Marco Silva on the unfortunate Calvin Bassey: “Calvin [Bassey] has a tough job playing on the right side as a left footer, not a position he is used to but we have worked on it all week.These things happen. It is up to all of us to rectify.”
Fulham’s Tim Ream spoke to Sky Sports: “I thought in some moments we did some good things, got into their box quite a few times. At the end of the day the goals we give away are identical. Players at this level will punish you if you give the ball away in those areas.
“In the first half we sat off them a little bit too much. In the second half we ramped the pressure up a bit but in the end we come away with nothing. Calvin [Bassey] has a tough job playing on the right side as a left footer, not a position he is used to but we have worked on it all week.These things happen. It is up to all of us to rectify.”
Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s report from the Tottenham Stadium.
Tottenham, Tottenham, top of the league. Fulham are comfortable enough.
Next up: Palace on Friday for the chance to go five points clear while Fulham travel to Brighton.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | 12 | 23 |
| 2 | Man City | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 9 | 10 | 21 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 9 | 10 | 19 |
| 6 | Newcastle | 9 | 15 | 16 |
| 7 | Brighton | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| 8 | Man Utd | 9 | -2 | 15 |
| 9 | West Ham | 9 | 0 | 14 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 9 | 4 | 12 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 9 | -4 | 12 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | 9 | -4 | 11 |
| 13 | Fulham | 9 | -7 | 11 |
| 14 | Brentford | 9 | 2 | 10 |
| 15 | Nottm Forest | 9 | -2 | 10 |
| 16 | Everton | 9 | -5 | 7 |
| 17 | Luton | 9 | -9 | 5 |
| 18 | Burnley | 9 | -16 | 4 |
| 19 | AFC Bournemouth | 9 | -14 | 3 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 9 | -17 | 1 |
Full-time: Tottenham 2-0 Fulham
Son and Maddison got the goals in what looks a comfortable win but at times was anything but. Fulham played their part but Big Ange has now made the best ever start of a new manager in the Premier League. Calvin Bassey may wish to forget this night but he fell a victim to the new Spurs making it so difficult for their opponents
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90+6 min: Celebrations in the Tottenham area when Porro and Royal combine to block a shot by Wilson. It was Royal who had let the winger go so no wonder he was relieved.
90+4 min: Has Porro got a knock? They do seem to be adding up, the injuries. Though no European football, no Carabao to distract. Tottenham have a clear run on….well, who knows?
90+3 min: Willian, showing remarkable energy, almost finds Wilson on the other flank. Spurs try to counter at speed only for Fulham to go back at them. This is not a game where the losing team has sat back and accepted their fate.
90 min: Spurs get chance to counter but Veliz is offside as their fans sing “we are top of the league”. They’re enjoying this Antipodean version of the glory game. Somehow there are seven minutes added on. Perhaps that’s OK, they did take a long time over subs.
89 min: Richard Hirst is back: “I think I can now say that my pre-match positivity was misplaced! But we’re still seven points above the bottom three.”
88 min: Cairney gets a chance, but it’s from the type of angle only Ollie Watkins scores from these days. Fulham haven’t given up, plenty of fight in them.
87 min: Peter Oh is in: “If Ange Postecoglou is the genius everyone says he is, why hasn’t he countered Fulham’s introduction of Wilson by throwing on Phillips to ensure Spurs ‘Hold On’ to the three points?”
85 min: Yellow card for Vicario for timewasting. Romero had previously taken an age over a foul. It’s all a bid bad tempered as the time ticks on.
83 min: So, quite a different last ten minutes or so. Fulham seek their way in. Jimenez gets a chance after Reed robs Kulusevski and plays a fine ball to the Mexican. Another save from Vicario.
Updated
82 min: An Ange triple-bill of subs is imminent. Spurs play Crystal Palace on Friday.
Off go Richarlison, for Brennan Johnson
And Son for Giovanni Lo Celso, the captain leaving with reluctance.
And Maddison takes the applause as Veliz comes on.
For Fulham, Palhinha leaves the field, probably to avoid a booking. Tom Cairney’s quiff gets a runout.
77 min: Tottenham play out from the back with rather more comfort than Fulham have managed. Then Skipp puts in a fine tackle, the type Graham Roberts once patented at the old Lane. His pass is rather less adept and Richarlison and Wilson crash into each other.
75 min: Oh no, Calvin Bassey nearly had another disaster as Son chases him down, and he’s so lucky that Maddison and Son have their shots blocked. He will be having nightmares about that pair.
73 min: Bassey’s uncomfortable night continues as Son chases him. Then there’s a Fulham – and Welsh – scare as Harry Wilson pulls up. Thankfully, it’s an impact injury from Emerson Royal’s trailing leg as they climbed for a header.
72 min: Fulham change: Harrison Reed comes on, and off goes Sasa Lukic, forced to chase to many shadows this evening.
71 min: Maddison’s free-kick from the right-hand side finds Son but the flick on, asking to be knocked in at the back post, finds no takers.
70 min: Decent improv from the ever involved Calvin Bassey in using his heel to stop Pedro Porro making one of his bursts into the area.
69 min: And one of those counters had Fulham straining to stay with Spurs, only for Kulusevski’s shot to be blocked.
68 min: Willian – boo – gets to the byline and the ball is cleared as Spurs get back in numbers. No longer the helter skelter of the first half. The counter’s the thing now.
66 min: Jimenez tries to send Iwobi away but it’s Tottenham’s offside trap that is in fully working order now, as opposed to Fulham’s, circumvented far too easily.
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64 min: Maddison pings a pass wide, and Richarlison can’t keep it in. The radar is off just the once but he’s had a fine game, capped with a goal.
63 min: Has that lengthy delay broken up Fulham’s momentum? They were beginning to find a foothold.
62 min: Sarr has gone down with a knock. Ange-ball relies on a small band of players so picking up injuries is a worry. Oliver Skipp will come on for him. Fulham make a change, too, and Harry Wilson, two goals against Croatia last week, replaces De Cordova-Reid.
58 min: Hugo Lloris sits up in his armchair as Vicario flaps at a corner. The ball is cleared, and Fulham have suddenly set off at the task in hand in getting back into the game. Pape Sarr is required to make a last-man tackle. Then Romero is called on to stop a galloping Willian.
56 min: Spurs, before the restart, bring on Emerson Royal for Udogie. Losing the recently capped Italian international would be a blow.
Goal! Tottenham 2-0 Fulham (Maddison, 54)
Oh Fulham, oh no. Oh Bassey, oh no. Fulham try to play out but when the ball is played out to Son, Bassey is playing him onside. The pass to Maddison gives him chance to open up space and score his first goal at the Tottenham Stadium.
Updated
53 min: Fulham have a free-kick in the type of position where a shot is ambitious and a cross is often a waste. It’s aimed at Bassey but Romero gets there first.
52 min: Spurs spring into life. Kulusevski and Maddison find Richarlison whose shot is greeted by the shaking head of Ange as it crashes into the terraces.
51 min: Iwobi and Palhinha are at the fulcrum of a slow buildup until Palhinha lofts the ball to De Cordova-Reid, who cannot control the ball. Still, far better from Fulham.
49 min: Fulham repeating their aggression of the first half, Palhinha, as ever is their leading hatchet man. Spurs not quite at the races as they were for much of the first 45.
47 min: Fulham take a goal kick in which two defenders stand at the side of Leno and yet he still gets it launched in Steve Ogrizovic style.
46 min: And we’re back, with Fulham changes. Vinicius and Pereira off, and Jimenez and Iwobi on, perhaps to add a bit more attacking play.
Julian Yeomans gets in touch: “Funny how you mention Richarlison and Brazil. Playing for club teams he is a ball of snarling nastiness and elbows. But when he pulls on that yellow shirt, suddenly he becomes the footballing equivalent of Meadowlark Lemon (of Harlem Globetrotters fame). Why is that?”
As does Joe Pearson: “As an American, I obviously like Tim Ream. Not only a solid defender, but the only player on either team who looks like he could have been a roadie for the Allman Brothers back in the 70s.”
And the inimitable Jeff Sax: “Great game....so many chances.”
Half-time: Tottenham 1-0 Fulham
Spurs’ persistence eventually paid off, as they gave often frantic chase to Fulham, who have been dogged but troubled by not being able to hold the ball up front or clear their lines. A fine goal from Son calmed nerves. Spurs have been a little bit excitable.
45+2 min: Fulham conclude the first half with what they thought was a free-kick but was in fact an offside.
45 min: Just two minutes added on to a breathless half of football. Hojberg is felled by Bassey to calls for a penalty but…check complete.
44 min: The boos ringing out signal that Willian is on the ball. He then loses the ball as if put off by being barracked. And eventually Spurs counter at great speed to cause more chaos in the Fulham box. Desperate defending stops Maddison getting a shot in. Kulusevski was hesitant, too. Unusually so.
43 min: Richarlison swings the ball in from the right, and Porro, the full-back, is the furthest forward. Ange-ball in action. Total flamin’ football, mate.
42 min: Fulham not done just yet. De Cordova-Reid’s header comes off Udogie and off for a corner. Vinicius was lurking. They don’t make much of it, with Pereira wandering offside for the second attempt to play the ball back in.
40 min: How did that stay out? Maddison involved after another Udogie run, and the ball ricochets everywhere, including off Palhinha’s shoulder and out.
38 min: Better from Bassey in nodding away from Son as Porro’s cross was headed to the Tottenham skipper. Spurs want another before half-time, and Fulham are rocking back on their heels.
37 min: Calvin Bassey’s face a picture of confusion while Ange Postecoglou issues a one-hand salute to his skipper. Tottenham just picked off Fulham, never losing patience in their search for such an opening.
Goal! Tottenham 1-0 Fulham (Son, 36)
As happens so often these days, Fulham get caught playing out, and in the confusion Son smashes home.
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35 min: A first booking, Hojberg is late on Willian who jumps over a tackle the Dane had pulled out of.
34 min: Tottenham asking plenty now of Fulham’s organisation. Maddison’s hip swivel makes him room but perhaps leads him to be imbalanced when he takes his shot on goal.
32 min: Better from Richarlison as an underlapping Udogie is played in and yet the ball is cleared. Did it come off Bassey’s hand? No, says VAR.
31 min: Next, Son’s touch lets him down. Tottenham stepping it up but lacking the golden touch in front of goal. Maddison seeing plenty of the ball.
30 min: A case in point. Kulusevski breaks into space vacated by Antonee Robinson and Richarlson misses a target he had plenty of time to aim at.
Updated
29 min: Richarlison is battling away as normal. It is amazing to think he has been Brazil’s No 9 when he is so out of touch in front of goal.
27 min: Maddison’s awareness sets up Hojberg for a shot on goal. If anything he’s hit that too cleanly, and Leno makes an easy save.
26 min: Boos for Willian on yet another Fulham break. The ball moves infield and Sasa Lukic sees glory and shoots from somewhere in the Cockfosters area. There are jeers.
25 min: Fulham have edged their way in by breaking the early flow of Spurs. Looks like Ange-ball will require some hard yakka to get the three points.
23 min: Bit of afters after a tackle from Palhinha on Udogie, Romero with the “hold me back” activity but the referee, Anthony Taylor, does well to cool the waters.
21 min: Better pass from Bassey this time. Dressing-room nickname: Shirley or Count? Willian, lively so far, tries to create an angle, and Fulham get another corner. Vicario does well with this one, too.
19 min: William, the Spurs player who never was, runs into the form of Kulusevski, and falls down, and then it’s Fulham’s turn to be overelaborate with a free-kick. No problem, Castagne picks up the loose ball and almost finds Vinicius, whose header flies skywards rather than goalwards.
Updated
16 min: Romero’s pass goes straight to Castagne but then Bassey is uncertain in getting the ball clear.
Justin Kavanagh is in: “So if Hugo Lloris is tuning in to watch how his replacement at Spurs is doing, will he be goalkeeping Vicariously?”
15 min: Fulham have pushed out, and Tottenham not having it all quite all their own way.
13 min: Palhinha’s presence at Fulham is reassuring, despite him being pictured in a Bayern shirt that time. Awkward but not insurmountable.
12 min: At this point, you begin to question why no Spurs boss since Pochettino decided to attack. But what’s this? De Cordova-Reid forces a corner, and then Palhinha’s header is powerful and Vicario saves very well. The Italian has been decent since a dodgy debut at Brentford.
10 min: It’s been all Spurs…46% of the play in Fulham’s final third. Ange-ball in action.
9 min: Free improv free-kick. Maddison dinks the ball up and Romero heads back and Van der Ven volleys over. Then, there’s a penalty call as Kulusevski is brought down on the very edge of the box. VAR is called upon to check whether it was in the box. It wasn’t, and the free-kick doesn’t come to much, either.
6 min: Udogie, in constant motion, sets up Maddison and Palhinha, no stranger to a tactical foul, brings down Maddison.
4 min: Spurs beginning with confidence. Fulham chasing hard, as is their usual way, and making use of the offside trap when Maddison is attempting his passes through the defence.
3 min: Early touches for Udogie down the left, and Richarlison involved, too. Son is slipped through by Maddison’s pass and Leno smothers well. Maddison was clattered as he released the ball and so the advantage is taken back. It’s a free-kick in Maddison territory that he pokes to Udogie who then mis-controls. Maybe shoot next time, Madders.
1 min: Fulham kick off, and De Cordova-Reid takes an early potshot that causes no problem for Vicario.
A minute’s silence is held ahead of the game, as a mark of the respect for those lost in affected by the conflict in Israel and Gaza. It’s well observed, thankfully.
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The game is almost upon us on what is an autumnal if still curiously warm evening in north London. There’s a trumpeter playing “When The Spurs Go Marching In”. Willian seems to be the player doing the most intra-mural chat between the two teams. Is he the Spurs player that never was?
Marco Silva, the Fulham manager, spoke to Sky Sports: “We have to respect the good moment they [Spurs] are in, but as always we look at ourselves and what we can do. We want to see ourselves improving game by game.
On Calvin Bassey, the summer signing from Rangers: “Yes it is another opportunity for him. He did very well at Arsenal until his second yellow card, the first one he got that game was really unfair. We believe he is adapting and learning the idea we want to play. We have a lot of competition in that position, we now have injuries to Tosin and Diop so we need to make this change.
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Justin Kavanagh gets in touch: “Was that photo of Ange Postecoglou snapped just as he stood up from fixing the faulty wiring on the TV monitor? There seems little he can’t fix at Spurs these days.”
Richard Hirst gets in touch: “As a Fulham fan (of the Johnny Haynes vintage) I feel bizarrely positive about tonight’s game. Maybe that is because no one expects us to do well so it is, in current parlance, a ‘free hit’ (where did that term come from? I’m sure it predates the free hit for a no ball in limited overs cricket.).”
”The bottom four, on whom my eyes are firmly fixed, only got one point between them over the weekend, so anything we get will be a bonus. If we had a striker who could score goals (or even a goal) I would even fancy us to win. The next three hours will probably make a fool out of me, but, hey, a man can dream. COYW.”
Ange Postecoglou spoke to Sky Sports ahead of the match: “Romero has been super-important to us. We’ve got a new goalkeeper, a new centre-half, a new left-back, a right-back who is adjusting to a new position. Having a World Cup-winner amongst them gives me some comfort.”
Cristian Romero, outstanding in Tottenham’s win at Luton comes back in, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg replaces the suspended Bissouma. For Fulham, Calvin Bassey starts in place of Issa Diop, while Sasa Lukic comes in for Alex Iwobi, perhaps adding a bit more defensive ballast in midfield for Marco Silva.
The teams
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison; Son. Subs: Forster, Skipp, Gil, Emerson, Dier, Lo Celso, Johnson, Phillips, Veliz.
Fulham: Leno, Bassey, Ream, Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian, Castagne, Palhinha, Lukic, Vinicius, Robinson. Subs: Rodak, Reed, Jimenez, Wilson, Cairney, Ballo-Toure, Muniz, Iwobi, De Fougerolles.
Today’s Football Daily leads on Tottenham’s new maverick, James Maddison.
“I like that pantomime villain-type vibe that’s created often at away games, especially because of the type of player I am and even the type of person I am sometimes, I don’t mind getting a bit of stick,” Maddison chuckled to TalkSport. “Sometimes it comes with the character I have but I don’t mind that.”
Early team news:
Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero, Spurs’ attacking and defensive leaders, look likely to be fit to play, and Brennan Johnson has a clean bill of health after missing Wales’ games. There will be no Yves Bissouma after two yellow cards at Luton.
Issa Diop is missing for Fulham, as will beTosin Adarabioyo, Adama Traore and Kenny Tete.
Preamble
Tottenham, Tottenham, no-one can stop them, they’re going to do it like they did in the year of 1961. Yes, that’s Tottenham, who can go top of the table and climb above Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool to lead the league after nine matches. The last time they started so well, the team rolled off the tongue of Spurs fans – Brown, Baker, Henry, Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay, Jones, White, Smith, Allen and Dyson – for decades. So, no pressure but perhaps a time to enjoy life as a Spurs fan. Ange Postecoglou is the most popular Australian import to England since Gina Gee and Mark Little bringing his Joe Mangel vibes to the Big Breakfast. So then, Fulham, who have arrested what was a wobbly start to the season by beating Sheffield United and Luton, putting distance between themselves and the real strugglers. It’s still a good time to be a Fulham fan, if not quite of the Roy Hodgson/Johnny Haynes vintage days (more 1960 vibes there) and Marco Silva likes his team to play the *right* way, just like Ange.
Kick-off is at 8pm. Join me.
