Three causes for concern after Tottenham’s inconsistent start to the season

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It’s been a positive start to the season overall for Tottenham Hotspur but things aren’t all rosy just yet…

Harry Kane

Tottenham are only five points off the top of the Premier League eight games into the current campaign. But a strong start generally has been affected by inconsistency.

The north London side absolutely blew Manchester City away – yet there have been several average performances and their 2-2 draw at Swansea City showed Mauricio Pochettino’s side will continue to suffer from Europa League fatigue.

The biggest problem at White Hart Lane right now is undoubtedly the lack of goals from up front. It isn’t the biggest problem in the world as Harry Kane is a hard-working forward who will no doubt return to the goals at some point. One goal in eight with the odd poor performance is a far cry from the highs of earlier in 2015, though…

Lack of support for Harry Kane…

Just as Kane himself is off form, a huge problem is the fact Tottenham have no one to replace him with – or play alongside him.

The likes of Clinton Njie, Heung-Min Son and perhaps even Nacer Chadli & Erik Lamela are long shots to play in the centre-forward role. But, Kane aside, where are Tottenham’s strikers? That’s not an issue they can address until January… but it’s an issue that will continue to affect them before then.

Poor cover

In other positions, though, Spurs look short of dependable cover. Central midfield has been boosted by the positional change of Eric Dier and form of Dele Alli, while Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Mousa Dembele are yet to return to full fitness. Out wide and in behind Kane, meanwhile, Tottenham are also well stocked.

But, in goal, Michel Vorm has looked worryingly short of the able deputy Hugo Lloris requires, while Federico Fazio was disastrous at centre-back against Arsenal in the Capital One Cup. Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose also need to offer more competition for their rivals at full-back but that should come a few more weeks into the season.