Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur Need to Graduate from Finishing School

A good beginning is half the work, as the old adage goes. You can tell a lot about a team's ability in the first few weeks of any new domestic campaign; Tottenham Hotspur are certainly no different. 

Looking back at where they lay at the end of September last year reveals an Andre Villa-Boas-led Spurs team that sat in third place, level on points with Liverpool, who were within touching distance of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. Interestingly, eventual champions Manchester City were in seventh place, two points adrift of a Champions League spot.

Because while good starts are not the be all and end all of any club's desires, it can certainly help.

Right now, of course, all involved at White Hart Lane will hope that their men can push on and get three points against West Bromwich Albion this weekend before their difficult encounter with the Gunners at the Emirates trundles into focus a week later.

After all, they don't have the resources to push the big guns hard all throughout the season.

Watching on nervously, no doubt, as their rivals for the European spots continued to strengthen their squads with big-money moves over the summer, Mauricio Pochettino hasn't followed suit. Whether or not their reluctance to reach deep into the recesses of their pockets is something premeditated or not remains unclear, but until January they'll have to make do with what they have for the moment.

However, while countless marquee signings have landed on English shores in recent weeks with great speed—and certain players have switched allegiances much to the delight and anger (in equal measure) of passionate, tribal fans—it doesn't necessarily mean that success will follow suit with the same immediacy.  

The form of Diego Costa, Angel Di Maria and Romelu Lukaku might suggest otherwise, but not all big-name transfers have started life with the same bang. Liverpool's Mario Balotelli, Arsenal's Danny Welbeck and Manchester United's Radamel Falcao all still need time to settle—time that Spurs would be wise to spend getting the right results while they still can.

Granted, their success isn't utterly dependent on the failures and shortcomings of others around them, but until they can draft in some world-class, headline-stealing talent of their own, the harsh reality is that it will definitely help them in the meantime.

In truth, aside from two tricky assignments away to both Arsenal and Manchester City, Pochettino's charges have some very winnable encounters on the horizon.

Matches against Southampton, Newcastle and Aston Villa between now and the start of November will afford the Lilywhites a great opportunity to put some extra points on the board before the early-season period begins to roll into the hectic, and often detrimental, Christmas schedule.

Of course, another massive plus for them is the fact that many of the teams around them are vying for Champions League success this week, meaning that their resources, time and energy will be split across two fronts—a headache Daniel Levy and company don't have to deal with and something far less arduous than their Europa League journey.

Early indicators suggest that Spurs have what it takes to do well this season, and if it hadn't been for an unfortunate Harry Kane goal at the weekend against Sunderland, they'd be flying high in fourth spot at the moment. But as it is, they'll just have to learn from their mistakes and keep plugging away.

Last season, they came undone due to some poor performances and bad results between November and December against the big guns which saw them pick up four defeats, whereas they had suffered just two defeats in the nine matches prior to that.

Importantly, though, with only one loss recorded in their 2014/15 league campaign to date, a 3-0 loss against Liverpool, they still have the opportunity to show a marked improvement. Already they've scored more goals than they had this time last season. And although they haven't notched up as many points, they'll be happy that what's often been labelled as their most obvious weakness is actually their biggest strength right now. Mind you, their offensive threat still needs some polishing as Emmanuel Adebayor himself insinuated quite recently.

As reported by the Irish Independent's Luke Edwards, the muscular striker was unhappy with the way they failed to put the Black Cats to the sword at the Stadium of Light.

"

If you play badly and draw then it is quite good, as I am sure the Sunderland players will tell you. Their manager won't be able to believe they came away with a point. We've got to finish teams off when we've got them on the ropes. We didn't do that.

"

All in all, the stage is set for an amelioration on their form from the first half of last season, and if they can squeeze some positive results out of ties they would ordinarily drop points from, the fans will not only be happy in the short term, but they'll be confident that their club have what it takes to make some gains and go the distance in the long run. 

Effectively, while a good start is what they should obviously be aiming for at this moment in time, it's vital they learn how to continue their penchant for positive beginnings as long as they possibly can. Arguably, finishing strongly is just as key as getting off on the right foot, and perhaps the best way to ensure they do that is by maintaining good form as a constant. 

One sure-fire way to induce consistency is by making sure they keep rattling the back of their opponents' net.

Improvements are in the pipeline, and they're starting to bubble to the surface. The time has come for them to stop being the club that start well and evolve into a side that can finish well, too, in all aspects of the word.