Why Belief Must Be Strong That Tottenham Can Win the Premier League in 2016/17

Tottenham Hotspur will be genuine contenders for the Premier League in 2016-17 and may very well be favourites by the time the new season opens. 

Finishing in second place behind the runaway narrative machine that was Leicester City is no disgrace. After all, at least 17 other teams will finish further behind the Foxes than Spurs. 

Tottenham's success in this campaign has come as a shock to both outsiders and the club itself. 

Mauricio Pochettino is in only the second year of a five-year plan intended to yield results once Spurs move into their new stadium in 2018. Instead, they've earned the right to send off White Hart Lane with UEFA Champions League football next season. 

It remains to be seen whether the 2015-16 season will be seen as a fleeting chance or the beginning of something of a title window. 

The idea of a Tottenham Premier League victory was laughable when this season began. By Christmas, it still seemed unlikely, but Spurs had cracked the top four and were one of the form teams in the division. Now, with Leicester already crowned, the north London club are widely considered to have missed a genuine chance.

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To finish ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and the Manchester clubs and yet fail to win the league is, in this era, unlikely. However, that attitude obscures the progress Pochettino's team have made and the relative strength of their position going into next season. 

Consider Spurs' likely levels for the title in 2016-17. 

While Leicester have proved there are no certainties in the Premier League, it should be safe to assume Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool will have the greatest influence on next season's title race alongside the defending champions. 

Manchester City have appointed one of the world's finest managers in Pep Guardiola, but he will need time to overhaul an ageing, unbalanced squad and adapt to an unfamiliar style of football. 

Manchester's red half is hamstrung by Louis van Gaal's stifling presence. Should Jose Mourinho be recruited to replace him, he would also take time to build a title contender from the limited squad already at Old Trafford. 

Chelsea have a new manager and a deeply flawed playing group. Antonio Conte will make the Blues better than they have been this season, but his ability to restore their elite status remains to be seen. After all, his achievements with Juventus must be considered in reference to a lack of genuine rivals. 

Liverpool appear to be a dangerous opponent under Jurgen Klopp, and should they win a place in the Champions League by winning the UEFA Europa League, they will be fierce competitors in the transfer market too, but they are a year behind Spurs in a similar rebuilding process with a poor goalkeeper and uninspiring back line. 

Arsenal have great individual quality and the institutional experience of competing on multiple fronts, but they've failed to contest the league title for a decade and appear unwilling or unable to make the necessary changes. 

Leicester will be dangerous again next season, but they will get no easy games. While many opponents approached them lightly in the early months of this campaign, the Foxes will be on every team's hit list next time around and can be expected to slide. The demands of Champions League participation will also test their relatively small squad. 

Spurs are by no means without flaws, but they have a cohesion that most of their rivals cannot match. Their first team requires no additions, replete as it is with members of the Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year. 

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No sales of key players are expected, and this consistency is a huge advantage that will allow Pochettino's team to begin at full speed while their rivals take crucial time to jell. 

Spurs were still finding their best team in the opening month of the season and picked up three points from a possible 12, conceding an eventually decisive advantage. Next term they will be expected to do far better. 

In Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, Spurs possess the most complete defensive partnership in English football. Admittedly they lack the aerial dominance of Leicester's Robert Huth and Wes Morgan, but Spurs' Belgian pairing contribute amply in both attacking and defensive phases.

At 27 and 29, respectively, Alderweireld and Vertonghen are among Tottenham's oldest players, but they are relatively youthful for so polished a pairing.

Ahead of the Belgians, Pochettino can deploy one of Europe's most balanced midfield trios. Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier and Dele Alli each provide different qualities that combine to contribute more than the mere sum of their parts. 

The youth of the squad is another factor in Spurs' favour. Alli, Harry Kane, Dier, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela are all 24 or younger and have gained valuable experience in their first title race as a group. 

A year from now, Spurs' average age will still be significantly younger than the Chelsea squad that ended the Blues' decades-long title drought in 2005. 

Tottenham face two major limitations in their aspiration to be long-term Premier League title contenders; the squad lacks crucial depth and the team has consequently been plagued by draws in winnable games. 

These drawbacks are linked and relatively easily solved with a strong transfer window. The acquisition of a quality back-up for Kane and some midfield reinforcements would alleviate these apparent weaknesses. 

Kane himself is yet another reason for optimism. The Premier League's finest and most consistent pure centre-forward, the 22-year-old gives Tottenham a chance to win every game. 

If Spurs defeat relegated Newcastle United on Sunday and secure second place in the Premier League for the first time, they will enter a summer of optimism ahead of a season of great promise. 

Tottenham spent much of this campaign erasing the club's justified reputation for having a soft underbelly. Against Chelsea, in a match dubbed the "Battle of Stamford Bridge," Spurs' players lost perspective but matched the aggression of an opponent that has bullied them for decades. It wasn't pretty, but even that reflected genuine progress. 

Pochettino's team is the best prepared for a new season, and, with the right summer additions, they can be set for a sustained tilt at the top. They possess the best defence, most balanced midfield and most well-rounded striker in England, not to mention a world-class goalkeeper in Hugo Lloris. 

The new season can't come soon enough for Tottenham.