Spurs and Antonio Conte remain uneasy bedfellows as long as the Italian strikes

Spurs played well and got a reasonable Champions League point in Frankfurt. It's just hard to see where it takes them.

Tottenham's goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt was a curious thing.

It was essentially a game that highlighted the danger of judging solely by the outcome. We quickly wondered if Spurs' 6-2 win over Leicester a few weeks ago was actually a bit of crap, and so it's fair to acknowledge that what was, on the surface, a goalless draw enough lackluster in a very winnable game. game, actually offered a semblance of something.

Spurs' defensive display was nearly flawless, Eintracht limited themselves to just one presentable chance over the whole game. After the mess at the Emirates on Saturday, this is both a welcome and noteworthy improvement.

And, unlike previous examples where Spurs failed to find a breakthrough under Conte or Nuno or Mourinho, this was not a stalemate where Tottenham could not create anything for or to through his attacking players; they just couldn't make those odds count. On another day, most of the time, Kane or Son or both scored one of the chances that came their way.

It was not a bad performance and certainly not a disastrous result in a European group that has always had the appearance of a group where it all comes down to the last day and now even more so with three points separating the top from the low to mid-term arrange. With two home games to come, Spurs should still be fine.

It wasn't close enough after the weekend, but if Spurs win this game 2-0 thanks to goals from Son in the first half and Kane in the second, no one describes him as lucky. Indeed, one would speak of a professional job well done on a European banana peel night when Saturday's wounds could have opened up more.

In truth, this performance was no better or worse than any that snatched fourth place from Arsenal last season. The differences are in the margins, whether or not Son is confident, whether or not there is Dejan Kulusevski's composure and vision.

Antonio Conte may have been unduly stubborn in sticking to the same XI that soiled the NLD's bed so noisily, but he was at least rewarded with the kind of solid performance that he would have waited there.

But like Saturday, it was a game that raised the question of what exactly it was for. Which, precisely, Spurs and Conte are trying to achieve together. Saturday it was the defense that let the team down, Tuesday night the attack. On other occasions, the blame for a subpar performance falls and will fall again on this often overwhelmed midfielder.

The details may be different, but the result is the same. And with all that comes the nagging suspicion that Conteball demands a level of precision and perfection on a consistent basis that surpasses Spurs. And above all, Conte won't be around long enough to change that.

Again: what is it really for?

Spurs have a lot of really good players and a handful of really great players. Of those greats – Son, Kane, Romero – it would be fair to say that none have been at their best yet this season. There is room for this Spurs side to be better under Conte, and what they have produced so far has nevertheless taken them to third in the league and a reasonable position in their League group. champions.

When enough good players do good things and the proven excellence of Conte's system holds, Spurs beat some teams. What is ...