So what is the aim this season then?

With the new season almost here I'm wondering what the priorities for this season actually are.

As i am often pointed to football is more a business than a sport these days. But even the smallest businesses have targets and objectives set for the year.

Last season was undoubtedly a transitional, new manager, new system, assessment of inherited squad etc.

We reached a cup final and finished 5th which in the grand scale of things was a decent achievement.

My own opinion is we flattered to deceive for a majority and it was more a case of the league being poor and few match winning moments for particular players as opposed to a fluid playing team.

The defence was shocking! From an organisational, responsibility, awareness, pride POV. Its like no one had the ability or want to defend which is scandalous for a club of our history and stature.

The Midfield was so so. Able to run a lot and keep safe possession but also very able to play suicidal passes and go missing for large parts. For games they could be ars*d to play they looked an imposing unit for the other 80% it was very dull/turgid and limited.

The attack. 1 up top, and at times a 1 man band from the super human effort from Kane. An unforeseen wonder season that rescued what could've been a very difficult season had he not excelled so well.

Eriksen & Chadli both chipped in with a respectable tally of goals, but as part of a 3 behind their energy and press is quite lackadaisical at times which neither helps attack or defence.

Now the defence- on paper looks to have been sorted out, it will need some drilling in the art but the parts look there.

The midfield- has seen a couple of prospects added and deadwood shifted but there's nothing to suggest any of the reoccurring problems from last season have been addressed and there has been as of yet no upgrade.

The Attack- Harry Kane.........

Are the problems solved?
Are we making strides to kick on?
Have we improved personnel?
Is Poch calling the shots and building for anything in general?

Were a couple of injuries from mediocrity, and a number of teams around us have strengthened significantly.

So i ask what is the actual ambition/priorities for this season?
Are we going all out for anything this season?
Is having a real crack at top 4 the priority? If so is there any strategy to it?
Are we going to take Europe seriously this year for once? Its a winnable competition for a club of our size and a viable CL route!
Or is it a trophy? (Remember them?) Are we going to perhaps make a domestic trophy a priority something for us all to unite and celebrate?

It always feels IMO that we seem to have a half hearted effort at all but end up muddled, burnt out, minds on other things and ultimately failing at each one.

Any successful business sets goals and clear strategies to prioritise these goals.

Our strategy to kick on from last season (apart from shifting deadwood) has hardly been inspiring, and after a transitional season should we be expecting more this year?

Surely it has to be progression this season else we are just treading water.

 

Can't be much more than finish top half with the team we have.

 

The aim should be to bring Kramer, Berahino and Hernandez in before the weekend is out, and then have a team capable of finishing in the top four.

Lloris;
Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose;
Kramer, Bentaleb;
Berahino, Eriksen, Chadli;
Kane.

SUBS
Vorm
Dier
Walker
Wimmer
Mason
Dembele
Hernandez

 

I have to agree with the previous comment,we can't expect anything more than sixth this time. The best of a very poor rest of the league. We finished fifth because the league was poor and still is but many have strengthened and we haven't really. it makes me wonder where Liverpool are getting their money from to support their manager,as we seem to be potless.

 

Our target this season will be to progress with the building of the new stadium (while keeping the books balanced) which, when ready, it will increase the profit of our owners when they will sell the club.

 

Why is everyone drooling over Berahino? Madness. If Kane still has his doubters (and he does) then why would anyone be convinced by a big splash on the WBA man? Madness.
For me, Kane is not an out and out striker and would be perfect in a front 2 or just behind a lone man up front. I'd like to see him play behind Soldado. It may be unpopular but the man has got goals in him. Our team have not been set up to play to Soldado's strengths over the past two seasons; Bobby would have thrived back in the days of Lennon on the right and Bale on the left. He needs service. Realistically, Townsend and Lamela will not provide this service. Nor will Chadli.

 

Well since we still have Chadli and Lamela on the wings, why is it you think that if we play Soldado this year that he will get the service, given that their proclivity is to cut in and shoot. You could argue with Tripper in RB that he will push forward and lob in crosses more so than Walker can effectively do. And the same with Rose who has become increasingly effective in his LB role in supporting the attack but I think Bobby Soldier has had two years and three managers have tried to get him to score goals to no avail. It seems from "reports" that he is ready to move on to Villareal. I think it's time for us to also accept that his time in England is up and move on as well.

 

Cannot expect much again this season. We will probably concede fewer goals. We need another striker. Cannot rely only on kane for the whole season

 

The truth is pochettino has bought into the strategy of offloading wages from the books, buying youth for his systems and releasing finances for the new ground Last year a few late results gave us credibility but we are a poor side. Defence will be improved but we will still have to take a lot of pressure because we dont pressure enough teams. We desperately need 2 competent strikers and a dominating midfielder. All great teams need a Keane Viera Souness or a Dave McKay!
Lucky to finish top 6 if we dont get Berahinho one of the efficient german midfielders and yarmelenko. Rumour is a wonferful thing but if we dont act soon we will lose against man u and not maximise the first set of fixtures which are reasonable.
Will we win the league ,no, fa cup maybe , europa league ,no
! Capital one ,no
Top 6 get a move on

 

If we finished 8th/9th but won the Europa would this not be a better scenario than 5th/6th and nothing?

If we took a dive out of all cups and concentrated on league would we have more a realistic chance of top 4?

Do we accept that europe and top 4 are out of our grasp and make winning a domestic a main goal just to bring some glory?

All strategies which need to be put in place at the seasons start as we are no where near big enough to compete for all and would give us a much more realistic atempt at achieving something this season?

The point im getting at which is one of the main frustrations i have with our current set up is we have no apparent goals other than balance the books and take part.

Wheres the ambition?

 

we could win a cup this season and finish 6th.
Forget about 4th. Chelsea, man city, arsenal united and liverpool.

 

When scum have struggled in the league theyve cut all losses and soley focussed on achieving top 4, when Chavs were out of top 4 race they went all out for the CL, Utd & Liverpool have realised theyve slipped and are going all out to reverse the trend and get back.

Money aside its in these clubs DNA to prioritise and get across the line as its what their players, managers fans and board expect and set.

We seem to act like none of this matters, that theres all the time in the world, forever hoping to stumble across a break.

Achievement/success is a driven force from all involved, if your accepting that treading water is enough then that is exactly what you'll do.

 

I wholly agree with the analysis of last season.

This season will have the same aims as every season under ENIC - to spend the minimum and maximise Mr. Lewis's income.

It's taken a while, but I am now quite sick of pretending we have a footballing plan.

 

This year is survive at any cost, next year drop well out of the top 7 and out of the Europy league, year 3 play at Wembley go all out for top four. Stay there forever more. The end.

 

I do share your frustrations. Every season, we are aiming for the top 4 and always falling short. But balancing the books and making sure we spend within our means is important. We are not blessed to have rich owners who are willing to fund deficits. Realistically, we are not underachieving if we finish fifth or sixth. As a fan, I'll always be hoping that they can finish in the top 4 once in a while if we are lucky enough to assemble a really good team or when our opponents slip.

In the longer term however, I think the new stadium will level the playing ground for us against Arsenal. Though we will still not be able to compete against the riches of the Manchester clubs and Chelsea, we can more realistically compete against Arsenal for a spot in the top 4.

Always hoping that our team will do better than what it's capable of. It's been a pleasure being a Spurs fan thought I do feel frustrated at times.

 

This top four fixation, really, really boring. It serves nothing. We want to win the league don't we?
Spending fortunes to stay 5th won't do it so we have to try something else. Back of a bit wait, build a team that can win the league and have a bash at it. Trying to buy your way into the CL is a killer. The goons are spending over £100 million a year more than Spurs on the team just to keep themselves in the top four where they win an extra £50 million or so?
Personally I think what Spurs are doing is exceptional. When the money is available in a few years time the efficiency of the club will pay massive dividends on the pitch.

 

I can't believe everyone sounds so drab and resigned before the season has even started- we still have a month to buy players...! We have one of the best goalkeepers in the world- our back four is a huge improvement on last season which was our one major downfall. We have a good group of young players who all have a good season of premier league football under their belts- they will improve. Remember the league table doesn't lie and we finished 5th because we were the 5th best team in the league- we can only compete with who are around us, If we bring in Bender, Berihnio and another attacker we will be a better team than we were last season- don't be fooled by other clubs- just because you spend a bit of money, it doesn't turn you into a world class team over night- we tried that and look where that got us. Poch and Levy are doing a good job of getting rid of players we don't need and trying to improve the team as a whole- we showed in glimpses last season how good we can be- we just need to play like that more consistently. Don't write the team off before they have even started playing.

 

we need to be aiming for top four, we got fifth last season so we need to progress not go backwards if we spend and get a top player like illarmendi,Hernandez, or that psg player we were linked to the attacker can't remember his name.i also got a feeling baldini will try and get a Roma player now they have brought dzecko

 

Excellent article Felon and spot on re last season so fair call to ask questions about the club and its very apparent lack of direction.

 

Despite the automatic accusations of 'you're really a gooner or a chav' if you post anything critical of Levy or Pochettino on most other Spurs sites, we all want the club to succeed whoever's in charge, but it's very hard not to predict yet another season of mediocrity ahead. We've bought a full-back who didn't make the grade at Man City and was relegated with Burnley, a CB who's spent most of his career in the German lower leagues and isn't even first choice for Austria (!), and yet another Belgian who couldn't hack it in Spain - that's the defence 'sorted', is it?
As for the rest, without Kane, we'd have struggled to make the top half last season, and we seem to be assuming that youthful promise is bound to be fulfilled, and the likes of Pritchard and Ali will be world-beaters - sadly there are hundreds of John Bostocks for every Gareth Bale. All this and with one week before we take on United, we're going into a tournament where we'll be fighting to avoid the wooden spoon - it's Levy and modern football all over - marketing exposure over points every time!