Tottenham and West Ham’s starts to the season could not have been more different.
Tottenham and West Ham had completely different summers but ended the opening weekend of the season with familiar results.
Spurs did not sign a single player in the summer, controversially, while West Ham made nine summer signings.
Despite the Hammers splashing the cash, they lost their opener 4-0 to Liverpool, a day after Spurs waltzed into Newcastle and won 2-1.
The two teams faced very different calibre of opponents, yet the advantage Tottenham already hold was underlined.
Spurs already have a team, a squad of closely knit players who understand their roles, and their managers’ tactics.
Despite many of them missing pre-season due to World Cup involvement, Spurs’ players were able to instantly settle back in, and looked excellent in the process without being anywhere near their best.
In the kindest possible way, West Ham were a mess by comparison, looking like a team of individuals who were unclear how to cope with Liverpool.
It was clear that they have a challenge on their hands to start delivering what Manuel Pellegrini wants.
That is to be expected, and isn’t a criticism of where West Ham are at, but it does prove that Tottenham really didn’t need to rip up their team in the summer.
What they have is just fine, even if its not quite enough to win the title.
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