It was another year where Tottenham Hotspur failed to pick up another trophy despite drawing all the plaudits from pundits and fans alike. However, when does it become a disappointing season for Mauricio Pochettino and his players?
It has been 10 years since their last trophy when they triumphed over nearby rivals Chelsea 2-1 thanks to Dimitar Berbatov and Jonathon Woodgate after extra time. Since then the trophy cabinet at White Hart Lane has become the laughing stock of their London rivals.
Despite some good cup runs in recent years they have failed at every chance. They have made four F.A Cup semi-finals in the last ten years and two League Cup finals since their win in 2008. As you may have guessed they have lost on all of these occasions and most recently to Manchester United in last season’s F.A Cup semi-final despite taking the lead.
It does beg the question as to where are Spurs heading? If they have nothing to show for their entertaining football, is that what the fans want? And the answer is probably yes. If you look at clubs like Everton, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United they all sacked their managers last season in pursuit of entertaining football as opposed to getting results. Fans are being priced out of the game each season so they feel they want to see high quality football than grabbing a scruffy 1-0 win.
However, Spurs have all the capabilities to succeed this season in any four of the competitions they are in for 2018-19. Last season they made the semi-final of the F.A Cup, finished 3rd in the League and made it through a tough group in the Champions League; beating both Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. If they build on this season in their new stadium next season we could see an even tougher Tottenham.
The core of the Tottenham side have been together for a few seasons now and know how each other play inside out. The likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Hugo Lloris have been the key components of the side for at least three seasons and are important figures for Pochettino.
There is a sense that Spurs missed their chance of a first league title since the 1960-61 season when they finished 3rd in 2015-16; somehow behind Arsenal again. Leicester City were the story of the season that year and Pochettino’s men managed to finish 11 points behind the unlikely champions. However, they ran Leicester all the way until the last four games where they dropped points to West Brom, Chelsea, Southampton and Newcastle United.
The bigger clubs since that season have since bought heavily to avoid another side like Leicester from recreating that miraculous season so the impotence should mean that a cup win is just as important as a league win as competition is rife for the top spot.
There is nothing like a cup win, no matter what competition, for the fans and despite Spurs fans not showing discontent because they are playing attractive football they must be wanting to grab a trophy next season. With Arsenal winning three F.A Cups in the last ten years and Chelsea having won three Premier League titles, three F.A Cups, one Europa League and one Champions League, Tottenham fans must feel that the chase has to start now to catch up with their London rivals.
