Tottenham are better without Harry Kane

After the departure of main striker Harry Kane to Bayern, Tottenham showed a fresh face with the best start in the club's history to lead the Premier League.

Instead of recruiting a striker to replace Kane, new coach Ange Postecoglou brought in wingers Manor Solomon, Brennan Johnson and midfielder James Maddison last summer. He also convinced the club to buy Dejan Kulusevski - a Swedish winger who joined the team on loan in January.

So, ahead of the new season, expert Paul Merson predicted Tottenham would decline, even struggling to finish in the top half of the table without Kane. The former England midfielder said: "Last season Kane scored 30 goals and Tottenham finished eighth. Tottenham could have finished in the top four if Kane had stayed, and it would have been difficult to finish in the top half if Kane had left. Who would score goals for Kane?"

Son Heung-min scored the opening goal as Tottenham defeated Liverpool 2-1 in round 7 of the Premier League on October 1. Photo: PA

But after eight rounds, Tottenham showed a fresh face, playing attractive football, scoring 18 goals, only behind Brighton (21), Newcastle (20), Aston Villa (19) to top the table. That was in contrast to the gloomy atmosphere under Antonio Conte, who was accused of creating a timid and unconfident team.

"Tottenham have been liberated, no longer tied down by a reliance on a world- class striker who does all the heavy lifting for the team," commented British newspaper Sportmail . "It's like a TV show losing its main character, but the supporting cast shine and help the show's ratings."

That freedom is reflected in their attacking numbers, with Tottenham taking significantly more shots than they did under Conte. They now have 153 shots, 38 more than at the same stage last season. Of those, new signing Maddison has created 25 chances. At the same stage last season, Kane led the way with 16 assists and was also the top scorer with six goals.

Tottenham also got off to an impressive start last season, falling just three points behind this season and even scoring one more goal. But Postecoglou’s team now have a higher expected goals (xG) than at this stage last season (15.1 to 14) and are taking more shots on target (56 to 51). Rather than relying solely on Kane for goals, Tottenham now share the scoring load with a number of players. Captain Son Heung-min leads the way with six, while Maddison, Kulusevski and centre-back Cristiano Romero all have two.

Vicario after a save in Tottenham's 2-0 defeat of Man Utd in the second round of the Premier League on August 19. Photo: AFP

Tottenham's defence has also improved. New signing Mickey Van de Ven has impressed and combined well with Romero to form a solid duo in front of Guglielmo Vicario - who has taken Hugo Lloris' starting position. Tottenham have only conceded eight goals, behind only Arsenal, Man City (both 6), Crystal Palace, Chelsea (both 7). Last season, after the first eight rounds, they conceded 10 goals.

Tottenham have faced just 104 shots, compared to 127 at the same stage last season. Postecoglou's side have also kept three clean sheets, one more than last season, despite Conte's side playing a more defensive counter-attacking game with a deeper defence.

After a 1-0 win at Luton last weekend that took them to the top of the Premier League, Postecoglou insisted his players were looking to "change the fortunes of the club" after their best start since winning the title in 1960, and refused to make comparisons with last season. "I don't think it's fair to compare with last season and talk about what happened after that," the Australian said. "It's all down to the players, the way they believed in what we were trying to do. We showed unity, not just in winning or playing beautiful football, but also in resilience."

Postecoglou shakes hands with James Maddison after Tottenham drew 2-2 at Brentford in their Premier League opener on August 13. Photo: Reuters

In Germany, Kane also quickly integrated into the new environment when scoring nine goals in 10 matches. But Bayern is currently only third in the Bundesliga with 17 points, one and two points behind Stuttgart and Leverkusen respectively.

Hong Duy

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