Tottenham’s new look side showed exactly what they are capable of this past Saturday with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over a good Norwich City team. A Gylfi Sigurdsson brace was enough to dispatch Chris Houghton’s side and it was Spurs who were firmly in control over the ninety minutes. The home team had 68% of the possession and 7 shots on target to Norwich’s 1. On a day when Gareth Bale was making his debut for Real Madrid, an impressive performance was needed from Andre Villas-Boas’ men, and that’s exactly what they delivered. While Spurs began the match as the strong favourites with the Betting Exchange Betfair, nothing can be taken for granted at the top level of English football.
Making his debut for Spurs, Christian Eriksen’s display was nothing short of thrilling. I’m not sure whether the Dutch league is comparable to the Premier League in terms of style, but Jan Vertonghen was another Ajax import to hitting the ground running in much the same way. Some foreign imports take six months to a year before they show their top form, but Eriksen controlled large part of this game with excellent passing, particularly in the final third. I’m not one to overreact on the back of one performance, but he could look a snip at £11.5m come the end of the season.
Danny Rose was another player who really stood out for me on Saturday. I’ve always been keen for the left back to be given a chance in front of Assou-Ekotto and now that Benny has been loaned out to QPR, Rose has an excellent opportunity to make the position his own. Based on this performance, Rose is well on his way to doing just that. Record signing Lamela came off the bench late on, and it is likely that the former Roma man will make a much more significant impact in the coming weeks.
Can Tottenham Hotspur Football Club win the Premier League? I think it’s far too early to be making any such predictions but the exciting brand of football they played against Norwich was certainly encouraging. A more realistic target for Spurs is a top four finish but with all the leading title contenders looking shaky, maybe the Lillywhites can spring a surprise and be in the mix for the 2013/14 crown.
It was indeed a very promising performanceby the young Danish mmidfielder Christian Eriksen. I look forward to see Soldado hitting top form which is required if Spurs are to compete at the very top.