Why Not Us?

With just a week before the Premier League season kicks off, media outlets have started the barrage of league previews and predictions.

Article by James Jimmerson

Many pundits fancy the teams from Manchester and predict Chelsea and Arsenal to round out the top four. Spurs get far less consideration than their London and Manchester counterparts. Indeed, one ESPNFC commentator, Craig Burley, outright admitted that he had forgotten about Spurs when putting together his prediction for the top four (and when asked about Spurs, he still declined to include them on his list). While it is admittedly frustrating to be overlooked by a major media outlet personality, it should not be terribly surprising to anyone. It is easy (and even fashionable) to predict others to win the title.

The rest of the ‘Big Six’ clubs have vastly outspent Tottenham this window. Besides bringing in capable new managers, these teams have spent well over £300M in new talent. By comparison, Spurs have spent less than 10% of that figure (not counting the expected arrival of Georges Kevin N’Koudou). After a year where the table was turned on its head with Leicester’s success and Liverpool and Chelsea’s stumbles, pundits expect a return to normalcy, where the giants conquer and the rest are left to pick up the scraps.

But does this have to be the inevitable result?

Should Spurs be overlooked and even forgotten?

Of course not. It is stunning just how quickly people forget this club and are instead drawn to the more moneyed clubs like a child with a new toy. It is as if Tottenham didn’t have last year’s golden boot winner, the league’s best goal difference or was second in expected goal difference. Others may forget Spurs’ accomplishments from last year, but they do so at their peril. Hopeful Spurs supporters believe that this club should finish top four (and maybe even contend for the title). Count me among their number. After last season, it is safe to feel measured optimism about this club. But is it realistic to believe that Spurs could be more than just a top four finisher? Could Tottenham win the league this season? Spurs supporters should confidently answer in the affirmative.

There are two reasons why this team could end the 55 year drought for a top division title: continuity and player development.

Continuity

Since Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival at Tottenham, the team’s improvement has correlated with the players’ growing familiarity with the system. At the beginning of last season, offensive output was inconsistent, which led to mixed results. However, as the season wore on, Pochettino found his best XI and, with his principles firmly rooted, the team proved itself to be the best footballing side in the league (even if the table did not ultimately reflect that).

It is impossible to highlight one or two standouts from the squad. Every starter proved himself to be top drawer. Kane was the golden boot winner. Alderweireld was considered the best center half in the league. Dembele, by one study, was the best box to box midfielder in Europe. The list goes on. Dier, Alli, Rose, and Walker were nailed on starters for England precisely because they were so strong. Eriksen and Lamela did the dirty work offensively and defensively that made Spurs tick. And more than just showing themselves to be individually brilliant, they worked together as a team to great success.

While many have fawned over new additions like Ibrahimovic, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, and Gundogan, those players should not scare Spurs supporters. It’s Tottenham’s best XI that scared opposing managers last season (Spurs must have thought they were running a long haul trucker’s rest stop with the number of parked busses they faced). Which is why unlike their rivals who found their starters last year lacking in one way or another, Spurs did not and will have all of their key contributors, Pochettino included, returning (and will not have to integrate new faces in the starting XI).

This continuity is important not just because it means that Spurs will be that much more familiar with Pochettino’s philosophy, but also because we know that the team functions (and succeeds) as presently constructed. Indeed, it does no good to spend tens of millions on new players if the pieces cannot fit together. While managers like Guardiola, Mourinho, Conte and Klopp should be able to make the new additions fit, there will be lingering uncertainty until the results prove otherwise. In a league as competitive as the EPL, where every match is tough, beginning the season knowing that the players and system work is a material advantage—one that no other team has.

Player Development

In addition to the continuity in the team and manager, there is another reason to believe that Spurs can win it all this season—Spurs players are still improving. While United, City, Chelsea, and Arsenal had to go out and buy players to improve their sides, all Spurs have to do to improve is have another training session. Half of Spurs starting outfield players are 24 or younger. They are still developing (as demonstrated by their improvement last season under Pochettino).

The one thing that should terrify opposing managers more than another club bringing in players like Ibrahimovic and Pogba is the prospect that Tottenham’s youth will take another step forward this year. If Spurs get players like Alli, Lamela, and Dier to markedly improve, it could be disaster for the rest of the league. We have already seen Lamela impose his will on opponents this summer in the Copa America and during preseason. Alli and Dier are 20 and 22, respectively; they are nowhere near their peak. If they continue their development this year, it is not out of the realm of possibility for Spurs to have eight players who are the best or second best in the league in their respective positions. And that’s the sort of team that can win the title.

Overall, Spurs are in a great position to build on their progress from last season. While the headline transfers have been getting all of the attention and plaudits, Spurs have been quietly adding depth to an already impressive starting XI. With so much turnover at other clubs, Spurs fans should be confident that next season will be even better than the last. For the first time in a long while, Spurs supporters can realistically believe that a league title is possible.

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