Is Top Four A Priority?
With only a few games to go at the end of the last season Spurs fans were daring to dream of a first league title since 1961. But a dramatically poor run of form saw the North London side finish in third position behind their arch rivals Arsenal and a whole eleven points behind champions Leicester.
It has been said that if Spurs were ever going to win the league again it should have been last season when so many of the big boys faltered. But is there hope of a challenge this time around? Can Spurs finally outdo their local rivals?
UNBEATEN
To get to the middle of November without having lost a league match is no mean feat. And even without Harry Kane banging in the goals like last season they have recorded a number of good results against the top teams, including Man City.
But since that 2-0 win at the start of October, Spurs haven’t actually won a single match, drawing against West Brom, Bournemouth, Leicester and Arsenal. With over a quarter of the season gone they lie outside the Champions League spots and don’t seem to be fancied by the bookies.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?
So if Spurs are unlikely to win the league this season, where will they finish? Worryingly for them there are a number of other sides playing well and a Champions League slot is by no means guaranteed for Pochettino’s men.
Chelsea have re-emerged from last season’s debacle to join Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the league. Add to that a revitalised Liverpool (who some even fancy to go all the way) and even a top four finish could be out of Tottenham’s reach.
EUROPEAN DREAMS?
Spurs will not want to return to the second tier Europa League after performing on the biggest European stage but they may get a taster of the competition this season. Tottenham currently lie third in their Champions League group and could be knocked out after the next match. They will probably finish third which would transplant them into the Europa League.
GOAL PROBLEM
Harry Kane may have had an amazing season last year, scoring 28 goals in all competitions, but he was ably backed up by Dele Alli, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen who weighed in with another 29 goals between them. This season has not been quite as explosive.
Kane was injured at the start of the season and that has severely hampered his goal scoring opportunities, but also seems to have affected Tottenham’s ability in front of goal as a team. Son is the top scorer so far – and although the goals have been spread throughout the team there just haven’t been that much of them.
Either Kane needs to find his scoring boots quickly or big money summer signing Vincent Janssen has to swiftly adapt to the English game and start contributing in the league. Otherwise it may be the paucity of goals that dictates Tottenham’s season.
EARLY DAYS
The good news for Spurs that it is only November and there is still a lot of the season still to play. They definitely have the ball playing attacking midfielders who can dictate matches and if Harry Kane gets back to form they stand a good chance of another good campaign.
Psychological frailty could play a role in how their season pans out though and the bookies are already not that confident of Spurs qualifying for the Champions League with best odds of about 6/4 and four other sides ahead of them in the queue. Even at such an early stage Pochettino will know that his side need to start performing.
