Off to their best start in the Premier League era, Tottenham Hotspur has 17 points from 7 games, matching the point total from 2016/17, so how do these Spurs compare?
Tottenham Hotspur has not played their best yet this season, and if you spend too much time on Twitter, you will think that Spurs are down battling West Ham and Leicester City to avoid relegation. However, the reality is, despite not playing great, Spurs are one of only two unbeaten Premier League sides, and the Lilywhites have bested their best start from the 2016/17 team that finished second under Mauricio Pochettino. Here we compare the starts to see if this Tottenham side has what it takes to go where no Spurs side has gone before, first place.
2016/17 Tottenham team was defense first
With five wins and two draws from seven games, the then 2016/17 Spurs set the precedent for a good start and laid the foundation for an unbeaten season at home in the final year at White Hart Lane. That Tottenham team, the best of the Pochettino lot, was built from the back forward, with a defense that was second to none.
That season, the quartet of Danny Rose, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, and Kyle Walker did an amazing job of protecting Hugo Lloris. Tottenham conceded only three goals in the first seven matches, with four clean sheets, not conceding more than 1 goal in any of the seven games.
Those four clean sheets also included an impressive 2-0 win over Manchester City and a 0-4 thrashing of Stoke City.
2022/23 Spurs are good but not great defensively
Compared to the defensive juggernaut that was the 2016/17 team, this year’s version is just a notch below that level. Tottenham has conceded four more goals than that side, coughing up 7 in 7 games and with only two shutouts thus far in the Premier League season.
Averaging 1 goal per game against is not a terrible mark. However, that same average would have ruined the 2016/17 start, which included two 1-0 wins over Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
Following the big 6-2 win over Leicester, we see that the team may be a bit different this year.
While that prior team could score, putting four past Stoke, this current iteration of Tottenham is looking for more than 1 goal.
2022/23 Tottenham team has potential on offense to be great
That 2016/17 team scored some goals, getting 12 in those first seven matches. However, compared to the 18 in seven games the current team has produced, Pochettino’s attack seems somewhat pedestrian. At 1.7 goals per game, Spurs relied on that stellar defense to carry the day, especially in the cozy confines of White Hart Lane.
This season at almost 2.6 goals per contest, Spurs are scoring at a different level. With at least two goals in five of the seven matches this season, Tottenham has more breathing room for some defensive mistakes.
In 16/17, six players – and own-goal – had scored those 12 goals, led by Heung-min Son’s four. This season, seven players – and two own-goals – account for the 18 Spurs goals, with Harry Kane leading the way with six.
This season four Spurs have already scored at least twice – Dier, Hojbjerg, Kane, and Son – whereas three had in 2016/17 – Kane, Son, and Dele. With more players scoring more goals than that previous side, it is safe to say Spurs have a better attack than they did in 2016/17 when Kane, Son, and Vincent Jansson were all leading the line.
Spurs’ schedule has been a bit easier this season
Through seven matches in 2016/17, Tottenham had played two top six sides, Liverpool and Manchester City, drawing and winning in the two games. This season through seven games, Spurs have only played one of the top six sides, Chelsea, which was a draw. Tottenham was supposed to have played Manchester City by now, but the death of the Queen and the subsequent suspension of football means Spurs will have to be rescheduled with the Cityzens.
The current squad is better at home than previous
Regardless of who they have or have not played, the current team has not dropped any points at home. While we know that last season at the Lane was one where Spurs never lost, they had already drawn a game by this point in the 2016/17 season, whereas Spurs are 4-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this year.
After struggling to create a home-field advantage since moving from the Lane, the perfect start at home is important. Although the current team has just one win next to two draws on the road, and the 2016/17 team had two wins and a draw, the sample size is too small to draw any real conclusions.
The bottom line is that both the 2016/17 Spurs team and the current iteration are good football teams with a legitimate chance to win some silverware. If that silverware is to be the Premier League, then it will be the next two months where Spurs separate the present from the past.
The next two months will determine the difference in Tottenham teams
Following an international break, the 2016/17 team returned and drew four straight games to start October. Then those four games were followed by a two-win and two-loss stretch that dropped Spurs from second to seventh in the table.
During that same time, where Spurs went 2-4-2, eventual Champions Chelsea went 8-0 as part of a 13-game winning streak under current Tottenham coach Antonio Conte. And although Spurs would close the season strong, winning 12 of their last 13 games, the stretch from October-November, where the team only got 10 points from eight games, ultimately cost Spurs the title.
For the current team, this period will be even more difficult as the Champions League and the Premier League have as many games as possible before the November World Cup hiatus. Tottenham plays 13 games during this stretch. If Tottenham can go on a similar run as Chelsea did, it could make for a meaningful season for Spurs.
If the team struggles over the next two months, then it is likely Tottenham will play catch-up the rest of the year if they want to compete for the top.