As the dust settles on another campaign, will the fans of Tottenham Hotspur be happy?
Was 2014-15 a success? Did they see progress under yet another new gaffer?
Is Mauricio Pochettino – Spurs’ third boss since Harry Redknapp left in the summer of 2012 – heading in the right direction?
Let’s take a closer look and attempt to answer those questions.
Pochettino’s arrival was met with mixed emotions from the Spurs fans when it was announced last May.
Some wanted a more established name, whereas others were excited at how he had encouraged youth and transformed former employer Southampton.
Chairman Daniel Levy stated he had picked the Argentine as he fitted in with the ‘Tottenham philosophy’.
However, there did not seem to be much pressure on the new boss to deliver the holy grail of Champions League football.
Progress seemed to be the watchword, so could ‘Poch’ provide that?
Obviously, as with anything new, that progress can take time.
There were very early signs of his ideas on the preseason tour to America – the high energy pressing, the quick, incisive football – but competitively, Pochettino’s work was gradual rather than instant.
One very early cause for concern amongst the fans, however, was his bizarre decision to make Younes Kaboul his club captain and Emmanuel Adebayor a vice captain.
Clearly, looking back, that particular call has not worked out, but at the time he stated the role was more about just performances on the pitch.
On the pitch, an early-season home thrashing of QPR (4-0) was then followed by some horrible performances versus West Brom (0-1), Stoke (1-2) and Newcastle (1-2).
There was work to be done to have the Lilywhites playing his way – as they did so effectively during a well earned 1-1 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates in September – but he was ultimately starting to find out who he could trust in his preferred system, those who were willing to work hard and trust in his methods.
So he stuck to his guns. As he had done at St Mary’s with the Saints, Pochettino was willing to give the youngsters games. If they were good enough, they were old enough in his eyes.
Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb have all featured – and improved – throughout the campaign, and of course there is one more youngster who surpassed everything the White Hart Lane faithful imagined possible at the start of the season.
Harry Kane.
Third choice behind Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado back in August, his performances have consigned both ‘stars’ to virtual spectators.
Despite not netting his first league goal until November, he has not stopped scoring ever since.
Twenty-one league goals helped him become the first Spurs player to net over thirty in a season in all competitions since Gary Lineker, a tally which earned him a senior England call-up – where he scored within a minute of his debut – and a Young Player of the Season accolade.
Domestically, his and his side’s best display of the entire campaign was probably the New Years Day 5-3 dismantling of eventual champions Chelsea, a performance that shows the Spurs can compete with anyone on their day.
Unfortunately for Spurs, however, they do not do it on a consistent enough basis, which is one major factor as to why they will once again compete in the Europa League rather than the Champions League.
Eight points from a possible 24 against this season’s top four shows they are still just a little bit short.
Defensively too, they have still not sorted their age old issues.
Spurs conceded the same amount of goals as relegated Burnley, despite again shelling out on new additions.
Ben Davies has not lived up to his transfer fee at left-back, and on the other side there has been a lack of consistency due to Kyle Walker’s ongoing injury issues.
Jan Vertonghen has shown glimpses of his best, but he needs a consistent partner, and all the chopping and changing is evident in the goals conceded (53) column of the league table.
Going forward, Spurs have plenty of options, but similarly to Gareth Bale before his departure, the scoring burden has to be taken off the shoulders of Kane.
Other than him, only really Nacir Chadli – who has enjoyed a much improved second season at the club – and Christian Eriksen have troubled the goals scored column with any resemblance of regularity.
It seems evident that there will be a big summer ahead for Pochettino, and it is possible that the number of high profile exits could run into double figures. Simply put, too many high earners clearly did not want to embrace the new coach’s ways.
The likes of Vlad Chiriches, Younes Kaboul, Ettienne Capoue, Paulinho, Soldado and Adebayor simply have to go. They have all too easily collected a wage without contributing to the team, and need to be replaced by younger, hungrier alternatives.
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Therefore, all things considered, Mauricio Pochettino has not done a bad job at all during his first season in North London.
A squad not his own, fractious and full of too many bad apples and big egos trying to rock the boat will have tested him.
But through it all he maintained and trusted his principles, has developed and believed in the younger players and slowly but surely changed the way the side plays.
He improved on the sixth-placed finish in 2013-14 by one place, meaning no need for a Europa League qualifier, and took his side to Wembley for a League Cup final, where they were by no means disgraced in a 2-0 reverse to a well drilled, more experienced Chelsea team.
If Pochettino can ship out the unwanted deadwood and bring in his own type of footballer during the summer – as well as hold on to the likes of Kane, Eriksen and Hugo Lloris – we may see more evidence next season of just how good the little Argentinian really is.
B+
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