Is it safe to say that nary a Tottenham fan out there is unsatisfied with the first half of the season? Probably.
Sure, maybe you could complain about some draws that should have been wins, or perhaps about the losses to Manchester United and Newcastle, but overall sitting in fourth place just four points off of league leaders Arsenal is better than just about anyone’s expectations at the start of the season.
How did Tottenham get to this point though? What happened between August and now to help – or hinder – Tottenham’s chances at actually chasing the Premier League title?
Thankfully, we here at Hotspur HQ have been diligently reporting on just about every facet of Tottenham and its season from the very beginning. Whether it’s been the furor of the summer transfer window, the settling in of new signings, the resurgence of old veterans or just about any miscellany you can imagine, either Alex Balano or myself has been there to talk about and dissect it.
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So just in time for the New Year and the beginning of the second half of the season, let’s go back and examine how exactly we all got here. In no particular order, here are the top ten plotlines we’ve been following since the season began. Feel free to suggest a few more things we might have missed in the comments.
Next: A New Dawn
Let Go, Begin Again
With the benefit of hindsight, we can safely say now that Tottenham’s post-Gareth Bale transfer binge was unsuccessful. Daniel Levy had all of that Bale money at his disposal and entrusted it with a man who, at the time, looked qualified to spend it. Franco Baldini came in as director of operations and promptly brought in no less than half a dozen players.
Only half of those players remain at the club: Christian Eriksen, Érik Lamela and Nacer Chadli. The rest – including perhaps the most disappointing purchase of the Daniel Levy era – were sold off in the summer in a purge of Tottenham’s ranks. It was, appropriately enough, Baldini who oversaw that purge and once it was complete, he promptly resigned.
Tottenham, as it turned out, had already largely moved on from the type of transfer policies embodied by Baldini. Last November they brought in Paul Mitchell as head of recruitment and his youth-oriented approach was already beginning to bear fruit. No longer will Tottenham rely on wheeler dealers or big money transfer market splashes. With Mauricio Pochettino and Mitchell at the helm, Tottenham is slated to be a development club, one that promotes from within and relies on talented players regardless of age.
Next: The Search for a Defensive Midfielder
Eric Dier Earns His Keep
If we’re being completely honest, your humble author began this season not exactly in Eric Dier’s corner. After that opening match against Manchester United we published an article doubting Dier’s chances at fitting anywhere on Tottenham’s first team. It was controversial then, and frankly looks particularly ridiculous now that Dier has proven himself to be the only defensive midfielder Tottenham ever really needed.
Dier earned his keep at Tottenham after a very convincing display against Everton at the end of August and all but eliminated talk of Victor Wanyama coming on the final day of the window.
Despite a bit of a set back with yellow card accumulation, Dier’s proven he’s in for the duration of the season, albeit with a little help from Mousa Dembélé and Dele Alli alongside him.
Next: Europa Hopes
Tottenham Finally Takes the Europa League Seriously
It only took four consecutive years stuck in Europa League purgatory for Tottenham to get its act together and actually start taking Europe’s second tier international club competition seriously.
UEFA granted a Champions League spot to the winner of the Europa League just last year, thereby adding a bit of extra incentive for a club like Tottenham that has struggled to qualify through normal means. Pochettino has thus understandably been keen on making sure Tottenham start their Europa campaign off well.
To that end he often named strong squads in the opening group stage, even against the minnow of the group, Qarabag FK. Still, Tottenham struggled at times, especially against Anderlecht. It took until the last game of group play in December – a dominant 4-1 win over Monaco – for Tottenham to seal top spot and, in theory, an easier matchup in the first knockout round.
Unfortunately theory doesn’t always hold up. Tottenham will face off against Fiorentina when Europa League play resumes in February, the very same team that knocked them out last season.
Next: Introducing Dele Alli...
Dele Alli’s Ascent
It’s hard to fathom Dele Alli’s season so far. Most knew he was a talented midfielder when he signed from MK Dons back in January – and was immediately loaned back – but few could have expected how quickly he would integrate himself into the first team.
He owes his assent in no small part to Mousa Dembélé and Ryan Mason’s early season injuries, but once he had a spot in the starting XI he’s never looked like giving it up. His talents there were obvious enough to earn himself a call up to Roy Hodgson’s England team for the final games of Euro 2016 qualifying. He actually earned starts there and even managed his first international goal.
A versatile box-to-box midfielder, Alli’s looked comfortable in defensive midfield, on the wing, as a second striker and most recently as a playmaker. At 19-years-old, he has an air of precociousness to his play that people inside and outside Tottenham will hope does not fade anytime soon.
Next: ...and re-introducing Mousa Dembélé
The Purveyor of Press
While Dier and Alli grabbed a good amount of the attention for their improbable ascents up the ranks, it was Tottenham veteran Mousa Dembélé who should likely get the most praise.
Since his arrival at the club in 2012, Dembélé has seemed a bit lost. André Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood and even Mauricio Pochettino didn’t know what to do with the Belgian. Even when he did earn a spot in the starting XI, it seemed as if he was stuck playing between multiple roles.
Pochettino began to discover how he could fit into his plans at Tottenham late last season however. Dembélé, it turns out, is the best practitioner of Pochettino’s finely-tuned pressing game that the club has at the moment. Whether he’s playing as a defensive number 10, or on the wing, or alongside Dier, he’s able to close down opponents’ attempts to build up attacks or keep the ball at their feet in defense.
Tottenham’s whole gameplan is built around doing just that, of course, so Dembélé isn’t alone in pressing – he’s simply the best at it. It helps too that he’s willing and able to play wherever Pochettino asks him to.
Next: He's Finally Gone
Emmanuel Adebayor is Released
After unsuccessful transfers to Aston Villa and West Ham United Emmanuel Adebayor would soon find out what his fate would be with Tottenham. And that was not having a spot on Mauricio Pochettino’s 25-man squad.
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Of course, in order for Pochettino to keep to his words, a couple of things had to happen. Namely, put it out there for people to read in a media interview, banishing the Togo international to the Under-21 team and giving his shirt number, the highly prized number 10, to Harry Kane.
A couple of days after going on record to say that Adebayor had no future with the team, the 31-year-old striker was finally released and has been earning his final season’s worth of £100,000-per-week back at home in Togo.
If he still has a desire to play football, there are teams out there who might still be interested. Although they would have to help Tottenham subsidize his wages in order to sign the enigmatic striker.
Next: Will He Join Tottenham or Not?
The Transfer Fiasco of Saido Berahino
Where do we begin? After four failed transfer bids — something that Daniel Levy said was mainly West Brom’s chairman, Jeremy Peace’s fault — and not letting Saido Berahino leave, the young 22-year-old striker took to Twitter and announced that he would never play again for Jeremy Peace. That plan hasn’t work out because his season numbers, when given a chance to play, shows a player who is struggling for form.
It should also be noted that Baggies manager, Tony Pulis, didn’t exactly mind seeing Berahino leave in the summer, if they got an appropriate transfer fee. But at the same time, once the January transfer window opens Pulis believes that Tottenham might not come back for the currently abrasive striker.
And while Saido Berahino’s current form makes it hard to actually pay a fee of 20 million-plus, what if it actually works in some team’s favor? Like Tottenham if they were somehow still interested? Should Spurs sign a much cheaper Berahino? If they do, it’ll be a coup of a signing. If not, then it’ll show that Tottenham have finally moved on from a disastrous few days before the summer transfer deadline.
Next: How Much Depth Does Tottenham Have?
Injuries Almost Slowed Tottenham Down
For any team, an injury will affect your ability to climb up the league table from your current position. When there’s numerous injuries to contributing players, that should halt your progress until they can return to full fitness.
Indeed, when Tottenham have a semi-extensive list such as the one below, it’s a testament to see how much depth and/or lucky Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino have been to reach fourth place by the New Year.
Players who have been injured:
- Nabil Bentaleb
- Mousa Dembélé
- Christian Eriksen
- Hugo Lloris
- Ryan Mason
- Clinton N’Jie
- Alex Pritchard
- Danny Rose
- Son Heung-min
The latest injury news concerns Belgian central midfielder Mousa Dembélé who is out with a groin injury for three weeks. Who could step up in his place? It’s possible that a minor tweak to Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup could happen with Dele Alli returning back to his natural position and Son Heung-min being restored to the starting eleven. If not, then there is Tom Carroll. Either way, however Tottenham lines up against Everton on Sunday, January 3rd, it’s expected that they’ll be fine for now until Dembélé returns.
Next: The Arrival of an Argentinian
Érik Lamela and Being Consistently Good
Few could have predicted that Tottenham’s record transfer fee of nearly £30 million would have stuck around before the start of the 2015-16 season. Let alone being one of Tottenham’s best players this term.
Remaining consistent is tough to do for any player, but when Érik Lamela was able to continue working on the progress that he made last season, perhaps it wasn’t as much of a surprise for himself, his coaches and teammates as it was for us supporters. To see the Argentine winger convert a split fanbase into mostly Lamela sympathizers, that he has finally turned the corner, is a magnificent thing to see.
Being named into UEFA’s Europa League XI with other players in Europe’s secondary elite international club competition is just another accolade to show how far the 23-year-old has come since his summer arrival back in 2013.
Next: The Best Summer Signing this Season?
Toby Alderweireld is the Missing Link
Before Tottenham were able to secure their third signing of the summer, they would be embroiled in a saga that mainly involved Atlético Madrid and Southamton. With Daniel Levy making a personal trip to Madrid, Spain, it was apparent that Spurs’ chairman was serious about getting a deal done.
After a couple of days of negotiations, it soon became official. Toby Alderweireld signed with Tottenham. At first glance, this was a move that would help stabilize Tottenham’s central defense after some shoddy defending that led to one of the worst defenses last term for a top five club. Looking at his profile, it helped showed what Spurs could expect from the 26-year-old.
It was heralded as a very solid investment and one that could help push Tottenham into the top four among supporters. Even Toby Alderweireld himself, made that claim of a top four finish at the end of the year, following their game against the MLS All-Stars. Halfway through the season and Alderweireld’s prediction so far has proven true. Now let’s see how Tottenham do from here on out.
Next: Everton's Martínez Can't Help But Admire Spurs
Well Tottenham fans, these have been the ten most interesting and intriguing storylines so far this season. What could potentially be the next ten stories to follow from January until the end of the season? We’ll have to wait and find out. Until then, it’s a Happy New Year for Spurs who are in the top four and aspirations for more when all is said and done.