There is no point in discussing Tottenham Hotspur's February 2013 without immediately mentioning the greatness that was Gareth Bale. Always a talented player, Bale was, as his manager described, on another level this month, and he is undeniably the major reason Spurs are currently the top team in London (in the league table, at least). Before Tottenham host Arsenal in what will be a humongous North London Derby for a variety of reasons, here's one final look back at what could, when all is said and done, be the beginning of the end of Bale's time at White Hart Lane.
As if there could possibly be any doubt. The previously mentioned Bale was the best player in all of the Premier League in February, and he will snatch the Player of the Year award away from Robin van Persie if his form continues through the spring. Bale notched five goals in Tottenham's three February EPL contests, he twice found the back of the net against Lyon, and he was responsible for the match-winner in four of the team's five matches. Critics can refer to Spurs as a "one-man team" until they're blue in the face. When that one player is an in-form Bale, it's also one of the better sides in all of the Premier League.
Spurs went 4-0-1 in February, and they defeated Lyon in a Europa League tie thanks, in part, to brilliant late game-winners from Bale and Moussa Dembele. Tottenham enter March having lost just once in 2013, an away FA Cup defeat at the hands of Leeds. Their last Premier League loss was on December 9 at Everton, and they've won seven of eleven during their current run.
Very quietly and almost from nowhere, Tottenham have risen above Arsenal and Chelsea in the league table. They are now four points clear of the Gunners, two points clear of the Blues, and only five back of a City side that avoided what could have been a significant meltdown had they lost to Chelsea on the final Saturday of the month. Is the race for second truly on?
February was a magical month for Spurs and their supporters, but the team wasn't perfect over the past three and a half weeks. Clint Dempsey cooled off dramatically following a fantastic January, so much so that AVB dropped the American from the first team by the end of the month. Emmanuel Adebayor responded from his Adebayor-esque African Cup of Nations fiasco with multiple dreadful outings. Scott Parker has never reclaimed his 2011-12 form after returning from an Achilles injury, and Spurs have lacked a true midfield boss since losing Sandro for the season (knee injury) in mid-January.
The biggest worry for Spurs in my eyes remains the situation up front. I still believe that Bale will experience some sort of drop in form between now and the end of the season, and there's no reason right now to think that Ade will at some point mold back into the player he was for Tottenham a year ago. Add all of that with a Jermain Defoe who is inconsistent when he is fully fit (which he isn't as of the posting of this piece), and you have to ask:
Tottenham's February in a nutshell? They didn't lose a single game, they're now third in the Premier League table, they can still win a trophy, and Gareth Bale is the greatest footballer on this floating orb. It's good to be a Spurs fan at the start of March. That doesn't mean that I'm not preparing myself for an eventual crash that will eat away portions of my soul and take years off of my life.
Zac has been covering Tottenham Hotspur, Major League Soccer, RBNY, the USMNT and other soccer leagues for Yahoo! Sports since 2010.
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