Tottenham Hotspur started the season playing 7 games, over 21 days, across three competitions and started well enough to be in mix as the season kicks on.
Tottenham Hotspur knew they were going to have a difficult start to the season. It was not so much the competition, although playing Chelsea, Manchester United, and apparently Everton is nothing to sneeze at, the fact is the volume of games was the more daunting task than any opponent. For professionals to be playing essentially a game every three days is difficult and could have destroyed the season before it even really got started.
Fortunately for Tottenham, the squad held up – mostly – and the team did well enough for Spurs to be advancing in two competitions and part of the conversation in the Premier League as well. Let us look back at the start to the season and see how Tottenham have done as they advanced in the EFL Carabao Cup and Europa League, while starting an uneven Premier League campaign.
Spurs Uneven Premier League Start
Arguably the one competition where Tottenham Hotspur have not excelled yet this season is in the Premier League. In some respects that is difficult to say for a team that sits sixth, only two points back of second, with a plus 7 goal differential through four games. However, when one considers the overall flatness of the team in the first game versus Everton, it is a bit easier to see.
Tottenham have managed two wins, which should have been three if not for an extremely controversial penalty at the death for Newcastle, against only one defeat so it is a sound start. However, those two points are going to hurt until the season ends as they were a real gut punch.
The good news is unlike some teams of Spurs past, this team responded well to the situation going on to come back and pummel Manchester United a week later in the fourth game in eight days for the side. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves about the call, it seemed to instill a confidence and belief only further in this team. That confidence and belief is going to be huge if they are to compete in the League all season.
Currently 13 teams have at least two wins on the season – including both Tottenham and Newcastle – and five teams have at least three wins with Everton being unbeaten through 4 games. Yes, four games is a small sample size, but anyone can beat anyone on any given night in the Premier League, so we must accept the start and be comforted knowing we are in the race and in the top half of the table.
The Long Road to Europa League
As soon as Arsenal hoisted the FA Cup, Tottenham Hotspur faithful knew this was going to be a long slog just to reach the Group Stage of Europe’s second most prestigious club competition. With the journey clearly known, Tottenham knew they had to win three matches to make it to the draw and the team handled their business well.
The first match was the toughest of the three as it was only the second game of the season and followed the difficult 0-1 opening day loss to Everton. Tottenham struggled to find their footing and even fell behind Lokomotiv rather late in the second half. However, since that time, the entire squad seemed to receive the wake-up call and have performed much better.
First Kane hammered home a penalty and then Lucas Moura put Spurs through to the third-round qualifier. From there, Spurs handled KF Shkendija with a bit of style, following a small blip where they allowed Shkendija to tie the game with a worldie against Joe Hart. However, a little additional ammunition in the form of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane helped propel the team to two late goals and the 1-3 victory. In the final, playoff round of qualifying, Tottenham scored early and often as they put Maccabi Haifa to the sword 7-2 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
All told, Tottenham have outscored opponents 12 to 4 for a plus eight goal differential from the three Europa League matches. Now that the draw has occurred and Spurs opponents have been identified, Tottenham can focus on advancement. Given the double-legged affairs that come in Group Stage, opposed to the one and done of this year’s qualifying campaign, the margin for error is much greater, but we should not expect much error from the team. European competitions are something Jose Mourinho knows well, and Spurs are certainly one of the favorites, even before the draw.
Spurs in EFL Carabao Cup
The English Football League Carabao Cup is the one area where Tottenham have probably been a lot more lucky than good, but they have been good enough to advance and that is what matters. First comes the lucky or unlucky depending on your perspective. Regardless, Spurs are into the Quarterfinals and that is what is important.
Tottenham were supposed to play Leyton Orient in the third round of the cup on Tuesday September 22. However, several of the members of the playing team and staff for Orient tested positive for Covid-19 in the run up to the match. Given the test results and the limited size of the club, the match was ultimately considered a forfeit and Spurs advanced as such. It was certainly unfortunately for Orient who as counting on the money more than anything from the match. Fortunately, many Spurs fans and the club itself stepped up to make Orient hole from the monetary perspective. As for the lost playing opportunity nothing could be done for that.
The ‘buy’ brought Spurs up against London rival Chelsea for the right to go to the Quarterfinals in December. Tottenham shortened the match with a very deep block in the first half but still conceded an early goal. However, Spurs were flat out better in the second half and fought back to tie the match and then advanced 5-4 on penalty kicks. Both the comeback and the success in the shootout had to really help with the growing confidence in this side. Tottenham will next travel to Stoke City to compete in the Quarterfinals with a date still to be determined.
Ultimately, Tottenham have done enough over the first three weeks of the season to make the season potentially meaningful on several fronts. A loss in either Europa league qualifying, or the Carabao Cup would have meant the loss of more matches and more importantly more money. Further a second loss in the Premier League would have left Spurs far adrift early in the season. Instead, Tottenham bounced back from a poor opening night and a difficult decision to demonstrate the kind of resolve the team needs to be successful in any one competition, let alone three or four. With this newfound resolve and Jose Mourinho at the wheel, hopefully silverware and trophies are to follow. A solid start let us see how things progress.