(TOT) - Tottenham Hotspur Season Review

Now that we have concluded the season and I have established my full thoughts, I have decided now is the perfect time for me to do my season review. From the highs and lows, to the players awards and much more, lets get started.

After the departure of Antonio Conte and several interim managers, we appointed Ange Postecoglou as manager. The Australian man who is favourably known as 'Big Ange', has decades of experience coaching football at a top level but the main concern was that he had never coached in any of the top five European leagues, the counter to that is that it is hard for a non-European to get given the oppurtunity and to be fair he has won everywhere he has been.

Ange's biggest task was to change the style of football from a very regressive and structured team to a team that plays high intensity fluid football. A mountainous challenge for someone with a lack of European pedigree. Fair to say he succeeded in this challenge.

We signed a few players that summer and struggled to sell some too. Micky Van de Ven for 50 million pounds, an Italian goalkeeper for 18 million pounds and a few others to mention. We also managed to finally grab hold of James Maddison, a player we had been chasing for several years. Another saga that inevitably reached its coclusion was that club legend Harry Kane left the club for Bayern Munich for 100 million pounds. All in all, it was a positive summer.

Pre-season was, for once, nice to watch, maybe because it was intrigung to see the difference but nonetheless it was good. We had mostly wins but it doesn't matter given they are friendlies. What I took from these games was that our rotational players when they came on the pitch were much better than the starting players. I didn't know what conclusion could be drawn from that.

First game of the season approaches, Brentford away is always a tough place to go but we coped and played some beautiful football, especially from Yves Bissouma. From that draw, we moved on and beat Man United at home and then we continued that run to the top of the table after 10 games despite a penalty hiccup in the league cup.

Chelsea at home in October, Mauricio Pochettino's first game returning to his former home and of course a derby. The blues had come into this game on the back of some really poor form and desparetly needed the points. 90 minutes and 20 VAR decisions later, Chelsea had come away with all three points against 9 men Tottenham. A testament to Ange's style that even with the obvious disadvantages, the high line was entertaining to watch whether it was right or wrong.

From then on out, like most teams in the league, we substained a lot of injuries and suspensions. It never really got better from this point onwards even when certain players returned. A few wins here and a few losses there. The football we had seen in opening ten was no longer in sight and it was like we had been found out. 

With some notable wins against Aston Villa and Newcastle also came with some dreadful form. Our last 11 games of the season we racked up only 13 points out of a possible 33. Due to this we lost out on Champions League footnall next season. Essentially the form from the start of the season had carried us into 5th place with some help of other teams losing.

On the penulitimate game of the season we faced Manchester City in a title decider. If we had won we would've handed the title to arch rivals Arsenal. Like myself, most fans wanted us to lose and it created a phenomenal situation where it created a divide between the athletes and the fans. It was the first time Ange lashed out and was questioned. Thankfully we lost and that was that.

So here are my thoughts on Ange. I like him however his lack of use of the youth, the stubborness in his tactics and his poor substitutions is really frustrating. I feel his likeable nature has covered up any potential scrutiny in the press, which is good and bad at the same time. I have always been a Pochettino lover and if we start next season poorly then I firmly am support a return of my Argentine overlord.

I liked this season however it was always a throw away season for our project and that was obvious in many games this year. For me, it was a C plus rating because it is exactly where I predicted and expected us to finish. I don't think we have any excuses for not qualifying for Wednesday nights however, I much rather be in the Europa League next season given our oppurtunity to win it and yes, I appreciate Dortmund could win the Champions League tomorrow.

My favourite player this season? Micky. Our new Jan Vertonghen and the best signing this club has made in recent memory. Other mentions should be to absolutely no one else. Although he has injury concerns we should be grateful to him for saving our already leaky defence. The awards to be given to him are for Signing Of The Season, Young Player Of The Season, and Player Of The Season.

Most Improved Player? I would've given this to Brennan Johnson for his development over this season however I feel it should be awarded to someone who has been at the club for at least a year so my decision is Richarlison. This one I could've given it to Cuti or Porro but I edged it towards Richy due to how we perform without him. Again he is another injury prone player but I feel that is more credit to him as he has made a lot of differences in such short time. Yet I am still unsure if he deserves to stay at the club.

I look towards next season with the goals of wiining a trophy, getting a season ticket and seeing more youth integration.

Thanks for reading.

With Love,

James