Some weeks ago, Tottenham fans were left enraged on hearing Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola call their side a ‘Harry Kane team’. It wasn’t just fans, but Lilywhites’ boss Mauricio Pochettino was open about showing displeasure following the former Barcelona boss’ comments about his side. 

 

When Pochettino’s in-form side visits Old Trafford to take on Jose Mourinho’s much criticised Manchester United on Saturday though, they will be without their talisman Harry Kane. The Englishman sustained what seemed like a minor cramp in Tottenham’s 4-1 hammering of Liverpool last week, but it was confirmed hours ago that Kane would miss the game due to a minor hamstring problem. The news was greeted with happiness by Manchester United fans, who have been pessimistic ahead of the game against their rivals, but Tottenham fans seemed gutted to lose one of the best strikers in the world to an injury in such a gargantuan clash.

 

It may be a blow to Spurs, but the opportunity can’t get better than this for them to prove to the world and Guardiola that they aren’t a ‘Harry Kane team’ anymore. A win can take them upto second, five points adrift of table-topping Manchester City, who have been scoring for fun of late. 

 

This happens to be a point in Tottenham’s history when a lot of praise has been heaped on them. Even more so than the Harry Redknapp side of the 2011 period. The enthusiasm and youthful exuberance with which Pochettino’s men take to every game has made many Spurs a second favorite for many Premier League followers. Despite that, there has been an issue that has let them down over the last two seasons. Or rather, has kept them inches away from winning the title. And that issue pertains to their ability to fire in big games. 

 

Last season on paper, there were only two reasons that took Spurs away from winning the title. The first was their aforementioned tendency to drop points against the big boys. While that isn’t something that can be guaranteed in the Premier League, considering how not all the other top sides manage to beat the other top six everytime they face them. It was the second problem though, that contributed greatly to their so-called ‘failure’. And it was their lack of form during the period when Harry Kane was injured.

 

While Kane did well to score seven times in two games in Spurs’ last two games of the previous season to win the Golden Boot once again, it was the club’s lack of efficiency in front of goal that let them down in the October period. They lost Champions League games, drew games in the Premier League against Leicester, Bournemouth and West Brom as soon as their star man sustained an ankle ligament injury in a game against Sunderland.

 

Dropping those points proved to be disastarous for them, as the season drew to a close and they ended up being mere runner-ups by seven points, despite impressing many across the world and qualifying for the Champions League for the second time running. 

 

The inability of the replacement- Vincent Janssen, to step upto the expectations and make a mark when the need arose was an obvious reason. The Dutch international never seemed good enough to find his feet in the Premier League and the task of replacing the Golden Boot winner made his job all the more difficult.

 

With the experienced Fernando Llorente now set to replace Kane for the gigantic clash at Old Trafford, we can expect better. It's obvious that the Lilywhites have improved since last season, but losing to their closest rival can dent their hopes of challenging genuinely for the title very strongly. A win will automatically make them City's closest title challenger at a time when a lot of experts are now dubbing them to be more genuine contenders than Jose Mourinho's United.
 

Instead of ruing the absence of their talisman at Old Trafford, Spurs must relish this opportunity to prove critics wrong by beating Manchester United. A win will not just transform their season, it will transform their reputation.