Harry Kane's Tottenham return ended in defeat, but there were plenty of positives in Ange Postecoglou's opening game in charge... and their star striker may stick around to be part of the revolution
There were no goals for Harry Kane and there were summer cobwebs to dispel as he returned to action but there was every reason to suspect he might relish Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham revolution.
Spurs were beaten 3-2 in Perth, Australia, punished for the high-risk nature of their approach by a West Ham side in ruthless mood, but new boss Postecoglou saw his team conjure chances galore and 30 efforts at goal.
Supporters will have been encouraged. Not least to see Kane lead out the team less than a week after reporting back for preseason training to play the first 45 minutes before making way for Richarlison.
And new signing Manor Solomon confirmed the players feel the same way, all hoping the England captain stays despite the swirl of speculation about his future and interest from Bayern Munich.
'I am really excited to play with such a big player like Harry Kane,' said Solomon, signed on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk after a sparkling season on loan at Fulham.
'It's an honour for me. I want to help him and I want to learn from him. You see that he is a big character and everyone wants to follow him. He is really welcoming. He's a big, big player and we hope to play with him.'
The first glimpse into Postecoglu's plans was Solomon and Dejan Kulusevski flanking Kane with James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp, behind them in midfield.
There was a blur of movement going forward but clear vulnerabilities at the back as West Ham stormed into a 2-0 lead.
Kane created a couple of decent chances, which were unconverted and would have surely have loved to be on the end of one of the several squandered by Richarlison, who came on at half-time as Spurs made 11 changes.
West Ham's veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski made a
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