It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows when Gareth Bale was dominating the left and right flanks in north London.
Initially regarded as a cursed figure, it took a while for supporters to warm to the flying Welshman, who'd eventually blossom into one of the club's greatest ever players. We all remember the blissful years of Harry Redknapp, whose laissez faire approach to management maximised a group of players who so easily put smiles on faces and got bums off seats.
There was an imperfection to Redknapp's Lilywhites that rendered them all the more endearing, reaching heights that had escaped the club throughout its modern history. It was Redknapp who helped Spurs out of the abyss, taking over in October 2008 when we sat at the foot of the Premier League table. That was the last time, before 2025/26, when relegation seemed plausible.
Since then, the systems in place have become all the more ingrained to support the wealthy. It takes serious incompetence for the Premier League's richest to slip away from the summit, yet those running the show in N17 as of late have risen to the challenge.
Bale, who left the club in 2013 but returned for a season in 2020/21, has watched from afar as his former club flirted with the most humiliating of fates. While never the most demonstrative, Bale has refused to hide his passion for the club where he made his name and although he embarked on a football detox post-retirement, our former superstar was enveloped with anxiety as Roberto De Zerbi attempted to lift Spurs out of an existential crisis.
Bale outlines how Tottenham can return to competing at top of Premier League
“I am glad the season is over,” Bale told The Athletic. “Hopefully now it is a fresh start with Roberto De Zerbi, a good transfer window in the summer and not a third 17th-placed finish in a row. With a few more additions, especially attacking, it could be a very good team very quickly."
Our omnipotent manager pointed towards a summer clear out right after safety was confirmed on the final day, and Spurs have been one of the busiest clubs at the start of the transfer window. The attacking reinforcements Bale craves haven't yet been forthcoming, mind.
Instead, De Zerbi has prioritised the remodelling of his defence, and we're willing to spend big to potentially revolutionise our midfield. It's expected that at least a couple of forward players will join the club, too.
“Winning the Europa League papered over a few cracks [for the owners]," Bale added. "They’ll probably now be looking at this transfer window as an opportunity to reinvest and get the squad back to where it belongs.”
The Lewis family is taking a more hands-on approach in the wake of Daniel Levy's departure, with another cash injection reported. Overall, it seems as if the club will be more willing to pay bigger fees and higer wages to ensure more lucrative talent ends up at De Zerbi's door.
The Italian has been able to sell his project to Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and recent reports suggest Tonali will become the club's highest-paid player if Spurs reach an agreement with Newcastle United over a transfer fee. There's intent, that's for sure, and De Zerbi is wielding his seemingly unchecked power like a determined autocrat.
For now, it's exciting. As Bale says, there's scope for Spurs to return towards the Premier League's summit in short order, purging ourselves of the bleak misery of 2025/26 in the process.
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