Published: 25 August, 2012
by DAN CARRIER at White Hart Lane

Premier League
SPURS 1, WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1

SPURS manager Andres Villas-Boas says he believes Spurs will have a 'busy week' in the transfer market as they put the finishing touches to their squad.

Speaking after the disappointing one-one home draw against West Brom, he hinted a new striker could still be on the cards and suggested the club still had transfers to complete.

He said: "We need to be more aggressive in front of goal."

He had started with Jermain Defoe as the lone forward and left new signing Emammanuel Adebayor on the bench – but saw his players unable to turn possession into goals. 

A crestfallen Villas-Boas said he felt his team had done enough in the first half to have won comfortably – but added the dramatic finale would teach his charges a valuable lesson.

"I felt that in the first half we did enough to have won the game," he added.

"In the second period, we put two up front and so did West Brom, so it became more open. West Brom pushed hard to get an equaliser and it was disappointing to concede from a set play. After we scored, I wanted the players to close the game down and keep it steady. We should have been more composed and should have kept the ball a bit better. We are disappointed but we will learn from this and we have to remmeber what we did in the first half we did extremely well."

He praised the Premiership debut of Jan Vertonghen in defence.

He said: "It can be difficult to get the Premiership rhythm immediately – but I thought he did very well. We saw today what he represents – he is comfortable with the ball, shows good leadership, and got forward too."

The first period saw Spurs have the lions share of possession but as AVB lamented had failed to create enough really clear cut opportunities for all the time they had on the ball. Aaron Lennon had possibly the two best chances of the first 45 – one that he contrived to mis-hit from around the penalty spot when he should have done better, the other when he snuck in at the back post to connect to a teasing Gareth Bale cross.

Otherwise, the only real save of note by Ben Foster in the Albion goal came when a frustrated Jermain Defoe tried a long ranger just before the break. As AVB had seen against Newcastle last week, huff-and-puff possession isn't enough if you lack a clear focal point in attack.

The second half saw more of the same. Gareth Bale got into good positions wide but his crosses had no one to meet them. When Sandro and Livermore burst forward from their deep positions, neither had the nous to finish what they started. 

It was clear what was needed to break the deadlock and AVB made the change early on. New signing Adebayor came on for Rafa van der Vaart on 62 and instantly caused worries for West Brom simply by his physical presence.

Just having a forward who could challenge for headers gave Spurs a new outlet.  

With a little more bounce about the attack, the game opened up.  But it was not one way traffic, as the Baggies too had enjoyed a little spell: but just as the visitors gained in confidence, a hashed clearance from West Brom defender Yacob on 74 fell kindly for Benoit Assou-Ekotto and his well hit shot from 25 yards out took a deflection as it travelled goalwards, leaving Ben Foster to sprawl the wrong way.

It looked like the home side would walk off with the three points, and had chances to score a second: West Brom appeared short of ideas and the crowd sensed the AVB revolution was underway. 

But as time ticked down, Tottenham switched off. On 88, Assou-Ekotto had to make a last ditch tackle on bustling substitute Romelu Lukaka and then the Baggies hit the bar from a corner. With four minutes added on time, West Brom threw the kitchen sink at Spurs and some nervous defending saw another corner not properly dealt with. The Baggies' midfielder James Morrison side footed a loose ball home.

So a disappointing end to the first home match of the season: as Spurs saw last term, teams come and sit deep at the Lane, put 11 men behind the ball, and hope to snatch something when Spurs get sleepy at the back.

AVB's mission is to work out a way to open the door and once the lead has been taken, be clever enough see the game out.  

Spurs: Friedel, Vertonghen, Lennon, van der Vaart (Sub Adebaoyr, 62), Bale, Gallas (Capt), Defoe (Sub: Jenas 77), Walker, Livermore, Sandro (Sub: Sigurdsson 72), Assou-Ekotto
Subs: Cudicini, Naughton, Jenas, Sigurdsson, Adebayor, Townsend, Caulker
Man of the Match:  Jan Vertonghen
Attendance: 36,166

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

TODAY was all about Ledley King, with the retired skipper having his name sung from the rafters throughout, and a moving montage of his finest moments in a Spurs shirt played at half time as the legendary, one-club defender took a pitch side bow. He was described by his former team mate Les Ferdinand as a player who, if injuries hadn't cruelly robbed him of game time, was simply '…the best defender in Europe, if not the world…'

But it seems his replacement is none too shabby, either: debutante Jan Vertonghen marshalled those around him with vim and vigour, brought the ball forward neatly, and didn't lose a header. At Ajax, he was known for his occasional forward forays, and in the first period he showed a mouth watering taste of what we have to look forward to. Intercepting a through ball, he stepped into midfield, shoved a pass wide to Gareth Bale, and got on to the return: he failed to keep his shot down, but it would have been some debut goal if he had.

At the death, he smacked the ball home for what he thought was Tottenham's second and surely a winner – unluckily a good debut wasn't to be a dream one as a teammate was judged to have strayed off side.

But overall, a classy display, and one to make the loss of King Led a little less painful.