Tottenham Hotspur are desperate to end their long wait for a trophy this season. The Lilywhites finished fourth in the Premier League table last term, which is a slight regression from their top three finishes in the two previous campaigns, but they did manage to reach the Champions League final. The defeat to Liverpool will have hurt the Spurs fanbase, but they can still be happy with progress made in a disruptive campaign.
Now, Spurs are looking to kick on to that next level. They broke their transfer record in the summer to bring in Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele and with this being the first full campaign in their incredible new stadium, there is a real sense of purpose and direction surrounding the North London club at the minute. Can they now take the next step and turn that purpose and direction into tangible success?
Spurs made the headlines at the start of last season having gone the whole transfer window without bringing in any new players. With their new stadium being delayed several times, it was not the perfect scenario for Mauricio Pochettino to begin the new season and indeed the Argentinian found himself heavily linked with the Manchester United job later in the campaign following the departure of Jose Mourinho from the Old Trafford club.
Despite this disruption and a worrying 13 league defeats, Spurs managed to finish in the top four – but the real story of their season was the run to the Champions League Final. Wins over Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax took Spurs to their first ever final in European football’s biggest competition. A 2-0 defeat to Liverpool ended the dream in Madrid, but Spurs took confidence from that run into the new campaign.
The Manager
Unfortunately for Tottenham, they suffered a hangover from that first appearance in a Champions League final and made a disappointing start to the 2019-20 campaign, so much so that manager Mauricio Pochettino was clinging on to his job for several weeks before he was finally axed during the November international break.
His successor was not a unilaterally popular choice. Jose Mourinho was too closely associated with Chelsea for many Spurs’ fans liking and his occasionally overly defensive style of football did not curry favour either. But so far, it has been the opposite scenario – if anything, Tottenham have been too open under the Special One and been conceding more than their fair share of goals.
The New Arrivals
Having not made any transfers in over 500 days before the summer transfer window opened, Spurs were expected to splash the cash. They did to an extent, making three signings with young winger Jack Clarke arriving from Leeds, only to be sent back to the Championship club on loan, and teenage left-sided player Ryan Sessegnon moving across London from Fulham.
The major incoming transfer for the summer though was midfielder Tanguy Ndombele. Perhaps seen as a long-term replacement for Mousa Dembele who left Spurs last January, the Frenchman commanded a club record fee to be prised from his former club Lyon and his high-energy style complements the likes of Harry Winks and Eric Dier in the middle of the park.
Few Premier League players are quite as talismanic as Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane. The England skipper has racked up no fewer than 136 Premier League goals in just 198 appearances and not only is he among the most prolific goalscorers in world football, he continues to improve his link-up play and positioning, making him a threat from deeper positions as well as in front of goal.
Spurs have had to learn to deal with Kane missing from games as he is now sidelined with a hamstring injury until April and the likes of Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son deserve plenty of credit for ensuring they take up the goalscoring mantle during his absences, but Kane provides so much to this team as well as his goals that few players can claim to have so much influence on their side.
How do Tottenham stop losing so many matches?
One alarming issue from Tottenham’s 2018/2019 campaign was the amount of games they actually lost. Spurs did not draw a single game until March, when Hugo Lloris’ stoppage-time penalty save was enough to secure a point in the North London derby against Arsenal and indeed they drew only one more game in the campaign, against Everton on the final day of the season.
Moussa Sissoko of Spurs (PA Images)
So how do Tottenham ensure they manage to turn some of those defeats into draws this season? Perhaps they have to be a little more shrewd when ahead away from home – last season, they lost against Arsenal, Southampton and Watford on the road having led in all three games. The amount of games Spurs lost 1-0, however, suggests they need a better secondary plan when chasing a game, which brings us on to another big question surrounding the Lilywhites this term…
Do Spurs need to add another attacking option?
With Kane’s injury issues well documented and with Fernando Llorente having left the club following the expiration of his contract at the end of last season, Spurs can at times be left looking a little bit light in attack with Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son, both naturally wide players, often having to fill in as the focal point of the Spurs front line.
Llorente proved to be effective coming off the bench in the Champions League against Manchester City and Ajax last term, but in the Premier League he found the net only once in 20 appearances. Spurs could do with another option up top, not only for while Kane is injured but also as a second striker to come off the bench when chasing games as they were ineffective at doing this at times last season.
Where will Tottenham Hotspur finish this season?
3rd.
Like many others, we see Spurs as the third best team in the Premier League. While they do not seem to have the same quality or strength in depth as Liverpool and Manchester City, the Lilywhites should have more than enough to finish above the likes of Leicester, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, most of whom appear to be undergoing a transitional period at the moment.
With a title push now out of the question, ensuring they remain as top-four mainstays while also enjoying another run in the Champions League or the FA Cup will be seen as another productive campaign in N17.
Although Tottenham have been inconsistent following an early surge after Jose Mourinho took charge of them in mid-November, there is still plenty of time and matches for them to force their way back into the top four – even without the injured Harry Kane. Fourth position is definitely achievable with Chelsea unable to nail down that place due to a series of sloppy home defeats and as no other team looks like putting together a run, Tottenham still have ample opportunity to sneak up on the rails and secure another return to the Champions League.
Tottenham’s players celebrate a goal (PA Images)
