Terrace Talk: Crisis at Tottenham is always an attractive narrative

Enough about carbon footprints. The run up to Saturday's dramatic win at Man City was all about the Conte footprint.

ROARING SUCCESS: Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his side's injury time winner at the Etihad

THIS is why we do it. You’d have been hard-pressed to find a confident Spurs fan before this game. But afterwards - the sheer elation was something to behold. Man City may have dominated possession, but the collective defensive effort, intelligent breaking and above all a performance of the highest quality by Harry Kane made Spurs worthy winners. After a tumultuous week - and few weeks are anything else at Spurs - it was a welcome respite from stormy weather.

The day out involved spending 10 hours in the car. Rearranging the game for 5.30pm on a Saturday meant most travelling fans opted to drive. There was one train back to London after the game, and by the time the schedule was confirmed tickets were over £100. Remember next time Sky trumpet their environmental credentials that the constant and late messing around with kick-off times forces more fans onto the road. But enough about carbon footprints. The run up to this game was all about the Conte footprint.

An interview he’d given to the Italian media had been the talk of the town for the best part of a week. The dynamic between manager, team, owners and fans is arguably watched more closely at Spurs than at most clubs. The reasons are numerous. Spurs’ status as one of the Big Six invites questions because, alone among the six, the club hasn’t won anything of note for so long. As a business, it’s undoubtedly a success story. At the business of football - that’s a different story.

In recent years, success has come closer, but the sense that the board is either unwilling or unable to take that final step needed looms over the club. There’s a permanent air of tension about the place; a sense that the next fractious episode is only just around the corner.

Conte arrived after a bungled managerial search following the disastrous appointment of Jose Mourinho - a pure box office play that reversed the progressive foundations laid before - that resulted in Nuno Espirito Santo being brought in because, well, he was available. It was never going to work and it didn’t - and when Conte eventually arrived a significant chunk of the season had already been wasted. Conte brought hope - few managers have a better current record - but also raised the stakes. If he doesn’t succeed, can anyone? (But the same was said when The Formerly Special One arrived.) So Conte’s apparent kvetching about the transfer window and his squad fed a narrative - Crisis at Tottenham is always an attraction.

The thing about Conte’s comments was that everyone read into them what they wanted to, but few stopped to consider context, translation, or simple fact. The story ran for days fuelled only by the reaction to the reaction to the reaction… on endless loop. A classic modern media storm, in other words.

In the end, the only talking that’s important is the talking that’s done on the pitch. And on Saturday evening, that spoke volumes. Conte’s game-plan was executed superbly - a tailored solution to hurt the team currently playing some of the best football in Europe. Effectively doubling up the wing backs and dropping Kane deep proved a masterstroke, the return of Dier settled a back line that had been shakier than the roof of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during Storm Eunice, and Hojbjerg and Bentancur in the middle ensured the opposition couldn’t walk through the soft centre.

As a new week begins, the glow from a pulsating game of football still hasn’t faded. It had everything, even success in rebuffing the efforts of VAR to suck the joy and spontaneity out of a game that can still be beautiful. The pick of so many moments was Harry Kane’s pass to set up the move that led to the first goal - a thing of pure beauty that heralded an extraordinary display. The Harry Kane, and team - as Pep might have said.

In football, so much turns on a narrow edge. Defeat here would have been the fourth in a row, the narrative would have been will Conte walk or will the board back him? Now, the talk is of whether top four is back on, whether the title race is open again, whether this Spurs team can finally win something. The strength of optimism after a good win rarely matches the intensity of the meltdown after a bad defeat, but the feeling after this one was pretty good. Up there with when we knocked City out of the Champions League quarter-final at the Etihad.

ALL TOGETHER: 'We witnessed a team performance that was smart, ruthless and well-executed

What’s interesting too, and perhaps this is true at other clubs as well, is that those blamed for defeats are rarely, if ever, credited for victories. Certainly not with the same vigour. After the limp defeats in the run-up to this game, most of the players were hopeless, the board clueless and the manager on the verge of walking. And yet, here we witnessed a performance that was smart, ruthless and well-executed. Delivered by the apparently useless and clueless. What if that man Kane hadn’t got the winner - topping off an extraordinary multi-faceted performance with a piece of good old-fashioned striking play? Would a draw have been seen as a point gained or two points lost? Seasons turn on such fine margins.

There is nothing that can beat the feeling of a good win, especially an injury-time away win, but a great win in a pulsating, absorbing, thrilling game that will take some topping this season is even better. No one, however, is ruling out losing away to Burnley next.

This is why we do it.