Tottenham Hotspur overachieved despite title letdown
By Zac Wassink
Tottenham Hotspur again fell short of winning the Premier League title, but all should remember Spurs overachieved for 2016-17.
For the second straight Premier League season, Tottenham Hotspur fell painfully short in a title race that existed up through the early parts of May. Unlike last year, when Tottenham completely fell apart and dropped to third in the league table after Leicester City secured the crown, Spurs picked themselves up and didn’t allow Chelsea clinching the title to affect them. Tottenham enter the final Sunday of the campaign knowing second place is theirs regardless of what occurs before the final whistles are blown in venues around England.
Nevertheless, cynics, critics and individuals looking to generate clicks and/or attention for themselves couldn’t help but lash out at Spurs once it was confirmed they again came up short in their pursuit of Premier League glory. Such individuals claimed Tottenham “bottled” it once again. Not a day goes by when some pundit on talkSPORT mentions how Tottenham’s top stars need to make moves away from North London to win titles and, of course, earn higher wages.
Those within the Tottenham squad, along with manager Mauricio Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy, are likely disappointed the club will finish another season trophy-less, as are the supporters who, for a period of time this spring, hoped the football fates may be smiling upon Spurs and upon White Hart Lane during the Lane’s final days of existence. What all must remember is that most expected Tottenham would not even compete for the league title during the first five months of 2017.
Back in August 2016, the ESPN FC staff, as a whole, predicted Tottenham would finish sixth in the table. Among those panelists, only Tony Evans picked Spurs to win the Premier League. Iain Macintosh, John Brewin, Nick Ames and Miguel Delaney all had Tottenham finishing outside of the top four.
Phil McNulty of the BBC predicted Tottenham would finish fifth, one spot behind North London rivals Arsenal and away from Champions League qualification. While Robbie Savage of the Mirror was a bit kinder to Spurs in that he predicted they’d finish ahead of Arsenal, he also had Tottenham ending the campaign one spot away from a berth in the Champions League playoff.
More from Playing for 90
- Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
- Everything you need to know ahead of the 250th ‘Super Clásico’
- Barcelona put five past Real Betis
- Manchester City suffer but come away with win over West Ham
- Baffling Liga MX ruling strips Puebla of a hard-earned victory
It’s also worth noting this was no standard campaign for Tottenham. Spurs not only competed in the Champions League during the fall months. They did so at Wembley Stadium due to the construction efforts surrounding the creating of the club’s new world-class arena. That, obviously, proved costly, as Spurs never found confidence or form playing at what is usually neutral territory, and the club was unceremoniously bounced from the Champions League and, later, from Europa League.
One thing seemingly lost among discussions about Tottenham’s supposed choke in the title race is the myriad of injury woes that plagued Spurs during the opening half of the campaign. In total, the club were without Harry Kane, undeniably England’s top striker, for roughly three months. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, midfielder Mousa Dembele and defender Toby Alderweireld were all sidelined at different points. Erik Lamela was Photoshopped on milk cartons more than he was on the pitch for Tottenham during the season.
Every squad faces physical setbacks, injuries and fatigue that comes with participating in grueling seasons. Still, one cannot help but wonder what could have been for this Spurs side had players such as Kane, Lamela and Dembele been fully fit and able to participate for the majority of the season all at the same time.
Last but certainly not least, Chelsea were simply better than Tottenham. Both clubs featured first-choice lineups capable of winning the Premier League, but Spurs couldn’t compete with Chelsea’s depth. Any individual questioning that should re-examine the FA Cup semifinal between the sides.
On that fateful Saturday, Tottenham had Kyle Walker — who may or may not have been in Pochettino’s doghouse at the time depending on what reports you want to believe — Ben Davies, Moussa Sissoko, Kevin Wimmer, Vincent Janssen and Georges-Kévin N’Koudou as available substitutes. Chelsea, meanwhile, brought Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard on in the second half of the contest.
It’s like comparing apples to a perfectly cooked steak from Peter Luger.
Perhaps harshest of all about the final few weeks of the season for Tottenham supporters is that this may be as close as this Spurs squad comes to winning the title. Tottenham will struggle playing home matches at Wembley next season, and star players such as Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen will be targets for giants of European football, perhaps as quickly as this coming summer.
Related Story: Daniel Levy must spend to make Tottenham a big club
Don’t let what may happen in the future erase all that Spurs accomplished during the 2016-17 campaign. Tottenham punched above their weight and overachieved, and they’ll look to do so again later this year after journalists and observers disrespect them in preseason predictions.