Tottenham 2023-2024 reason review

Even though Spurs only played one more game (41) than the absolute minimum amount of games they could have played, it was an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.

Ange would have signed his contract at Spurs fully conscious of there being another Harry Kane transfer saga, knowing he'd be asked hundreds of questions about it, knowing there was every chance he would leave.

Yet no matter how prepared you are, losing the clubs all-time top scorer one day before the season starts is never ideal preparation.

Especially when in your last pre-season game, Kane scores 4 in a 5-1 win.

Ange never once complained, he never once cried out for a replacement in any press conference, and there were never any reports that he was complaining inturnally either.

He, and Spurs, just got on with it and played out a 2-2 draw to Brentford the following day.

Spurs then beat Man United 2-0, but followed it up with an ultra disappointing defeat to Fulham in the League Cup second round.

Ange's men then won 2-0 against Bournemouth on the South Coast before spending a chunk of the Kane money to sign Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest. The next day Spurs won 5-2 at Burnley and the vibes were high. Son scored a hat-trick and everybody was excited for what was to come.

The good form continued, and after 10 games Spurs had won 8 and drawn 2. Then on matchday 11, Spurs went 1-0 up against Chelsea.

Then disaster struck.

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Spurs would eventually lose 4-1, have Romero and Udogie suspended, and Van De Ven and Maddison out with injury for the foreesable future. If you asked someone pre-game to think of the worst possible scenario that night I'm not sure they could have come up with something quite that bad.

Spurs then picked up 1 point from the following 5 games, in true Spurs fashion that point was against City.

Results generally picked up, with wins against Newcastle, Forest and Everton. Son and Richarlison were in red hot form again.

Spurs started 2024 with a 1-0 win in the FA Cup third round against Burnley before a creditable 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford, with new signings Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin making their debuts.

However, Spurs' hopes of a long-awaited trophy were killed for another year as Man City finally scored their first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and won 1-0.

Spurs' form was then quite hot and cold for a while, perfectly summed up by beating Villa 4-0 and losing to Fulham 3-0 in consecutive games.

Spurs lost four in a row to seemingly lose any hope of top-four, before a 2-1 win to relegate Burnley.

This was then followed by the 2-0 defeat at home to Man City and a 3-0 win at Sheffield United to finish off the season.

Aston Villa lost 5-0 at Crystal Palace to finish the season, prompting people to ask Spurs fans if they're still glad they lost to City. However, if Villa needed to win and gave full 100% effort down in South London on the final day, who knows what the score would have been.

To not finish top four after accumulating 26 points from the first 10 games will be frustrating to some, but context and perspective is always key. Spurs lost their best player a day before the season started and had horrendous injury luck during the campaign.

As for perspective, well - with the new Champions League format, no clubs will be coming down for the latter stages of the Europa League, thus giving Spurs a good chance at challenging for the trophy, rather than just being there to make up the numbers in the Champions League.

There are many causes for optimism heading into next season, but Spurs must back Ange and give him the players he wants, to fit his team, if they are going to make linear progress.