Well, it was when I started writing this, but as I kept stopping to do other things and to write other pieces it’s taken me past he point where the pre-season has started.
It’s been less than two months since the Champions League final and Spurs’ insipid performance there. The last three months of last season were filled with such performances as we limped into fourth place in the league and fluked our way into the Champions League final. And now I’m looking ahead to what the new season will bring.
Anyone who knows me, or has read my pre-season blog posts before will know I’m not the most optimistic supporter. How can I be having been a Spurs supporter for forty odd (very odd) years. I’m quite realistic. Something that I don’t have in common with a lot of other Spurs fans or the knee-jerk sensationalists in the media. I don’t think I’ve ever gone in to a season thinking that we will win a trophy.
And guess what people, that isn’t going to change this year.
The summer has been somewhat less frantic than last year, with no resource heavy summer tournaments for the majority of the squad this time around. Not only that, but we have actually signed someone this season, after two buying free transfer windows we signed two players on the same day at the start of the month. Granted we loaned one straight back to Leeds, but it was a step in the right direction.
We have also been making sales. Trippier to Atletico Madrid was a bit of a surprise. However I’m not particularly sad to see him go, his performances faded as the season went on, almost as if he believed his own hype after the World Cup. Not sure what we are going to do about a replacement, Aurier and Walker-Peters don’t fill me with confidence, but Forth may fit the roll. As long as he can stay on the pitch and away from the penalty area.
It is likely that Danny Rose will also be leaving. His performances over the last month of the season showed what a good player he can be. He was easily our best player during that period, but he can be a liability. He gets involved in too much aggro, and falls over very easily. Something him and several other players need to cut out this season as VAR kicks in. (Alli, Son, Kane, Lamela, I’m looking at you.)
There may be others leaving, and although there are plenty of rumours of new signings, I’m not going to hold my breath that there will be any amazing incomings before the start of the season.
I’m not hopeful of the top four this season, I think we’ll end up just outside in fifth. After predicted seventh and sixth for the last two seasons, and finishing third and fourth respectively, I might just meet myself in the middle this time.
Thankfully there are no Champions League qualifiers to be played, or we could have been in the Europa League before we started. I’ve predicted us to go out at the group stage for the last two years, and I was set to make that a hat trick of pessimistic predictions, but I will say I think we’ll just about scrape out of the group, only to go out in the round of sixteen.
We got to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup last year, more by luck than judgement, only to go out on penalties in the first season they did away with the away goals rule. I can’t see us getting to the semi-final this year. Too much messing with the team selections and getting knocked out by teams taking it more seriously, which is a shame as it is a real opportunity to try and win something.
I got the fourth round exit in the FA Cup spot on. I can see us getting further this year, but losing out in the semi-finals for the ninth time on the trot in the competition.
We will have good runs during the season, and there will be a lot of over optimistic chat about winning things. We won’t. Mainly because there will be those appallingly bad runs that hit us. Most people call it February.
Then the inevitable will happen and Harry Kane will pick up an ankle knock and the reports will say he’ll be out for six weeks. Then he’ll be back in three and play despite being not fully fit.
We did this twice last year. He is a very good, prolific goal scorer, but he isn’t the be all and end all of the team. We went on very good winning runs without him in the team. Coming back early from injury meant trying to shoe horn him into the team when he wasn’t able to play at his natural best. When fully fit he should be in the team. He scores lots of goals, he holds the line well, and brings other players into play. He has a much more rounded game than he is given credit for. But only when fully fit.
I admire his will to try and get back playing as soon as possible. But he doesn’t do the team, or himself, any favours when he does. The manager needs to be stronger and say no. Let him get his full fitness and match fitness back by playing in the reserves, or coming on as a late sub. Don’t start him just because he is Harry Kane and the captain of England. And if the manager doesn’t feel able to do this, then perhaps it’s time for a new manager. It might also help if some of his team mates have a word. He might get carried away a bit the first few games of the season after scoring from the half way line in the first pre-season friendly win over Juventus.
It is likely to be an interesting season. VAR is going to make a difference. I’ll admit that it could hit us hard, as there have been some borderline decisions for penalties and free kicks where players have gone to ground too easily. Liverpool and Arsenal have been called out for this as well. The new handball rules could see a sudden increase in penalties and sending offs and make games more unpredictable.
I see it being close at the top again, but think it will end up the same as it did last season. Manchester City will pip Liverpool to the title again, and claim a hat trick of title wins. Chelsea will overcome their transfer ban and begin to use some of the vast array of talent they have out there on loan. Arsenal will be more settled, and despite mutterings of there not being much money for transfers they have been doing reasonable business, and they are likely to pip us for fourth.
Anything better than I have predicted for us will be a bonus to my mind, and for those that think it’s not good enough, just remember, there are eighty seven other league clubs who would snatch your whole arm off if you said they would get fifth spot in the Premier League.
Don’t be greedy, enjoy the good games, celebrate the wins, and ignore the critics trying to tear the team down. They weren’t interested when we were so rubbish we had a back four of Austin, Nethercott, Doherty and Edinburgh, so if they are interested now, then Spurs must be doing something right.