If Antonio Conte could change the very expectation of Tottenham fans and rewrite the playful banter that is for something to be 'Spursy' then maybe he can consider his time a success in north London.
That hasn't happened just yet and the first half collapse against Marseille demonstrated there's still a way to go. Tottenham were on course for the most 'Spursy' thing possible. They had been a VAR decision away from going through against Sporting Lisbon last week but instead found themselves staring down the barrel of a possible Champions League exit at Stade Velodrome.
Chancel Mbemba's goal gave the home side a well deserved lead at the break but a second-half fightback saw Conte's men progress to the knockout stages for the first time since they reached the final in 2019.
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Does the result itself break the Spurs mould? Perhaps not. For large parts it was far from convincing and scraping through a group made up of three teams not in the top three of their own domestic leagues isn't the greatest look, but they're through, at least.
The game continued a similar trend for Tottenham in-which first half performances have let them down. They were 2-0 behind to Bournemouth at the break on Saturday before a comeback saw them win 3-2. They went in 2-0 down to Newcastle one week earlier as well. They've been trailing at the halfway mark in their last four games and haven't scored a first half goal since October 12 against Frankfurt.
The last nine goals have all come in the second half and seven of those have been from set-pieces. It's not pretty but Conte is, just about, getting the job done. It won't be enough to get them past the next stages of the competition though, Paul Merson has warned.
"Spurs couldn't put three passes together in the first half," he told Sky Sports. "As soon as they started putting more passes together the game opened up for them and they were a threat. They managed the game well. Tottenham did very well in the second half but when you get to the last 16 you can't keep giving teams head starts. It will catch up with you sooner than later.
"When the shackles are off and the fear factor goes out of the game, Spurs have some good players who can move the ball about very quickly. But they don't do that, they sit back. Kane was literally 35 yards from his own goal in the first half. They didn't have an outlet; they've got to take a chance sometimes. It's too negative for me.
"You can't keep giving teams head starts. They've been fortunate in a couple of games like Bournemouth on Saturday and again today against an average team in Marseille."
Spurs could still face Inter Milan or Borussia Dortmund in the next round, as the two sides are already been confirmed as second-place teams in their groups, but Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain could also come second in theirs and that would create dangerous opposition in the next round.
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