Are Tottenham in Danger of Being Left in the Shade by Their Title Rivals?
Tottenham Hotspur: Premier League title challengers. Next to the more obvious achievement of winning it, earning this status last season was as a good a representation of domestic progress under manager Mauricio Pochettino as any.
Now having got to that point after years on the periphery of the division's upper echelon comes the task of maintaining that recognition.
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Anything less than a supreme effort will see them left in the shade by re-energised and motivated rivals—their moment in the sun becoming just that, an ephemeral instant of major relevance gone as quickly as it arrived.
The good news for Tottenham supporters is there remains ample reason for them to be optimistic about the club's prospects.
While Pochettino would be remiss not to prepare his players for the multiple challenges they are likely to face from within the league, he will not want to unnecessarily scare and intimidate them.
They are a talented young team whose potential and ambition to repeat Leicester City's title-winning achievement does not automatically go away because the new Manchester City and Manchester United managers, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho respectively, are spending big. Nor does it because of the enduring threat posed by London neighbours Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham United.
Barring dramatic upheaval before the summer is over—talk of Argentina wanting Pochettino to manage them was a concern prior to his ruling himself out, per Sky Sports' Andrew Dickson—how good they can become is in their hands.
That has not always been the case.
Unlike at similar junctures over the last decade, Spurs look a lot better equipped on several fronts to at least stand their ground.
The club's fifth-place finish in 2005-06 was their highest of the Premier League era at that point. They equalled it the next season but were less competitive in the hunt for Champions League qualification, finishing eight points behind Arsenal in fourth compared to two a year earlier.
The departure of influential midfielder Michael Carrick to Manchester United in between those campaigns stunted their momentum. The young Tom Huddlestone—getting his first major opportunity following his arrival in 2005—and new signing Didier Zokora naturally took time settling in.
The return to European football also demanded more of the team. They performed well, reaching the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup, but general inexperience of having their attention so divided did sometimes impinge on their league focus.
Tottenham's hierarchy undermined themselves shortly after when, growing impatient for UEFA Champions League football, they replaced Martin Jol as manager with Juande Ramos. Though the Dutchman's team started the 2007-08 campaign poorly, the man who raised the club above the mediocrity they had become so associated with deserved time to rectify things. The Spaniard won the 2008 League Cup with Jol's team but otherwise did much worse in his brief tenure.
Spurs finally made the Champions League for the 2010-11 campaign. They memorably reached the quarter-finals but fell short of a return when they were again beaten to fourth place by Arsenal.
The demands of Europe's premier competition (Pochettino recently described it as being at "a different level") undoubtedly took its toll, with Spurs recording just one win between mid-February and mid-May.
Some strategic errors on manager Harry Redknapp's part—such as rushing Gareth Bale back from injury, undervaluing Niko Kranjcar and Steven Pienaar and not utilising Sandro as a defensive presence in April's crucial north London derby draw—were punished as another club's rise heralded the Premier League climate that has since developed.
Spurs pipped Manchester City to fourth in 2009-10 but could not slow the Sky Blues' unstoppable, cash-enhanced rise again a year later. The north Londoners had shown the so-called big four of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United was not as permanent as some had advertised, but the competitive level City's emergence inspired is, if anything, tougher.
If Pochettino's appointment and subsequent progress has marked the start of a more coherent period for Tottenham, both on and off the pitch, the aftermath of their Premier League-era points high (72) in 2012-13 was the closing of the well-intentioned but fickle preceding one.
As with Carrick in 2006, Gareth Bale's departure was a blow that left them reeling. Some of the signings made using the world-record £85.3 million transfer fee paid by Real Madrid in 2013 have worked out well (Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela). But initially, the recruitment drive of expensive foreign talent was another example of frantic planning that limited the team's chances of repeating their healthy points tally from a year prior.
Losing anyone they do not want to move on is something Spurs should not have to worry about this summer. Qualifying for the Champions League has seemingly reassured their big names about the club's direction under Pochettino, while nobody's contract situation is urgent.
Keeping the players who got the better of the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United last season is vital.
They have spent considerably to improve their already enviable squads, and more big names may be on the way. If Spurs were to hand these rivals a head start of sorts as they amalgamate the new signings by needing to replace a key player or two would be counterproductive indeed.
The qualities that took this team almost to the wire with Leicester are still there. For all the strengths of the sides of the aforementioned campaigns, none really got close to that level.
Spurs' rearguard was the Premier League's stingiest until the team lost motivation with the collapse of their title challenge. Hugo Lloris remains in goal, while the first-choice back four of Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose is intact.
Buoyed by a positive spell covering for Vertonghen and a new contract too, Kevin Wimmer should ensure his Belgian centre-back peers do not get complacent. At full-back, Ben Davies, Kieran Trippier and DeAndre Yedlin should all be better for the lessons learned from the last year.
Spurs' midfield and attack have already been strengthened by the signings of Victor Wanyama and Vincent Janssen respectively. But a big part of the excitement surroundings the positions last season was the feeling many of its key players were only just getting started.
Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Harry Kane's frustrating Euro 2016 experience does not for a second detract from the superb performances that earned them England recognition. Aided by the likes of Mousa Dembele, Eriksen and Lamela all coming into their own, all being well, they should only go from strength to strength.
Despite suffering two defeats in the pre-season International Champions Cup, to Juventus and Atletico Madrid, the encouraging performances of Spurs' youngsters suggests there is some depth behind the first-choice men. That is something they were not blessed with to the same extent the last time they attempted to balance domestic affairs with the Champions League.
The biggest difference to all those times when Spurs regressed or stagnated, the one that may be most crucial to keeping them where they are?
Pochettino.
The Argentinian deserves enormous credit for overseeing Spurs' improvement. He has boldly blended youth with pockets of experience, trusting in them to implement an aggressive, forward-minded style.
The way last season ended showed a high-octane game will not always work. To win when opponents will not be cowered by pressure, Spurs will need to refine the decision-making and courage that informs it. That would allow them to adapt.
It would be a big surprise if Pochettino were not endeavouring to improve Spurs here. Give them every weapon possible, and if others are better after their best effort, it will not be for want of trying—that feeling was there in the spring before the players lost their heads during and after the violent 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
Having got Tottenham to a point that they can hold their own and even better the Premier League's best teams one-on-one, Pochettino will want to ensure they carry on winning their fair share of such battles. Personally, he will want to prove he is as good, if not better than famous names such as Antonio Conte, Mourinho and Arsene Wenger.
Doing as well as last season, let alone doing better, will be a big challenge. But if the good of 2015-16 was as positive and promising as it seemed, Tottenham are more equipped than at any point in recent times to do so.
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