Tottenham have collected more points than any other Premier League side over the past two seasons. Can they win the title in 2017-18?
INS: —
OUTS: Kyle Walker (£50 million, Manchester City), Nabil Bentaleb (£16 million, Schalke), Clinton N’Jie (£5.95 million), Federico Fazio (£2.8 million)
THE STORY: Tottenham have collected more points over the past two seasons than any other Premier League club. They had the league’s best defensive record in 2017-18. They had the league’s best attacking record, too. But they finished second, seven points back of champions Chelsea, and missed out on silverware for the third season running under Mauricio Pochettino.
The question now is whether a young team can make the final step from challengers to champions. Their improvement each season under Pochettino has been striking. They collected 64 points in 2014-15, 70 in 2015-16 and 86 last season. If they can increase that total for the fourth year running they will almost certainly win the title.
But is it reasonable to expect them to improve? While the rest of the top six have been busy in the transfer market, Spurs have yet to buy a single player, despite ongoing interest in Everton’s Ross Barkley. They also sold starting right-back Kyle Walker, and while it’s hard to argue with the £50 million they got in return, it’s fair to ask whether Pochettino’s decision not to add to his current group of players is justified.
Tottenham used a relatively small group of players last season, and crashed out of all four cup competitions, fielding some occasionally puzzling lineups along the way. Those failures, coupled with back-to-back near-misses in the league, have some wondering whether Pochettino, who has yet to win a trophy as a manager, has the killer instinct required to lead Spurs to the title.
That seems like a stupid thought, not least because the idea of this group of players challenging for trophies hadn’t occurred to anyone before the Argentine showed up. Pochettino’s built an excellent young team, and if they fail to win any silverware while he’s in charge, it will likely have more to do with the fact Tottenham’s main rivals are all significantly wealthier than because of any shortcomings on the manager’s part.
And while there remain doubts about the size of the squad, Spurs have an excellent team, and multiple options in most positions. Harry Kane and Dele Alli tend to attract most of the attention, young, English and good as they are, but Christian Eriksen was superb last season, and is key to unlocking the talent of his two English teammates.
Heung-min Son also enjoyed a breakout season, scoring 14 times in the league, mostly from out wide, and proving himself a viable option up front if Kane gets injured, as he did on two separate occasions last season. Beyond that, however, the attacking talent thins out considerably. Last season’s big signings, Vincent Janssen and Moussa Sissoko, both struggled mightily, while Erik Lamela will miss the beginning of the season with an injury that’s kept him out of action since last October.
In midfield and defense, things are a little better. Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele are an excellent combination of power and grace in central midfield, while Eric Dier and 21-year-old Harry Winks are solid backups. Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen form the best center-back pairing in the league, and have good understudies in Dier and Kevin Wimmer. The full-back ranks took a hit with Walker’s departure, but Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier are both excellent, and Ben Davies has been fine when called upon.
Dier’s ability to play at the back also gives Pochettino the ability to shift seamlessly between a 3-4-3 and a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3. Arsenal and Chelsea both used three and four-defender systems last season, but neither transition between the two as convincingly as Tottenham. In a season when the back three will have lost some its novelty value, that flexibility could prove crucial.
The other big question facing Spurs this season surrounds their temporary move to Wembley while their new stadium is built ahead of the 2018-19 season. They were terrible at England’s national stadium last term, winning once, drawing once and losing three times there in the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.
White Hart Lane was home to one of the smallest pitches in England, Wembley one of the biggest. There was an argument that Spurs’ high-intensity pressing game simply didn’t translate to the larger pitch. When you consider they collected 20 more points at home than they did on their travels, that doesn’t seem like an unreasonable claim.
Then again, for a side that averaged 57.4 percent possession last season — the third highest mark in the league — more space shouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Tottenham’s players are too good to be undone by an extra few dozen square yards, but the stadium move is a challenge none of their rivals will have to deal with.
It also so happens their first game at Wembley in 2017-18 comes against the last team they lost to there, Chelsea. A win would go a long way to dispelling any lingering doubts about their ability to perform in their new home.
KEY PLAYERS: Spurs play such a team-oriented game it’s hard to pick out specific individuals, but Eriksen’s passing in the final third is close to irreplaceable, while Kane’s goals are obviously crucial to the side’s success. He missed two separate spells with injury last season.
The first, in October, coincided with Tottenham’s worst spell of the season, but Son’s emergence meant Kane’s absence was hardly felt when he got injured again in March. Still, if Kane misses any more than the seven league games he did last year, Spurs’ other attackers may not be able to compensate.
In defense, Alderweireld is probably the standout player, but Tottenham have coped well when he’s missed time over the past two seasons (he played only 30 games in 2016-17). Rose’s return from injury should provide a boost, while Trippier will be under increased pressure as a member of the starting XI.
Then there’s Wanyama and Dembele. The former played in 37 games last season, the most in the squad, and was exemplary in defensive midfield. Dier can play there if necessary, but he’s nowhere near as consistent as the Kenyan.
As for Dembele, he started only 24 league games, and succumbed to an injury in spring, but Tottenham are at their best when he’s playing well. His ability to break the press in deep midfield positions and drive forward with the ball is truly unique. He turned 30 this summer and has a checkered injury history, but Spurs will be hoping he’s got a few more good years left.
Next: Ranking every Premier League season
THE MANAGER: Pochettino may not have won anything, but he’s done a remarkably good job at Spurs. Everything good about this club right now — and there are a lot of good things about this club right now — comes back to him.
To build a squad capable of outperforming so many significantly wealthier rivals two seasons in a row is an achievement in itself, and testament to Pochettino’s ability as a tactician and man-manager.
As we saw with Walker this summer, richer clubs will come calling for Tottenham’s best players sooner than later, and for as much as they all seem to love their manager, the wages a club like Manchester City can offer will be too good for many of them to turn down.
Can Tottenham keep the gang together long enough for their new stadium to start bridging the economic gap between themselves and the other members of the top six? Do the likes of Kane and Alli believe in Pochettino’s project enough to turn down the Real Madrids of the world when they inevitably come calling?
Those questions will determine how Pochettino’s tenure at Tottenham ends. For now, enjoy one of the league’s most vibrant young teams.
BEST CASE: The core of the squad stays fit, and Tottenham claim the title they’ve narrowly missed out on two years in a row.
WORST CASE: The decision not to buy over the summer comes back to haunt an injury-hit squad, the Wembley curse continues and Spurs drop out of the top four.