To Tottenham and Beyond

The importance of Spurs finishing in the top four can not be overstated. Everything else is in place – the training facilities, the stadium, the manager. The missing piece of the jigsaw is Champions League football. The question is – can they deliver it? Current Form Despite a promising start to the campaign – 9 points from the opening 3 games and sitting top of the league - Spurs’ performances and results under Nuno Espirito Santo declined significantly. Following an abject display in their 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United, the team had fallen to 9 th with 15 points from 10 games. With the inevitable departure of Nuno and subsequent appointment of Antonio Conte, Spurs looked reinvigorated. In his first 9 league games in charge, Spurs gained 21 points, with 6 wins and 3 draws. Despite losing their last two games, they have still averaged 1.91 points per game since Conte’s arrival. In the same period Arsenal have averaged 1.83 (12 games), Manchester United 1.69 (13 games), Wolves 1...

There was a time, not so long ago, when Dele Alli was coveted by some of the biggest clubs in Europe. In the summer of 2017, Dele was linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United , with Spurs seemingly struggling to keep hold of their prized asset. Jose Mourinho, then Manchester United manager, would later reveal that “Sir Alex Ferguson gave me only one bit of advice in two and a half years: buy Dele Alli.” Bought in February 2015 for £5m from MK Dons, Spurs initially loaned him back for the remainder of that season. It became apparent that other top clubs, including Liverpool and Bayern Munich , were also closely watching him. It didn’t take long to see why. Dele joined up with the Spurs squad ahead of the 2015/16 campaign. His first start came in a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid. Playing in midfield against the heavyweight pairing of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric might seem a daunting prospect, especially for a 19-year-old. But Dele was unfazed. One moment, in pa...

“Unless you have bad times, you can’t appreciate the good times”. If that is the case, there will be an unfathomable amount of appreciation among Spurs supporters if, or hopefully when, they do eventually win another trophy. Unfortunately, it will have to wait a little longer following last week’s Carabao Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Chelsea. It is becoming an all too familiar feeling for Spurs, but it wasn’t always this way. I am of an age where one of my first footballing memories was Spurs’ 1991 FA Cup triumph. It was a cup run inspired by the individual brilliance of Paul Gascoigne, almost single-handedly carrying Spurs through the early rounds, setting up a semi-final with North London rivals Arsenal. The stage was set and Gazza did not disappoint. In the 5 th minute of the game he scored one of the FA Cup’s most famous free kicks, accompanied by Barry Davies’ iconic commentary – “Is Gascoigne going to have a crack? He is, you know. OH, I SAY. Brilliant. That…is…school...

As reported by Sky Sports , Tottenham are being heavily linked with bringing in Wolves’ Adama Traore during the January transfer window. Here are three reasons why it could be a good move for Spurs. The Moses Template Antonio Conte has a very clear idea on his system and, whether 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, it places huge importance on the wing backs. He will always look for the right players to fit his system, not the other way around. One such player was Victor Moses. After joining Chelsea in 2012, Moses had mediocre loan spells with Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham. However, his Chelsea career was reignited following the arrival of Conte ahead of the 2016/17 season. Previously deployed mainly as a winger, Conte recognised his attributes and converted him in to a right wing back. He played 34 Premier League games that season, a key figure in helping Chelsea to win the title. Much like Moses, Traore is strong and athletic, with lightning pace but still very raw. Conte can use the Moses te...

Tottenham’s recent resurgence under Antonio Conte came to a shuddering halt at Stamford Bridge, losing 2-0 to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. It is a wake up call for Conte and his team, with plenty to ponder, not just for the second leg but the season ahead. Gulf in Class Despite the progress made in Conte’s short time at the club, this game showed there is more work needed to compete with the top teams. Conte’s assessment was forthright: “Compare the two teams, there is no comparison. They are a team ready to win." The difference between the two teams was clear, particularly in the first half. Even with a second string team Chelsea were sharper, incisive with their passing, composed and quicker to second balls. They pressed and suffocated Spurs which led to a number of errors, most notably for the first goal. Defensive Frailties Japhet Tanganga will obviously shoulder most of the blame for his disastrous performance. It was his sloppy pass that led to ...

On the 16th August 2014, a 20 year old Eric Dier made his Premier League debut for Tottenham against London rivals West Ham. Signed earlier that summer from Sporting Lisbon, the England U21 international announced himself in dramatic fashion by scoring a 93rd minute winner in a 1-0 victory at Upton Park.   “It all happened really quickly” he reflected on the goal afterwards - a quote that could equally be used to describe his progress for club and country in the following years. The England Manager at the time of Euro 2016, Roy Hodgson, talked of “a meteoric rise in the sense that he is suddenly a key figure for Tottenham and then to come in and play an important role for England is a big step for him.”   Initially brought in as a central defender, Dier’s versatility was evident in his first season. Due to injuries and suspensions to Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton, Dier played a large portion of games as a makeshift right back. It was only in the second half of the seas...

It was Boxing Day 2019 and, just a matter of weeks after appointing Jose Mourinho as the new manager, Spurs had just beaten Brighton 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Brighton had taken the lead with a first half goal before Harry Kane equalised and Dele Alli completed the comeback. Fast forward to 28th December 2021 and there was a strange sense of deja vu at the St Mary’s stadium. Just a matter of weeks in to Antonio Conte’s tenure, another south coast team take an early lead against Spurs only to be pegged back by a Kane equaliser. On this occasion Spurs were unable to find the winning goal. This was in part due to a controversial VAR offside decision (in a spooky twist the game against Brighton also featured a VAR intervention after Kane scored from a clipped ball over the top by…you guessed it, Harry Winks). However, the bigger issue was Spurs lack of creativity in the final third, as alluded to by Conte afterwards - “To find space it wasn't easy, but at the same time I th...

Tottenham’s recent winning streak in the Premier League came to a frustrating end against a resolute Southampton side at St Mary’s. It will be viewed as a missed opportunity for Spurs who struggled to break down Southampton after they were reduced to ten men in the 40 th minute. Despite Spurs impressive form since the arrival of Antonio Conte, this game highlighted a few areas that the manager will be keen to address: Beating the Press Part of Spurs recent good form can be attributed to their collective team press and winning the ball back high up the pitch - a stark difference between Conte’s Spurs and Spurs under both Jose and Nuno. However, it was evident from the majority of the first half against Southampton, up until the Salisu sending off, that Spurs were struggling to cope when pressed themselves. This often led to Spurs either losing possession – Winks losing the ball on the edge of his own box being one notable example – or resorting to playing longer which would inv...