We are only two months into the season and a lot can change quickly in football but it has been a real eye opener to see Tottenham this season. Of course Ange Postecoglou has been the major factor in installing mental strength to the side and a different approach to playing, another success could well have been the decision to part with Harry Kane. Had you asked football fans for their opinion before the season when Kane finally left for Bayern Munich most would have told you that without the 30 goals that Kane was providing that Tottenham were in for a miserable season and would finish in the bottom half of the table. After 8 games the north Londoners are in 1st place and alongside Arsenal are the only team not to have lost this season.
But why are Tottenham playing better without Kane? Why have they already exceeded expectations? Most of Tottenham's play naturally went through Kane but with him gone it has opened up more options and more players have stepped up and possibly regained some confidence as they are involved more, that could be one opinion. Another could cite that as brilliant as Kane is he isn't captain material, you really need someone of character when the chips are down and it is questionable that Kane can deliver the right motivation when it is needed. You don't always see him on the pitch digging in and asking questions of his players, so does he do it in the dressing room? There have been long standing rumours that he isn't captain material and even Roy Keane leaned in on the subject two years ago. It is worth pointing out because Tottenham with Kane in the side lost many games they should have won. They did this so many times even a word was invented for the situation called 'spursy'. There is no doubt of course that Kane remains a world class player but over the last 60 days it has been fascinating to witness how Tottenham are expressing themselves more without him.
As for Kane he is doing well for Bayern Munich and while they sit in 3rd place the German giants are only two points from the top. Kane is currently 2nd in the goalscorers list with 8 goals and has assisted in a further four, there is little doubt of the Englishman's impact on Bayern this season. For England Kane continues to extend his goalscoring record which is now up to 61 as he bagged a brace against Italy in a 3-1 win which also means that England have qualified for next summer's European Championships. For now at least both Tottenham and Harry Kane are doing pretty well in their separation.
After 8 games of the Premier League season the best defence goes too Arsenal and Manchester City who have conceded just six goals each. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise given that these two teams finished in the top two places last season. What may come as a surprise though is that the next best defence is Roy Hodgson's Crystal Palace who have conceded just seven goals. On the goalscoring front Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are usually not just in 1st place but have scored many more goals than their rivals, yes even just eight games in- that is not the case this year. In fact 1st place doesn't even belong to a big six side, as it goes to Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton who have blasted in 21 goals so far. As for City they would be in 6th place with 17 goals, should that be a small concern at this stage for Guardiola? At the bottom end Everton who hadn't registered a goal in August and had scored just 2 goals in their opening five games have now converted more goals than seven other teams and with 9 scored have the same number as Manchester United. The most goals conceded is inevitably the bottom club- Sheffield United who have shipped 22 so far and are on their way to letting in a century of goals if this leak continues. It is interesting that the fourth worst defence in the league is Brighton with 16 goals, who of course have also scored the most, the mind boggles.
The 294th Merseyside derby will take place on Saturday lunchtime. Liverpool will start as the odds on favourites and they will be at home. The first derby took place 129 years ago almost to the day of this game at the weekend when Everton won 3-0 at home. Thus the first goalscorer ever in a Merseyside derby was Mr. Tom McInnes a Scotsman who was 25 years old and went on to play for the Toffees for two years making 42 appearances and scoring 18 goals. It's interesting to note that 18 of the 22 players who started that day were Scottish. Four weeks later the teams played at Anfield and the very first derby there finished 2-2. Since then Liverpool have been the dominant side and have won 124 games to Everton's 83 and there have been 86 draws. Recently it has been a painful experience for the blue half of the city who have won just once in the last 28 meetings and even that win which was a very good 2-0 at Anfield in 2021 was behind closed doors because of the pandemic. Going into this weekend then Everton are very much the underdogs to get anything and even a draw would feel like a small victory for the Toffees. History does not bode well for Sean Dyche's side though who apart from the win during the pandemic have not beaten Liverpool at Anfield with a full crowd since 1999. We will witness an upset or will Liverpool with yet another Merseyside victory go top of the league for a few hours at least. A win for Everton would put them up to 13th position before other teams play their games.
Merseyside derby odds: Liverpool 1.30, Everton 8.00, Draw 5.00
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