three successive managers have been on the receiving end of five-goal (or worse) hammerings as City emerged as a new superpower of English football.“How do you compete with the Man Cities of this world?” bemoaned former boss Harry Redknapp as the old Big Four added a fifth member. “They’ve got players there now earning £200,000 a week. I mean, it’s crazy, isn’t it? It’s another world really. I don’t see what will stop them.” But Spurs have at last found a way to compete, though it could hardly be further from the ‘fight fire with fire’, spend-big approach Redknapp seemed to be calling for.Rather, Tottenham have put their faith in a young manager and an even younger squad. They have gone back to their roots, both nurturing academy graduates and, while still operating at a net profit of around £20 million, scouring the market for promising young players with huge potential – of the kind that were shunned in favour of hardened pros and battle-worn veterans under Redknapp. He wanted finished articles, but Mauricio Pochettino deals in unpolished diamonds.Now the Argentine takes his side back to the Etihad, an unhappy hunting ground in recent visits – they have returned five times since Peter Crouch’s memorable header, losing each encounter and shipping 16 goals in the process. For City, the season feels like it is turning into a swansong for both Manuel Pellegrini and the squad’s older heads, such as Yaya Toure, who are likely to be phased out upon Pep Guardiola’s arrival.If results go against them, City could be nine points adrift of the Premier League leaders come Sunday evening, their focus perhaps realigned to the cup competitions. But for Tottenham it is the first of many make-or-break matches in their unlikely title bid, and a chance to prove they can rise to the challenge. Aside from a win over then 20th-placed Leicester City last season, it is two years since Spurs last won away to a fellow member of the current top five.That was a few miles down the road from the Etihad as Tim Sherwood handed Harry Kane just his third Premier League appearance for the club off the bench against Manchester United. Back then, his only contribution of note was a cheeky time-wasting exercise – he kicked the ball into Row Z fully aware that he was in an offside position – before spitting down the front of his jersey. Now he is one of the division’s most complete strikers. Yet that transformation feels almost unremarkable now, simply because it has become so common at Tottenham.The defence is almost unrecognisable, the full-backs are perhaps the best quartet in the league, Eric Dier has been remoulded into a thoroughbred central midfielder, Dele Alli has made the step up from League One look effortless, Mousa Dembele has turned his once fleeting moments of brutish dominance into routine, and the three surviving members of the Magnificent Seven bought following Gareth Bale’s departure are consistently churning out goals and assists – they have 59 combined under Pochettino, four fewer than Bale’s career total at Spurs.There is perhaps just one single player at the club, now free of the “bad eggs”, as Kane puts it, who has not improved since Pochettino took over. That player is Hugo Lloris, exceptional ever since his arrival from Lyon, but even he seems to have grown this season, no longer merely the cat-like last line of defence, but a thoughtful and focused captain of a side that is constantly improving thanks to two fairly simple ideas.Firstly, that any player can be improved through hard work and meticulous coaching. And, secondly, that a team can be more than the sum of its parts when everyone is committed to the same philosophy. As Spurs have nipped and tucked at a squad that now fully embraces a shared ethos, they have developed into perhaps the most complete and well-balanced team in the league. Every player working for each other, every player contributing on and off the ball.From leaking goals last season, Spurs now have the most formidable defence in the division. In fact, their 0.76 goals conceded per game ranks them behind only PSG, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich in Europe’s top five leagues. Even with Jan Vertonghen injured, summer signing Kevin Wimmer has slotted seamlessly into the existing construct – Spurs are yet to concede a Premier League goal while he is on the pitch, though tests do not come tougher than Sergio Aguero.The back-line have received their fair share of praise, but it is very much a team effort. “To explain our defensive performance it’s not only about the four defenders at the back but also about the team block,” explains Lloris. “As soon as we lose possession we have the spirit to recover the ball and that’s why we put a lot of pressure on the opponent. Everyone is ready to switch on and work for the team from the beginning until the end.”Spurs were once seen as a lightweight and flimsy side full of luxury players – all flair and no fight – but now they run further than almost any other side, sprint harder, and are amongst the division’s top tacklers, too. A high press that did not always carry the necessary intensity last season is now committed to muscle memory as Spurs’ artisans mix their creativity with clout. Every player knows their job, closing down ball carriers and shutting down passing lanes.Only three teams have averaged over 80 per cent passing accuracy against Spurs, and all but one has seen their accuracy drop relative to their season average. When this shoal of focused pressing – this pack of “animals”, to borrow a phrase from the gooey-eyed Quique Sanchez Flores – is combined with an up-tempo attack, considered ball possession and a world-class striker, you’re left with a deadly mix.And the scariest thing is how young this Tottenham side are. At an average age of 24.6 years (though the starting XIs have regularly dipped below that number), they are the least experienced side in the division. They are still a long way off being the finished article, yet are genuine title contenders. Perhaps that is why Pochettino is reluctant to talk about the title, not just for fear of the players’ focus altering from the task at hand to the reward that could await them, but also because it shouldn’t become the end goal. If this side sticks together, they can aim even higher.Leicester’s ascent, while a remarkable tale, feels like a one-time ride. It is a case of now or never for Claudio Ranieri and his unlikely rabble of underdogs. You do not get that same sense with Tottenham. “A lot of our players are improving and because we are young, some players don’t know their limit yet,” says Lloris of Spurs’ ceiling (or lack thereof).The club are prepared to play the waiting game with their young crop too. Pochettino opted not to make any January signings – he may be aware that only two winter recruits (Henrik Larsson and Jose Antonio Reyes) have scored for title-winning teams the same season they were signed – and will not upset the balance of the squad, in terms of personality and happiness, for anything other than the perfect fit. That fit, the definition of what constitutes a Tottenham player, has changed for the better too.Of course, there are caveats. Any possibility of Spurs becoming a true force over the next few years hinges on them bucking certain trends. They must keep their squad – and manager – together, even while bigger sharks circle, while also investing in new players against the backdrop of building a new stadium. The demanding style of play – Kane is already running 8.4 kilometres more per goal than Aguero – could also leave the players drained for the run-in, with Pochettino’s teams historically fading away.Nevertheless, this is a period of great optimism for Tottenham, a time to dream. Louis van Gaal talks of needing three full years to transform Manchester United, but it has taken Pochettino half that time to re-shape Spurs. Jose Mourinho, tail slowly coming back out from between his legs, might provide a quick fix at Old Trafford, but he is just as likely to have already departed before Tottenham have even hit their peak, while Guardiola and the ageing spine he inherits are no guarantee of success.Regardless of the result on Sunday, Spurs have all the building blocks in place to challenge for titles and excite fans for years to come. Now they just need the belief, from fans to players, that they can deliver on that potential. One thing is for sure, though, merely finishing in fourth place this season will not be accompanied by the gleeful dousing of Pochettino in ice-cold water. This time it is the beginning, not the end.