What Tottenham Hotspur going through now (Top of the table in the English Premier League) is nothing like what people would have expected in the 2023/2024 Season, especially after the North London side lost their all-time leading goal scorer in club history during last transfer window. The 30-year-old Harry Kane, who is also England’s captain with 61 goals, completed a move to Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga 1 from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this year, but his transfer did not halt the club’s progress; If anything, Kane’s exit led to Spurs’ rapid rise in the league, with the team now top of the table via a recent 2-0 win over Fulham.
Son and Maddison — New Partners in Crime at Tottenham Hotspur
As revealed by Uli Hoeness, former president of Bayern Munich, Kane only costed the Bavarians a bargaining sum of £82 million instead of the initially reported £120 million, and the England striker had gotten off to a flying start in his new life in Germany, having scored 10 goals in 11 appearances in all competitions for his new club in 2023/2024. Nevertheless, just when everyone thought the Kane-less Tottenham would have struggled in the new season, Ange Postecoglou’s men went top of the table in the English Premier League, largely owing their success to the duo of captain Son Heung-min and new signing James Maddison.
With the arrival of Postecoglou, Spurs transferred the club captain armband to South Korean striker Son from France’s Hugo Lloris, and signed ex-Leicester midfield star Maddison via a reported fee of £40m; The latter was even given the vice captain role and Kane’s no. 10 jersey at Spurs as soon as he was onboarded. Being the new strike force for the North London side, the Son-Maddison duo created an instant impact by scoring eight goals and providing five assists prior to the Fulham game that saw them go top of the table.
Both players were selected to start the game once again by Postecoglou, with the 58-year-old manager making only one change to that starting 11 that overcame Luton Town before the second international break of the season. Fulham, on the other hand, made a couple of changes in this match, having defeated Sheffield United 3-1 last time around.
James Maddison this season: three goals, five assists
Heung-min Son this season: seven goals, one assist
Duo 🎯 pic.twitter.com/bHWJDVIReh
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 23, 2023
Ange’s Men Top of the Table with Unbeaten Record
Spurs could not ask for an easier chance to open the scoresheet against Fulham. The visitors at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium committed an awful pass at the backline, and were immediately punished by the home side. Micky van de Ven, who scored a winning goal for 10-man Tottenham last Matchday, intercepted Calvin Bassey’s poor pass and found Brazilian striker Richarlison. The 26-year-old wasted no time to set up his skipper for a strike, before the South Korean faked his defender and fired the ball into the back of the net for his 50th goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Less than 10 minutes after play was continued in the second 45 minutes, the home side found another goal, this time Son became the provider. Another mistimed pass from Bassey led to Tottenham’s interception, and the ball fell just nice for Son, who then timed his pass perfectly to set up Maddison to double Spurs’ lead in the match. The Englishman carefully placed the ball into the far post from the left flank, allowing his new club to earn their seventh win of the season and sending them to the top of the table after nine English Premier League Matchdays in 2023/2024.
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Postecoglou Not Satisfied with Spurs’ 2-0 Victory
Son and Maddison may have sent Spurs to the top of the table with their goals in the 2-0 win over Fulham, club gaffer Postecoglou certainly demanded more from his players. The 58-year-old said: “I thought we showed our patience and I thought our pressing was outstanding the whole game. Maybe the first half we could have had one or two more just to put the game to bed. But really disappointed with the second half. With the ball we were nowhere near the levels we have been all year. That’s probably the worst sort of 45 minutes with the ball we’ve had all year.
“We’ve got to make sure we stay disciplined in our approach because in the end [Vicario] made a couple of great saves to keep a clean sheet. Within that context we should have had much better control of the game than we did.”
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Are Spurs Better without Kane?
Since Spurs found a new life in the post-Kane era by reaching the top of the table in the English Premier League, many have begun the talks of whether the North London side is better off without the 30-year-old England’s and Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time leading goal scorer.
After graduated from the Tottenham academy, Kane went on to play for the senior side of Spurs from the 2010/2011 Season to last year. During his 13-season spell with the club, Spurs did not win any major silverwares and only managed to finish as the first three teams at the top of the table thrice in the Premier League. Ironically, Kane’s departure from Spurs not only saw his former club rise to the top of table this season, his current stay in Germany also witnessed Bayern, the traditional powerhouse in German’s top-flight football, being third in the Bundesliga 1 table after eight games thus far.
While it is safe for us at OtherLeague.com to say that Spurs are better without Kane after the team went top of the table, we would like to have a penny for your thoughts on these matters: Do you think the Kane-less Spurs are an improved club or do you think Spurs had it easy on their way to the top of the table in the 2023/2024 English Premier League Season? Leave us your remarks down in the comment section below now!
