Spurs: A New Hope
“That’s very Spursy” is a term which is aptly associated with coming up just short of an objective and ipso facto Tottenham Hotspurs. In fact, the North London club have, unfortunately, been widely laughed at by most sections of English footballing fans — most notably by London rivals Chelsea, who have mockingly named Tottenham’s stadium “three-point lane” due to their continued dominance there in recent years. Spurs were formed in 1882, and their most successful spell came in the decade of the 1960s when they managed to win the Football League in 60/61, the FA cup on three different occasions during the decade, the European Cup-winners’ cup in 62/63, and the Charity Shield. However, since that period the club has failed to reproduce a comparable era of dominance. The side has failed to recapture a First Division English title since the victory in 1961.
There was a brief spell of hope following the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, who took charge as a young Harry Kane began to emerge as a prolific striker and a Premier League star. The 2015/16 Premier League season was a widely recognised missed opportunity by the North London club to recapture a First Division English title. Spurs famously finished third in a two-horse race that year which saw Leicester miraculously win the Premier League against all odds as well as their arch-rivals, Arsenal, shockingly managing to finish above Tottenham as the side collapsed late on in the season. In the following campaign, Spurs began the year as the betting favourites to win the title but, again, fell just short of the objective and expectations — a second place finish behind eventual winners Chelsea. Similarly, in cup competitions, Tottenham glimpsed glory but wasted opportunities — the most famous being the Champions League final in 2019 against Liverpool.
Since the ‘almost’ era, Tottenham have fallen away from the leading clubs — even slipping out of the top four positions in successive league campaigns. Post-Pochettino, the club has failed to reinvigorate the squad and achieve comparable play and results. The core of that past era aged and is in decline, the promising incoming impact signings failed, and the succeeding pair of managers (Mourinho and Nunes) both left their positions at the club in a worse state than prior to their arrival. However, following the sacking of Nunes a miracle landed in Tottenham’s lap in the form of an out of work Italian manager: Antonio Conte. The Italian is known as a serial winner, with league titles to his name in both Italy and England. In 6 months at the club, he managed to turn the ship around, achieving a shock fourth place finish and delivering hope to a fan base on their knees. Tottenham have already made important summer signings in the shape of Ivan Perisic on a free from Inter and Yves Bissouma from Brighton for an Initial fee of £25 million. More signings are on the way and with Conte at the wheel and Harry Kane definitely staying, the future at Tottenham looks very bright.
My prediction is that Tottenham will close the gap on both Liverpool and City. They will not compete for a title but will have the two giants definitely looking over their shoulders and fearful of trips down to the Tottenham Hotspurs stadium. I am buying Spurs stock next season, however: I believe this is the year that Tottenham finally win a domestic trophy (either an FA cup or the League cup) for the first time since their League Cup victory in 2008. Why? Because of the genius of their manager and what the duo of Son and Kane will be under his guidance.
