Should Tottenham be worried about repeating past mistakes?
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pocchettino recently admitted that he was unsure if the North London club would make any additions this summer. Should Spurs fans be worried?
In a simple manner of speaking the answer here is yes and no. Among the London teams Spurs have easily the most talented side and their talent is all ascending as opposed to descending in the areas that matter. With perhaps the best manager in the world coupled with a certain degree of stability and optimism provided by the new large stadium and the increased revenues it will bring Tottenham are in a good place. That much is beyond doubt.
The issue though is that the Premier League moves at light-speed. It is no longer a big-4 league as much as a big-6 and competitive-8 one. Each one of the teams that will be competing for Europe, not just the Champions League anymore, have strengthened substantially.
Liverpool have now built a side that is entirely capable of winning the league and the Champions League all at once. Manchester City are still the strongest team in the league and added the mercurial talents of Riyad Mahrez. Manchester United added more talent as well and Chelsea added one of the most fascinating managers in Europe coupled with one of the best midfielders in Europe to run the show in West London.
Arsenal has added a new manager and more talent and will be looking for a fresh start now that the age of Arsene has ended. Everton has gone on something of a spending spree and even oddly Fulham, have done remarkable business, though no one is expecting a challenge from them.
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What it all points to is a worrying scenario. It’s true that Daniel Levy is something of a remarkable deadline day wheeler and dealer. But he’s also working with different rules than ever before.
Where he used to be able to maximize the vulnerability of other sides on deadline day he no longer can. The Premier League window closes earlier than the other leagues now and certainly puts him at a disadvantage in terms of that scenario.
Spurs have a lot to look forward to this season but a fair few additions to the squad might have been a good thing. So it will depend on how one looks at the glass then. Whether or not it is half full or half empty.
On the one hand Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier and many of Spurs other stars will simply have gotten better with another year of experience and aren’t even in their primes. In many ways that improvement could carry Spurs. It is just a case of whether that improvement will outlast the other clubs improvements too.
Food for thought.
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