As Tottenham Hotspur takes a break from football for the winter World Cup it seems an appropriate time to rate the progress of the players and Antonio Conte.
Spurs have not yet hit top gear but find themselves fourth in the Premier League, just three points behind second-placed Manchester City, and having scored more goals than everyone bar Pep Guardiola's side and leaders Arsenal. Conte's side did not lose their first match in the league until last month, as they came up short away against their north London rivals. In the Champions League, Tottenham stuttered and stumbled yet still finished top of their group to progress to a last 16 meeting against AC Milan in February.
Now it's time to dish out our ratings for the players and for Conte. It's worth taking into account that our ratings are based on the individual player's expectations for the season due to the previous standards they have set for themselves, rather than being a tool to compare them against their various team-mates.
READ MORE: What Kulusevski was screaming at Davinson Sanchez and Antonio Conte's clear transfer message
We've looked at every single player who has played at least a minute for Tottenham's first team this season. For those who have managed less than 100 minutes on the pitch, we've not rated them but instead spoken about their performances and prospects. Let's start with the goalkeeper and captain.
Hugo Lloris
Other than a shaky game against West Ham with some poor kicking, Lloris had a really good first quarter of the season including some top drawer saves in the matches against Sporting and Leicester. However, following a thigh injury and September's international break, the Frenchman has been a bit more inconsistent amid the frantic fixture schedule, with some shaky showings, including against Newcastle and at times against Leeds last weekend. It's worth remembering that strong start to the season though. 7.5
Fraser Forster
The summer signing finally made his debut in the Carabao Cup at Nottingham Forest. The 34-year-old was Spurs' best player on a dismal evening with a string of saves and showed he will be a more than capable deputy going forward. N/A
Emerson Royal
The Brazilian was defensively solid early in the season but those attacking limitations remain, adding just one assist to his one from last season. The problem is that the defending has also become shakier since the international break and with little to no offensive contribution, he's becoming the target of plenty of fan anger when Spurs struggle and that reckless red card at Arsenal did him no favours at all. 5.5
Matt Doherty
The Irishman worked hard last season to become Conte's first choice right wing-back only for a serious knee injury - rupturing his medial collateral ligament against Aston Villa - to end his campaign early. Doherty admitted during pre-season that he was still feeling his way back from the injury and he's not really found his rhythm yet, without a goal or assist from his 488 minutes across 11 appearances. 5
Djed Spence
At the bottom of the pecking order at the moment with around half an hour to his name across four substitute appearances. Conte made it clear that Spence was a club signing but one he believes can become an important player one day. The 22-year-old impressed in his 25 minutes or so in the Carabao Cup match at Forest but it's too early to rate him with such a small sample size. He needs more time on the pitch. N/A
Eric Dier
Dier's season is going to be viewed even more harshly because recent poor performances will skew what was a very good start to the season from him. He began in fine form, scored twice and earned himself a return to the England team. We had given him an 8.5 in our pre-international break ratings, with Conte calling him one of the Premier League's best defenders. However, playing most minutes of the crazy recent schedule has had an impact and some of his performances in the past month have been well below par at time, with errors leading directly to opposition goals so his score has dropped as a result. 7
Davinson Sanchez
The Colombian also had a strong start to the campaign and continued his run of clean sheets from last season with good performances against Wolves and Nottingham Forest. However, he has struggled to maintain that when he's come into the side since, giving away a penalty against Leicester and he struggled at Bournemouth, although some aspects of his display against Leeds, notably going forward, were good. 5.5
Cristian Romero
Romero started the season brightly against Southampton but after picking up an injury against Chelsea, he missed three weeks and then returned looking a little bit rusty. He's missed recent weeks through injury after playing through various niggles and problems and his performances have yet to reach last season's levels which is why his mark is lower than normal. He's not reached his own standards at all. 6.5
Japhet Tanganga
A move to AC Milan looked close last summer but Spurs never ended up agreeing to the move. Tanganga has had just 17 minutes to his name against Marseille in the Champions League so far as he covers the back three. Very little time to judge him so far and he will want that to change. N/A
Ben Davies
The Welshman has competition now in Clement Lenglet but he's continued to be a consistent presence for Conte in the backline with 19 appearances. He's also scored two important goals and provided an assist as an attacking centre-back and he remains a player the Spurs boss can count on. By his own standards he's having another good season under the Italian despite being in a back three that hasn't always impressed. 8
Clement Lenglet
Some promising displays across his 14 appearances as he gets used to the Conte style. His crisp passing with that left foot is going to be an extra weapon from the back for Tottenham but he still needs to adapt to the pace of the Premier League. 7
Ryan Sessegnon
Conte has high hopes for Sessegnon and started the season well before struggling in some recent games. He's got the perfect mentor now in Perisic and the two have also played together at times. He's got two goals to his name and with 16 appearances this campaign he's getting plenty of minutes under his belt. Getting some flak recently but he'll be pleased with his game time. Needs to up his assists though. 6.5
Ivan Perisic
He took a little while to warm up but the experienced Croatian has proved to be an astute free transfer for Spurs. Perisic has got seven assists already in 21 matches and his crosses and set pieces provide extra danger to Tottenham's attack. Some adjustments are needed to handle the pace of the English game when defending and in some games in this recent mad spell he's dropped below his standards, but overall it's been a promising start to life in the Premier League. 7.5
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
The Dane, who was nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month for September, can split opinion among some in the Spurs' fanbase but Conte is delighted with him and believes he's made big strides under him towards becoming one of the best midfielders in the game. He's really pushed on with his offensive contribution, with four clinical goals and four assists including the goal that sent Tottenham into the Champions League last 16 as group winners. 8.5
Oliver Skipp
Back in action after his freak pre-season injury, but he's mostly been played out of position as an attacking player in a midfield three, meaning he's been essentially a winger at times rather than his natural anchorman role. At least he's getting minutes, albeit only 215 of them across nine games so far, but he's not reached the heights of the first half of last season yet. 5.5
Yves Bissouma
Eighteen appearances so far for Tottenham with a few more starts sprinkled in recently. However, other than his 20 minute cameo from the bench against Leicester and his display against Liverpool, he's nowhere near the player yet that he was at Brighton. Conte had said he was struggling to adapt to the tactical aspect of his instructions and needed to improve his defending. The Mali international will benefit from the upcoming break to work with Conte. 6
Rodrigo Bentancur
The Uruguayan has reached new heights with his performances. With his pressing high up the pitch and his defensive work, plus his new-found eye for goal, he's Spurs' player of the season so far. Bentancur is a calming presence in the midfield and his team-mates trust him with the ball in tight situations. With five goals and two assists now, the three-time Serie A winner is a game changer and a crucial name on the teamsheet. 9
Lucas Moura
Just 266 minutes of action for the Brazilian thanks to a calf injury which meant he has struggled for availability this season. No goals or assists to his name. 5
Dejan Kulusevski
One goal and five assists means the Swede has now had 19 goal involvements in 27 Premier League matches with 13 assists and six goals. His month-long absence with a hamstring injury impacted heavily on the team and you can easily forget he's just 22-years-old. You wonder where they would be now if he had been available. 8
Bryan Gil
Just 73 minutes from the bench across six appearances for the Spaniard so it's too difficult to judge him on game time, but he has looked bright in some of his displays, most notably against Frankfurt. N/A
Richarlison
Has made an impact at the club, quickly taking on what Conte wants from him and becoming a popular member of the squad. He's already bagged two goals and three assists in his 15 appearances, with his two headed goals on his Champions League debut crucial for Spurs and emotional for him. Injury disrupted his season and he's got more to give as he beds in properly after the World Cup but as first half seasons go he's made a good impression. 7
Son Heung-min
After last season's brilliant campaign, sharing the Golden Boot with 23 goals with Mohamed Salah, Son admits he's had a tough time of it this season. He registered an assist in the first game against Southampton in August but then didn't contribute directly to a goal until his superb hat-trick against Leicester six weeks. Son said his finishing has been "poor" and that he felt he had "disappointed his team-mates and the fans" but although he's been well below his normal levels, he's got more than enough credit in the bank with everyone. He got five goals - which came in two matches - and two assists from 19 appearances before his recent injury. By his own standards, Son has admitted he hasn't reached his potential this season so far. Hopefully the World Cup sparks him back to form. 6
Harry Kane
Kane has 12 goals and one assist from 15 appearances in the Premier League and his goals have been crucial to Spurs finishing this period in the top four. His Champions League record this season, with one goal and two assists, isn't as goal heavy as he'd like but he's still contributed with his performances. Bearing in mind he's been run into the ground in starting every match and playing more minutes than any other Spurs player - 1,937 - he's contributed a lot to the team and yet he can still do even better. 8.5
And the manager
Antonio Conte
On the whole the Conte impact has continued with Spurs fourth in the table and in the last 16 of the Champions League and he understandably keeps pointing to the mess the club were in when he arrived in north London a year ago.
If you take 2022 as a whole Tottenham would be fourth in a Premier League table so far, the third top scorers and only five points behind Manchester City on top. For context, in the 2021 calendar table they were seventh, a huge 44 points behind City.
There are negatives. The style of football has been very inconsistent and at times the team has sat back in a very passive way - although Conte claims that's not what he wants - while the Spurs head coach also has his favourites when it comes to team selections.
Conte's insistence on continually picking Emerson despite the fact that his limitations prevent his own system from working have frustrated the fans and put the Brazilian in a tough position, which culminated in the loud and uncomfortable cheer as he went off on Saturday. There has also been the reluctance to involve Spence as well as the often predictable nature of the Italian's hour-mark or later substitutions, usually including one centre-back change, although he would say injuries have ensured that predictability.
There's also little in the way of rewards for those younger players who impress from the bench, with Spence, Gil and Skipp struggling to get starts after catching the eye.
However, on the whole Conte is changing Spurs for the better and this run of 13 games in 43 days has been ridiculous with the attacking injuries the team has had. The Italian continually calls for patience for the path ahead and the fans would like him to show his own public commitment to that cause. 7.5
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