Tottenham: 10 Reasons Spurs Have Fallen off in the Second Half of the Season

If you haven't noticed Tottenham's decline during the second half of the season, you're either kidding yourself or you've been living under a rock since New Year's Day.

Sure, Harry Redknapp has gotten his Spurs to the semifinals of this year's FA Cup, but that's about all the good news coming out of North London these days.

Tottenham has squandered the 10-point lead they held over Arsenal, and because of distractions, an inconsistent midfield and an inactive winter transfer window, White Hart Lane will have to wait another year to get a crack at the Premier League trophy.

There's a lot of things that had to fall into place for Spurs to win the title, and few, if any, of them happened.

What exactly went wrong?

Join me as I give you the top 10 things that have fallen off at Tottenham and contributed to their decline in the second half of the season.

Tottenham's "Activity" in January Transfer Window

Somehow, all the bids for Tottenham's top transfer prospects fell through in the 11th hour.

Loic Remy decided to stay at Marseille despite an £18 million bid, and Milos Krasic is still at Juventus.

Sure, bringing former Everton striker Louis Saha on board was a safe move that has already paid dividends, but the absence of a marquee, long-term signing has hurt the club's title chances since January—especially with recent injuries in defense and midfield.

Harry Redknapp's Tax Trial

There was very little doubt Harry Redknapp would walk away a free man after going on trial for tax evasion, but it was a distraction that caused the former Portsmouth manager to miss Tottenham's away fixture at Liverpool.

With Redknapp there, Spurs would have won at Anfield. Instead, the scoreline ended 0-0, and Tottenham missed out on two very important points and an opportunity to come out of the gate neck-and-neck with Manchester City.

Fabio Cappello's Dismissal

Of all the distractions that have plagued the Tottenham clubhouse, this one takes the cake. With the FA sacking Fabio Capello in the middle of the second half, Redknapp was tied to more rumors about him becoming England's next manager than he could shake a stick at.

Besides the distraction it caused from a managerial standpoint, many fixtures at White Hart Lane for the last few years—Gareth Bale, Scott Parker and Luka Modric to name a few—are looking to jump ship right after their captain leaves to manage the Three Lions.

Tottenham's Draw with Stevenage in FA Cup

It might not even register as a blip on the radar after the season is over, but Tottenham's 0-0 draw with Stevenage in the fifth round of the FA Cup caused more than just a replay.

Besides showing that Tottenham had truly allowed the distractions of a manager going to trial, then rumored to leave, get to them, it forced them to play a mid-week replay match in between fixtures against Manchester United and Everton—fixtures (and six points) Tottenham lost.

Arsenal and Manchester United (Finally) Got Themselves Together

As the second half of the season got underway, it looked as though the Premier League was a two-horse race with Manchester City out to a commanding lead and Tottenham chomping at Blues' heels and Manchester United in lowly third.

But Arsene Wenger steered Arsenal successfully through the winter, climbing to as high as third place, and Manchester United has risen from the ashes of their exit from the Champions League and Europa League.

Until this last weekend, the Gunners were on a nine-match unbeaten streak that went all the way back to the middle of January, and the Red Devils are on an eight-match unbeaten streak of their own.

Gareth Bale's Dropped Form

Going into the January transfer window, Tottenham winger Gareth Bale was the talk of the town, scoring six goals, assisting on five others and proving himself worthy of being linked to such prestigious clubs as Barcelona.

Heck, the speedy winger even made Wales a force to be reckoned with in Euro 2012 qualifications!

But since New Year's Day, Bale has been hampered by injury, scoring just three goals in league play. He's been sensational in FA Cup play, but what top-tier player wouldn't against competition like Stevenage and Bolton?

At best, the Welsh midfielder has hit a bump in the road. At worst, the first half of the season is the peak of Bale's career.

Manchester City Hasn't Stumbled

As I wrote in February, for Tottenham to win the title, Manchester City needed to stumble.

That didn't happen. And you know what? Even if the Blues had stumbled, I'd be surprised if Tottenham could have capitalized.

Did you see Manchester City's recent 2-1 comeback against Chelsea? Their continued unbeaten streak at Etihad Stadium?

The Blues didn't stumble, and Tottenham needed one of the Manchester clubs to hit a wall to have any sort of chance at the title.

Inconsistency in Midfield

With Bale's injury, Redknapp had to get creative with his formations and do the best with what he had.

Unfortunately for Spurs supporters, what Redknapp had hasn't been good enough.

Aaron Lennon filled in on the wing nicely, but Niko Kranjcar didn't, and it forced Redknapp to put Luka Modric on the sideline. Modric performed well, but he's not an outside midfielder—he's a field general who needs to be in back and at the center of his troops, directing them where to go.

Until last weekend against Swansea City, Rafael Van Der Vaart has dipped in form, appearing in only half of Tottenham's matches and contributing to only a couple of scores.

Scott Parker Lost His Temper

Scott Parker is the most improved player in Tottenham's midfield, but his red card in Spurs' 5-2 loss to Arsenal was silly, needless and downright stupid.

It also kept the up-and-coming midfielder out of a very important match against Manchester United, a match Tottenham lost 3-1.

Tottenham's loss to the Red Devils wasn't the nail in the coffin, but it set them on a downward path for the rest of the season. 

Emmanuel Adebayor Never Found His Dance Partner

Excluding Tottenham's smashing 5-0 win over Newcastle, Emmanuel Adebayor has yet to find an attacking partner during the second half of the season.

Louis Saha has certainly found the back of the net, and when fit, Jermain Defoe provides a dependable scoring option. But Adebayor needs someone who can play all 90 minutes by his side.

Since signing Saha from Everton, it's been a mixed bag of who Adebayor will partner with. One week it's Defoe. The next week it's Van Der Vaart. The third week it's Saha.

Adebayor needed a striker who could play the full match week in and week out. He never got it, and Tottenham's attack has been as inconsistent as ever, and it was never more evident than during the club's 1-0 loss to Everton.

I'm sure there's more things that contributed to Tottenham's decline during the second half of the season. Comment below and let me know what they are!