On 2 May 2016, Eden Hazard hit one into the top corner, beyond Hugo Lloris’ outstretched arm to level the match 2-2 and hand Leicester City the Premier League Title. The match dubbed “Battle of the Bridge” was always going to be fierce occasion, as this was a London derby and moreover if they won/drawn it, it would give the Chelsea fans something to smile about in a thoroughly miserable 2015/16 campaign, having halted their rival’s title challenge.
Tottenham did well to take a 2-0 lead at HT considering they had already lost Dele Alli to a three-match suspension in a 1-1 draw. In the 2nd half, they were another team altogether, who fell prey to the antics of Chelsea players and lost their heads which included Mousa Dembele eye-gouging Diego Costa and Eric Dier trying to cut Hazard and Fabregas into two. Tottenham were lucky to finish the match with 11 players on the pitch.
Mousa Dembele’s luck was short-lived as he recieved a six-match ban continuing into next season. In the remaining matches, Alli was replaced by Son Heung-min and Mousa Dembele by Ryan Mason. It’s fair to say Son managed to do well having scored two goals in the last three matches including one against Chelsea. But Ryan Mason wasn’t able to fill the gap left by Mousa Dembele adequately. With nothing to play for the heads dropped and Tottenham lost 2-1 to Southampton at WHL and thumped 5-1 by 10-men Newcastle at St James' Park on the final day and to compound the misery they finished below their arch-rivals Arsenal yet again.
Having witnessed the end of season collapse and previous experience of post-European match hangover, it was clear that reinforcements were necessary as voiced by the Manager, Mauricio Pochettino himself after the humiliating loss to Newcastle United on the final day said, "We need to improve our squad, this is very clear. Me, supporters, players, we all agree we need to improve".
Tottenham’s starting XI can go toe-to-toe with the best teams as evidenced last season. Harry Kane proving he’s no one-season wonder by winning the Golden Boot, Christian Eriksen continuing his subtle but brilliant performances, Dele Alli taking to the PL like duck to water, Toby Alderweireld proving to be a stalwart in the meanest defense, Eric Dier adapting extremely well to his new position in front of the defense and the French National and Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris between the sticks formed the spine of this young Tottenham team. The rest of the team kept playing attacking free-flowing, sometimes mesmerizing football around this spine.
The problem was when there was a need of some spark from the bench when chasing a game and having to rely on the likes of Ryan Mason, Tom Carroll and Nacer Chadli to provide that.
Harry Kane the only striker at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’s 1st team (don’t let the squad list on their website fool you which included Clinton N’Jie and Son Heung-min as strikers) had managed to pull himself through to the end of the season without injuring himself (touchwood) and scored 31 goals in the process. It was clear that Kane needed rest as evidenced by his poor showing at the Euro 2016, having continuously played as the lone striker for 2 seasons running and at the end of each season participating in the International competitions.
Apart from a striker, a central midfielder was required – one who could take control of the game. As witnessed when Mousa Dembele was either injured or suspended this was where most games were drawn or lost. With Nabil Bentaleb mostly injured, Ryan Mason or Tom Carroll were unable to step up and make a difference.
Tottenham lost just once (Opening day against Manchester United to an own goal by Kyle Walker) in 27 games when Mousa Dembele started. Without him, they lost five in nine matches which shows the lack of adequate squad players as much as emphasize the dramatic turnaround by Dembele himself.
Tottenham moved quickly early in the window to sign Kenyan national football team captain Victor Wanyama from Southampton without the usual fuss associated with Levy dealings. Eric Dier was moved into CDM position from his preferred CB by Pochettino after failing to get Wanyama last summer, but adapted brilliantly and went to be a crucial player for both club and country. He played all the PL games last season except against Liverpool for which he was suspended for picking too many yellow cards.
After playing the Euros as well help was needed at this position and Victor Wanyama is a bargain buy at £11m with PL experience and could easily fit in having played under Pochettino at Southampton. He is a good defensive midfielder who does a simple but important job of breaking up attacks and regains possession.
He’s not the fastest but his positional awareness facilitates him to anticipate well. His power and strength are his major attributes that help him in this position. Another important attribute is his underrated ability of passing as could be seen in the friendlies against Juventus and Atletico Madrid in Australia. He managed to pick the ball off Roberto Pereyra and quickly slide it through to Erik Lamela who scored. Against Atletico he constantly sprayed the ball to the fullbacks and tried to start attacks. There is an issue of discipline with him last season having been sent off three times. Another issue is that he can be inconsistent having played controlled the previous game he could be extremely sloppy the next.
The next position to strengthen with the Champions League in mind was a backup for Harry Kane. Having been priced out of Belgian international Michy Batshuayi, who was followed for over a year, Tottenham quickly turned their attention to last season’s Eredivisie top scorer Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar. This was a prolonged saga which saw AZ up their initial asking price of £12m when seeing there was competition for Janssen’s signature from PSG, West Ham United and VfL Wolfsburg who were all willing to pay more.
But Tottenham stood firm that he was their main man as was the player who rejected approaches from all three clubs. The deal was finally concluded after Tottenham agreed to pay the new asking price of £17m. Vincent Janssen can be seen as a ‘Dutch Harry Kane’ having similar traits to the WHL fan-favourite. Janssen is a strong two-footed striker but prefers his left. He scored 10 goals with his right foot and 15 with his left. He is also a hardworking striker that can come deep, hold the ball and make space for runners like Alli, Son and Lamela.
It is commendable that Tottenham moved so quickly to address the key issues in the squad and not wait for deadline day bargains. Chairman Daniel Levy requires praise for this.
Mauricio Pochettino who signed a new deal in May and had his title changed from Head Coach to Manager, was happy to wait until the end of the friendly matches to assess his squad. Four major players were absent from the squad for the Australian tour apart from those who took part in the Euros. These were Nabil Bentaleb, Alex Pritchard, Federico Fazio and Clinton N’Jie.
Ahead of the preseason when asked about the omissions Pochettino said, “Njie is injured - he picked up a small injury a few days after the start of preseason and he is in London and was not available to come.”
"The situation of the other three players - Bentaleb, Fazio and Pritchard - is very clear. They are not in my plans and they know. I have communicated with them and it was made very clear. It's not a problem. They know the situation and we'll see what happens." Quotes obtained from ESPN’s Dan Kilpatrick.
So it seems like good news for Clinton N’Jie, while for the others it is time to search for new pastures. But even N’Jie was heavily linked by French and English papers alike to Olympique de Marseille (OM) on loan in exchange for the permanent transfer of Georges-Kévin N'Koudou. There have been contradicting reports on this matter as N’Jie was spotted having lunch with his Tottenham teammates in London when there was news that he had travelled to France.
Federico Fazio’s situation is obvious. He seemed like a panic buy, a cheap alternative to the much sought out Mateo Musacchio. He’s not a Pochettino type defender. He couldn’t handle the high defensive line Pochettino employs nor was he a modern centre back who tends to play out from the back. To his credit he did form a good partnership with Jan Vertonghen for 2 months in the 14/15 season before getting injured and then lost his place first to Eric Dier and the next season to Toby Alderweireld.
He spent the second half of the 2015/16 season on loan at Sevilla FC where he was mostly unused. He did win the Europa League again. He has now signed for AS Roma initially on loan with an obligation to sign him permanently for £3m.
Nabil Bentaleb and Alex Pritchard on the other hand were very crucial to Pochettino’s plans last summer, so much so that he handed both new contracts.
Pritchard was promised he would be playing with the 1st team from the 2015/16 season but unfortunately got injured at the U21 international tournament and was out until January 2016. He was then sent out on a puzzling six-month loan to West Bromwich Albion. This is a team managed by Tony Pulis who clearly doesn’t tend to utilise flair players. When quizzed why Pritchard hardly got any game time Pulis stated he was told by Tottenham officials to take it easy with him as he was returning from a lengthy injury.
This showed Pritchard had a future with Tottenham. Maybe this deal was to soften WBA chairman Jeremy Peace’s stance on one time striker target, Saido Berahino, which never came to fruition. This summer after playing some behind closed door friendlies Pochettino has decided he doesn’t need Pritchard and put him up for transfer. He was sold to Norwich City on Aug 4, 2016 for £8m.
Finally Nabil Bentaleb, who was once (last year) heralded as the jewel of Tottenham’s academy also seems to be on his way out. Considering he was one of the first names on the teamsheet in 2014/15 season this was a mighty fall. Some reports say this was due to the difficulties in his contract negotiation before the start of last season and that Pochettino didn’t take this too lightly.
He claimed that he was getting “a bit tired” of the contract negotiations that were ongoing for nine months. He said, “I give everything on the pitch. I’ve been working really hard and it’s normal for me to want to get rewarded. We’ve been negotiating for nearly nine months now, since September, and it’s getting really long and, of course, I’m getting a little bit tired of it.”
He continued, “But I still work hard. It doesn’t change how hard I work. I will still be the same person. But sometimes it is annoying when you don’t feel treated as you should be. This season was a really good season for me and I’ve had some interest from big clubs, from Champions League clubs. I’m really flattered.” These statements were obviously ill-advised ones by his agents to reward him with a better contract. Injuries played a crucial part in derailing his season, although this could also be related to his attitude.
He was strongly advised by Pochettino to not go to Algeria’s International friendly as he just recovered from an injury. To his and Tottenham’s horror he was subjected to a horrific tackle in that friendly and was back on the injury table. This was the start of the decline of the Algerian’s Tottenham career. He was excluded from senior match squads, and even started playing with U21s. We all know what that means (Remember Andros Townsend). Pochettino said the team “moved on” in his absence and the rise of Dier, Dembele and Carroll led to this.
He is obviously more talented than the likes of Ryan Mason and Tom Carroll but the attitude of the former has been the reason of his decline. Still only 21, he will be an excellent buy for any mid-table PL side. His agent has already said he doesn’t want to leave England. Daniel Levy will look to get around £15m for Bentaleb considering some of the fees being thrown around this summer.
Apart from these three players, whose Tottenham careers had been decided, some of the players who went to Australia were also up for sale for the right price. This list included the likes of Tom Carroll, Nacer Chadli, Yedlin and more surprisingly as reported by The Telegraph Son Heung-min, although personally think he was another who had to adapt to the physicality of the league and wasn’t given a consistent run in a team that was flying. Similar to Erik Lamela he might show his talent given some time. But Son disappointed in the two matches against Juventus and Atletico Madrid. He has now left for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and will miss the start of the season.
Tom Carroll apart from flashes of talent, along with Chadli, showed little to prove that they may have a future at Tottenham. DeAndre Yedlin was deployed at left back and performed impressively which shows the improvement made in the last year under Sam Allardyce at Sunderland AFC. He was however omitted from the squad to face Inter Milan at Oslo which included many of those who were involved in Euro 2016. Nacer Chadli was also left back in London.
Nacer Chadli, 27, a decent goal-scoring winger who drifts in and out of matches with flashes of brilliance will cost more than £15m – a healthy profit on the £7m paid in 2013 to FC Twente. He was the 2nd top scorer for Tottenham in 2014/15 season with an impressive 13 goals and 5 assists. There is interest from Swansea City for Chadli and have already had a bid rejected. With Andre Ayew possibly moving to West Ham United, they might need another attacker with goals in him – that is exactly what Nacer Chadli is. This move would be good for all parties involved.
There is interest from Championship sides for Tom Carroll, 24, although I personally think he would want to stay in the PL and could get a move to the likes of Burnley, Hull City or AFC Bournemouth. There is interest in Ryan Mason too but he wants to stay and fight for his place and Poch likes his attitude.
Clinton N’Jie recovering from an injury seems to also be on his way to OM on loan. Pochettino had no intentions of letting him go, but he was specifically asked for during the negotiations for the transfer of young winger Georges-Kévin N'Koudou. Both these deals, delayed due to N’Jie’s work permit issues, could be completed in the next couple of days.
If all these sales are completed Pochettino will have a small group of hardworking and talented players for the 2016/17 season just the way he likes it.
The Australian tour squad, much to the disappointment of Aussie Spurs fans, didn’t include most of the established 1st team players due to their extended holidays after participating in the Euro 2016. With the exception of Eriksen and Lamela, it included bit-part players and mostly youngsters from the academy. But the fans were able to get a peek into what the future of Tottenham will look like. Most of the youngsters completed this tour with flying colours.
But the standouts were Harry Winks, Josh Onomah, Cameron Carter-Vickers (CCV), Anton Walkes and the highly regarded Marcus Edwards who recently signed a new contract with assurances of 1st team squad number & playing time.
Harry Winks was a 2nd half substitute against Juventus and started the next match against Atletico Madrid and both times played alongside Wanyama. He was quietly brilliant in both matches which included a few wayward passes but showed excellent close body control, was quick to turn players and looked to move forward. He showed enough to move up the pecking order to be above Carroll and Mason.
Winks didn’t shirk away from the challenge of playing top CL sides which included many of their 1st team players. Now that Bentaleb’s on his way out, Tottenham need an able deputy to mighty Mousa Dembele. Winks is still only 20 and has a lot to improve but has shown enough to be considered for this role and can learn a lot from Dembele himself.
Josh Onomah, not really a new face to Spurs fans having started in the Europa League last season, bulked up a bit and looks stronger and more confident. He ran at defenders with purpose and determination and started a move that could have seen Lamela level the score against Juventus.
Both Winks and Onomah will see their names on matchday squads more often this season.
Carter-Vickers, 18, started both the matches, once alongside Dominic Ball and the next, Anton Walkes. He started shakily against Juventus, but that might be due to Ball also being rusty and players like Dybala and Pjanic running at him. The second match was much better and we got to see the talent of Anton Walkes (although his error led to Atletico’s goal) too. They had a better understanding. Pochettino claimed he will be signing some new players but not a CB.
He said after loss to Atletico, “Today we can see that in Cameron Carter-Vickers and Anton Walkes, and the other day with Dominic Ball, we have young and talented players and trust in them. I don't think we need to go into the market to sign another centre-back.”
Picking the mentioned players may be a risk as none of them have played in a top level match but that is what Pochettino does – trust in youngsters.
The hype, although, was surrounding Marcus Edwards (The English Messi), a silky 17-year old attacking midfielder who has all the talent to be a top player. He’s rated as one of the best prospects in England. He did his reputation no harm with cameos in both matches (See for yourself in the video below). He has excellent close control and loves to dribble, take on defenders. Although to be playing in the PL he does need to bulk up as he tends to go to the ground far too easily.
19 year-old Shayon Harrison came on a substitute against Juventus and Inter Milan. He scored the sixth goal against Inter Milan at Oslo in 6-1 drubbing. Pochettino back in January last season claimed he would rather play Harrison and Kazaiah Sterling (another academy striker) than buy a striker who doesn’t fit Tottenham’s way of playing.
Tottenham’s final pre-season match against Inter Milan at Oslo, Norway included the players returning from International duty like Alderweireld, Walker, Rose, Dier, Alli and Kane. Eriksen and Lamela also started. Carter-Vickers started alongside Alderweireld with Wimmer on the bench. Having lost the previous two matches this match was the final chance to get a winning mentality before PL kickoff at Goodison Park next week.
Erik Lamela seems to be raring to go this season and was excellent in the match with a goal from long distance and two assists. Kane also got a couple of goals which he needed after subdued performances for England in the Euros. Similarly Alli and Janssen got a goal assisting each other. Janssen was able showcase his talent. He held up the ball nicely and tapped it into Alli’s path for him to score.
Mauricio Pochettino claimed he’s still looking to get some players in before the transfer window closes.
Georges-Kévin N'Koudou, who Tottenham have agreed to buy for £10.9m from OM, is skilful winger who plays on the left. He loves to take on defenders and get to the byline. Just last year N’Koudou was bought by OM from Nantes for £1m by Pochettino’s mentor Marcelo Bielsa. He scored 10 goals in all competition last season. This deal has still not been confirmed and is being held due to N’Jie’s work permit issues who will go to OM on loan.
Tottenham have been linked to many players over the last few months. Some of those names include Mario Götze (unrealistic), Yunus Malli, Franco Vazquez, Ante Coric, Georginio Wijnaldum, Rafa Silva and Sofiane Boufal. Wijnaldum has since moved to Liverpool after Tottenham refused to pay £25m for him, Gotze is back at Dortmund and Vazquez moved to Sevilla FC from Palermo. Boufal is currently injured till late August and any move for him would be reserved until last minute. Rafa Silva, Coric and Malli all fall under similar price range that Tottenham are looking at this summer – around £10m.
All of them would seem a gamble having never played in the PL but it would be worth pursuing as otherwise there would be too much pressure on Eriksen to be the major creator every match. As much as there is talent in Tottenham’s attack, without Eriksen, it all seems a bit one-dimensional. Eriksen provides that spark of brilliance that can be the difference. With Tottenham being involved in the Champions League this season, Pochettino cannot afford to rotate his team as much as he did last year. Hence to avoid burnout, this last signing is crucial as it means Tottenham will then have two quality players at each position with the addition of some youngsters from the academy.
With an excellent starting line-up that proved its worth last season Tottenham will now have the luxury of impact subs off the bench to help them chase a match or close one out.
Since Mousa Dembele is suspended for the first four matches of the season, Wanyama will come in for him with the rest of the team looking to remain the same.
1st choice GK, Hugo Lloris will be captaining the side. Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer will start the season at CB, as Jan Vertonghen is injured, with attack-minded fullbacks Danny Rose and Kyle Walker at LB and RB respectively. Eric Dier will be stationed alongside Victor Wanyama forming an impenetrable wall in front of the defence. Harry Kane will be leading the line with the much improved Lamela, Eriksen and Alli behind him.
When Dembele returns he will replace Wanyama and that would be Tottenham’s best line-up like it was last season.
Most of the pundits and fans alike seem to have already written off Tottenham’s top 4 chances predicting them to finish in the famous 6th place. They might have a point. The traditional heavyweights Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea having had a poor 2015/16 season, have all got new but vastly experienced & successful managers in Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte and are going gung-ho in the transfer window. Both United and City will look to spend more than £100m this summer to attract top players. Don’t forget Arsenal and Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger has managed to qualify for CL consistently for the last 20 years. With Jürgen Klopp having had a good 8 months in PL after replacing Brendan Rodgers, he will now have his own squad of players playing to his tune. It will definitely be tough to cement a place in the top 4. The so called “Smaller” teams will be no pushovers, either. With the new TV money enabling these teams to spend more and resist offers for their star players, they will only get stronger. This year’s English Premier League will probably be the toughest and closest to call yet.
All this being true, what most people are forgetting is that Tottenham have the most stable starting XI (probably along with Arsenal) among the top 6 teams. This was the youngest team in the league last season and would’ve learned a lot from their failures. They will be better and stronger. Pochettino knows his players inside out unlike Pep, Conte or Mourinho whose players will need to adapt to their styles. For Tottenham, this is a headstart and a continuation of last season’s excellent campaign. How they make the most of this with the added burden of CL, FA Cup and League Cup will determine their season and more importantly their future.
