Tottenham didn’t bother replacing Harry Kane. Now they’re paying the price

A lack of cutting edge has cost Spurs in recent defeats against Aston Villa and West Ham

What is it with Tottenham and teams in claret-and-blue shirts?

Over the past two weeks, Spurs have faced Aston Villa and West Ham in north London. On both occasions, Spurs flew out of the blocks and deservedly went 1-0 in front. And on both occasions, they failed to add a second goal to provide a comfier cushion, conceded an equaliser and ended up meandering towards an unsatisfactory loss.

Ange Postecoglou bristled at the suggestion that Spurs had played well in defeat against the Hammers, a result that instantly undid the elation at the Etihad.

“Us being good means us being 3-0 up,” he said. “It’s not about playing good football, it’s about winning games of football. I’ve said that from the start, I set up teams to win games.

“1-0 up at half-time was not a good performance from us. A good performance would have been 3-0 or 4-0 up, as was the case against Villa. And when you don’t [score enough] and give up goals you shouldn’t like today then you get what you deserve.”

Earlier on in the campaign, Postecoglou and Spurs were setting records for the right reasons. They had 26 points after their opening 10 games, the best-ever return for a new Premier League manager.

In the five matches since they have managed just one more and have become the first team in the competition’s history to take the lead in five consecutive games but not win any.

The number of crucial players unavailable has obviously been a mitigating factor for Spurs’ collapse in form, but the losses to Villa and West Ham were almost entirely self-inflicted.

Spurs had ample opportunity to blow both teams away, failed to make their dominance count and were ultimately punished. A combination of wasteful finishing, hesitant decision-making and goalkeeping heroics prevented Spurs from establishing a more secure lead.

When Spurs were flying in the opening weeks of Postecoglou’s reign, playing with an intensity and ambition that had been entirely absent for the best part of five years, there were whispers (albeit mostly on social media) that perhaps they were a more cohesive and effective unit without Harry Kane after all.

That (flawed) argument often bubbled away under the surface when the England captain was still a Spurs player, none more so than in 2018-19 when Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura spearheaded the miraculous run to the Champions League final in Kane’s injury-enforced absence.

The “Spurs are better without Kane” hot takes have suddenly gone rather quiet. Less than five minutes before James Ward-Prowse’s winner, Richarlison missed a glorious chance to head Spurs in front with his first touch after coming on as a substitute. It was the type of miss that would have had Spurs fans pining for the club’s all-time record scorer. The chasm between England’s No 9 and Brazil’s No 9 (from the last World Cup, at least) could not be greater.

After eventually granting Kane his wish to join Bayern Munich, Spurs had two options: stick with Son and Richarlison and invest in a new wide forward instead, or buy a new first-choice striker. They opted for the former and given that Son has scored nine goals from a central role – a total only bettered by Erling Haaland (14) and Mo Salah (10) in the Premier League, you could say it was a logical decision.

However, Richarlison is still struggling badly, as evidenced by a return of one league goal in 12 appearances (seven starts) this season. His overall record since signing from Everton for £60m is a meagre two goals in 38 games – in other words, a full Premier League campaign.

Sometimes you just have to accept that a transfer is doomed to failure. If Saudi Arabian clubs come knocking in January, Spurs simply have to take the bait. Even if they have to sell the Brazilian at a loss.

It doesn’t help that Kane has become an instant hit in Bavaria, scoring 22 goals in 18 games for his new club, including 18 in 12 in the Bundesliga. The German tabloids have even taken to calling him “King Kane”. He is obliterating records left, right and centre.

The problem is exacerbated by the lack of cutting edge provided by first-choice wingers Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson, bought from Nottingham Forest after Kane’s departure. Kulusevski has scored four goals from 27 attempts; Johnson has managed one from 15. A lack of reliable scorers elsewhere in the team has created an extra burden on Son to constantly deliver.

Finishing is not the only issue, however. At times Spurs have struggled to convert their domination of the ball into clearcut opportunities.

Spurs have averaged 60 per cent possession this season, the fourth-highest in the league, but rank 11th for expected goals (xG). It is worth pointing out that they are one of only three clubs yet to take a penalty so their xG will naturally be lower, but even accounting for non-penalty xG they are still eighth in the table and below Everton.

They have been guilty of sterile possession, which must drive Postecoglou mad given his enterprising philosophy is outcome driven. Clearly James Maddison is a big loss in that regard and his return to fitness cannot come soon enough.

Until then, Spurs need to find a more efficient way to carve out high-quality chances and convert the ones that come their way.

At the moment, there is a sense that Spurs are treading water until the New Year when Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur will return and the transfer window will re-open.

Buying a centre-back appears to be a top priority, but so too should getting around to replacing Kane. A failure to do so could result in a season that started so positively drifting into insignificance.