Is There Any Area Where Tottenham Are Worse Than Last Season?

Luck is crucial to the success of any football team. The most successful sides seem to always get the bounce of the ball. 

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United teams were infamous for their seeming fortune; so much so that conspiracy theories about their influence on referees were rife. 

Conversely, it is commonplace to speak about bad luck dragging poor sides into relegation battles. 

In Mauricio Pochettino's first season as Tottenham boss, he benefited from more than his fair share of luck. 

Seven times in 38 matches, Spurs won with a goal in the last five minutes. This can be partially attributed to Pochettino's training regime, but Harry Kane's deflected free-kick to defeat Aston Villa owed more to fortune than to fitness. 

The weakness of Liverpool, a club spending almost 50 percent more in wages (per the Mirror) than Spurs, is equally fortunate. 

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By the season's end, Tottenham were sitting fifth in the Premier League table, and the influence of their luck was evident. 

They finished just six points shy of the Champions League places despite being less than convincing through much of the season. 

In this campaign, some of that luck seems to have abated. 

Spurs could—and arguably, should—have put five goals past Stoke City's Jack Butland when the two sides met at White Hart Lane in August. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. 

In their most recent fixture, Tottenham dramatically outplayed Arsenal at the Emirates but could only take a point after Kieran Gibbs' late equaliser in the 1-1 draw. Once again, luck was not with Pochettino's men. 

Twelve months ago, Spurs were being lifted up the table by their luck as much as their talent. This season, the opposite is true.

The result of this contrast is to obscure the genuine progress that has been made between the two campaigns.

They are just four points better off than they were at the same point last season but have performed consistently at a much higher level. 

Pochettino has constructed an effective defence that forms the foundation of a rugged, resilient side. They are somewhat lacking in flair but are a drastically stronger team than they were a year ago. 

Eric Dier embodies the brutal strength at the heart of a team that have cast off Tottenham's historic reputation as a soft, even feckless, opposition. 

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Spurs' steady, predictable progress up the table looms as one of the major storylines of this Premier League season. 

Beyond the disappearance of the remarkable fortune that marked Pochettino's first season in charge, there have been few backward steps in year two. 

The squad lacks the numbers of the previous campaign, but there has been a refinement rather than reduction. The playing group is smaller, yes, but it is also leaner. 

No player that contributed in any meaningful way last season has been lost, while the few new signings have shown great promise. 

They are younger and that may be the only realistic weakness. There are few veteran players. Indeed, there are no outfield players over 28 years old. 

According to the Telegraph, the average age of Spurs' team is lower than 25. Only three teams in Europe, none in England, are younger. 

It has not yet become apparent, but this could prove to be an Achilles heel in Spurs' thus far buoyant campaign. 

With the manic Christmas period looming, this youthful group will be put under a stern test. Fortune has not been a feature of the campaign so far, but should misfortune strike in this especially busy period, it would prove vexing to Tottenham's ambitions. 

Pochettino has been remarkably effective in revitalising an otherwise listless group of players. 

In his first game in charge, Pochettino fielded Kyle Naughton, Younes Kaboul, Etienne Capoue, Lewis Holtby, Aaron Lennon and Emmanuel Adebayor, while Roberto Soldado and Michael Dawson were unused substitutes. 

To manage such significant squad upheaval while avoiding any fall down the table is a major achievement for a relatively junior manager. 

It is a testament to his excellence during his time in north London that there are virtually no areas in which Spurs have taken a backwards step. 

There are weaknesses, chief among them the inexperience that is yet to be truly tested, but they are as well placed as they have been for many years.