The season’s over, bar some tedious internationals, so how did it measure up now that the dust has settled?
Tottenham may have had their ups and downs and we only saw the exciting, attacking football Spurs’ supporters crave sporadically but it was certainly an improvement on last year.
Positives
- A cup final – a great day out even though we lost.
- Fifth place – one better than last season, although still one off the “promised land” of Champions League qualification.
- The emergence of youth – Kane, Mason, Bentelab.
- Player improvement – Danny Rose’s renaissance is the obvious example but others grew in strength as the season progressed.
- Some great performances against our rivals – the 2-1 victory over Arsenal is possibly the most fun I’ve had at White Hart Lane, while the Chelsea 5-3 shocked Mourinho into reverting to “boring Chelsea” for the rest of the campaign. We even beat West Ham!
- A more positive atmosphere – White Hart Lane was a negative, divided place last year, this was much better.
- Evaluating the squad – Pochettino clearly used the season to decide which players he wants to keep and who can leave.
- Some fantastic last minute wins – at one point it seemed that every game would finish 2-1 after a late comeback.
Negatives
- A sometimes slow and predictable attack – the usual problems surfaced when the opposition came to White Hart Lane to defend. These were present under AVB and Sherwood, maybe even Redknapp.
- Chaotic defending – at times the Spurs defence looked incredibly porous, especially from counter attacks.
- Picking Kabul as captain then freezing him out.
- Some of last year’s disappointments, disappointing again – Soldado chief among them.
- No plan B when things were going wrong.
Awards
Most of these were pretty obvious this year:
- Player of the year – Harry Kane
- Most improved player – Danny Rose
- Goal of the season – Harry Kane’s winner against Arsenal. I don’t care about how pretty it was, this has to win. I was sitting in the upper tier just above where he slid in celebration – it was a moment of sheer uncontained joy.
- Best game – again, it has to be the 2-1 victory over Arsenal. How often do you come back from 1-0 down against your biggest rivals, through a last minute winner from a 21 year old youth prospect?
- Worst game – the 3-0 loss to Stoke was a low point, as was another home beating from Liverpool but the 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Leicester tops the list. To go out at home to such a limited team is one thing. To let a 1-0 lead slip with seven minutes to go only compounds the error.
- Biggest disappointment – Soldado. It’s common for strikers to have a tough first season in the Premier League, then they adapt and prosper. I thought this would be the case with Soldado but it very clearly wasn’t. He has to go, if only for his own sanity.
Transfers
Out – Adebayor, Capoue, Kaboul, Paulinho, Soldado, Dembele?
In – A leader in central midfield, a legitimate wide threat with some pace and a striker to take the load off Kane. Some cover at right back wouldn’t go amiss either.
Do you agree with me? Was the season a success? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Anything But Penalties 
A good thing they picked themselves up at the very end, winning their last two vital matches against Hull and Everton and Southampton and Liverpool losing theirs.. Losing at home to Villa, Newcastle, Palace and West Brom was a big disappointment, They were winnable matches and if only we had won three of them, we would have finished above Man U in the 4th position…Spurs must show more commitment and consistency next season.
Agreed. The win against Everton was a good way to end the season. The Villa game could be a contender for worst game, I had erased that horrible experience from my memory!
I remember Soldado’s goal against Everton.
Really fantastic & made my season.
You forgot to add someone to partner Jan in central defence.
Good point. Some leadership there would help too though I’m hoping Dier grows into the role.
Agree with most things. We do need some great defensive leaders. Everyone goes on about bale, but we miss “The King” more than anyone else. Hoping to see the likes of pritchard make an impact. And poor soldado. That miss in the Europa was so critical. Maybe more hope for him playing as a midfielder, but we have so many of those
It will be very interesting to see if Pritchard gets a run in the team.
A very solid list!
I have really enjoyed reading your analysis and opinions. Keep up with the great work and looking forward to season 2015-16!
The fans want to see a more consistent Spurs this season…
I’m quite optimistic that Spurs can achieve it this season. Looking at our transfer targets and people we have let go, we are clearly trying to mold a more consistent squad.
Cheers. Thanks for reading and commenting.
My solitary close-season wish is for Poch to develop greater tactical flexibility.
I am satisfied with the business done so far – Trippier, Wimmer, Pritchard, Carroll added to the squad with Paulinho and Holtby confirmed to have left (would have kept Holtby but he was never going to displace Eriksen so never mind); would have liked Milner in to partner Bentaleb but think we are in decent shape for next season.
My biggest wish is for us to start more home games in a 442. With everyone – on both sides – expecting Kane to bear the goalscoring burden it could be a great opportunity for Soldado to finally play without the pressure that clearly suffocates him.
Width, fluidity, a bit more leadership, determination and passion from the central defensive pair, and who knows, with all eyes on Harry, Bobby could pop up with 10 very useful goals.
My Home XI vs Bottom Half teams:
Lloris
Trippier Dier JV Rose
Pritchard Eriksen Bentaleb Chadli
Kane Soldado
Agree we need a more positive approach at home but I have finally given up on Soldado – we need another striker.
YES!! We got Aldeweireld!!
Our backline suddenly looks quite solid now. Let’s hope that Hugo stays….