Our series of 2015-16 mid-season reviews continues with a look at a Tottenham team on the verge of finally gaining Champions League status.
The Story So Far
The Premier League is all up in the air at the moment, with the likes of Jamie Vardy and Leicester City being the surprise title contenders of the season, while rivals Chelsea are closer to the relegation zone rather than the top spot. Tottenham Hotspur are currently sitting pretty in the top four, a target that has been in the club’s sights for the past few seasons. Currently three points behind Manchester City and six behind top spot holders Arsenal, with a gap so small the idea of the North Londoners bringing home the league title has been mentioned by many observers.
Favourites Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen have played major parts in big wins so far this season, including the 5-1 defeat of Bournemouth and 4-1 triumph over the Sky Blues. However, Dembele is currently sidelined with an ankle injury which will be a blow for the team.
For most of the early campaign, Tottenham enjoyed an unbeaten run that spanned an impressive 14-games since a first day defeat to Manchester United. The streak was eventually ended by a shock defeat to the struggling Newcastle in mid-December.
The Manager
Since coming to White Hart Lane in 2014, Mauricio Pochettino has done wonders for a side that had dipped slightly in recent years. The Argentine is renowned for letting his young players gain valuable experience by letting them play Premier League football. Tottenham field the youngest squad on matchdays, clearly portraying Pochettino’s deep faith in his developing stars. This also helps out the England squad, with players such as Kane, Ryan Mason, Dele Alli and Tom Carroll all breaking into the national lineup.
Pochettino prefers to play high attacking football, mostly with the 4-2-3-1 setup which has been so effective, particularly due to the styles of some of his players. Erik Lamela and Kane regularly switch roles on the pitch, with the striker doing some of the dirty work a little lower down, while Lamela plays right up front.
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Standout Player
It is easy to argue that the stand out player would be Harry Kane, but Dele Alli has proved that he also a rising talent, and is still only 19-years-old. Even though his age and inexperience regularly let him down in terms of managing his anger, Alli has already become a key member of the Tottenham side. The teenager scored against Everton during the last Premier League outing to save the side a point, in a tough outing on the road at Goodison Park.
Alli was calm and collected as he struck a low-volley past Everton keeper Tim Howard, displaying multiple aspects of his footballing ability.
Dele Alli's season by numbers in the Premier League:
18 games
23 chances created
5 goals
4 assists
77% pass acc. pic.twitter.com/yeKf57kwSe— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 4, 2016
Second-Half season prediction
Once Tottenhan fix that niggling problem of not scoring enough goals and dropping two points against teams where they should really gain all three, with the way this season is going, they look in good stead to leap into the Champions League next season. A slim hope of winning the Premier League title lies completely on how well they keep with their London rivals Arsenal and Leicester, yet with the team returning to full strength, their consistency should cause headaches for other sides all the way through until May.
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