Tuesday 3 May 2016 07:24, UK
Tottenham’s surrendering of a two-goal lead at Chelsea on Monday Night Football saw Leicester City crowned Premier League champions with two games to spare. It’s been a fine season for Spurs but the opportunity for improvement is there, writes Adam Bate.
In the end it was something of an implosion. Two up at half-time, Tottenham conceded twice after the break and became embroiled in an increasingly ill-tempered battle with a Chelsea side apparently anxious to deny them the title. In the process, they lost their focus.
Mauricio Pochettino's men picked up more bookings in that second half than they had shots. And yet, there will be little appetite among Spurs supporters to chastise this young team. Not after the season they've had. And not with so much still to look forward to.
Indeed, the inexperience shown by the players as the team's title hopes slipped away actually hints at how much scope for improvement remains in this group. That's something to be excited about, although it does come with a caveat.
Certainly, it would be easy to understand why Tottenham's more nervy supporters might be apprehensive. If this was Arsenal's best chance to win the title then what of Spurs? They were two points behind Leicester in March but the chase is over with two games to spare.
The lesson of Liverpool's near miss in 2013/14 is that even exciting young sides must seize the moment when it arrives - particularly when the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City can expect to mount significantly stronger challenges next term.
With Pochettino facing the challenge of the Champions League for the first time as a manager as well, the potential problems for Tottenham next season are numerous. But there are ways in which the 2016/17 campaign could be easier to handle, too.
In addition to the added experience gained by this young group of players, Pochettino will look to bring in better support. So much focus has been on the quality of this Tottenham team in attack and defence but the manager has already hinted at his desire to improve.
His reaction in the wake of the Europa League defeat to Borussia Dortmund was particularly revealing. "I think it was our worst period of the season," said Pochettino. "We can see our level and the depth of our squad. I think we need to improve our squad on the whole."
Alternatives to Harry Kane will surely be a priority given that the England striker has started every single Premier League game this season. But it's not just up front. Pochettino will seek to strengthen midfield too, an area in which Spurs' second string have come up a little short.
For example, the contrast in results when Pochettino is without his key men is alarming. With Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli together in the team so far this season, Spurs are unbeaten in the Premier League - winning 16 of those 20 games and drawing the other four.
However, when one of the pair has been missing it's been a very different story with only five of those 16 matches having been won and four of them lost. Without Dembele alone it's grim reading with Spurs having lost three of the last five that the Belgian has missed.
Tom Carroll played in midfield instead of Dembele in the home defeats to Newcastle and Leicester, while Ryan Mason filled in for the loss at West Ham. The inability to cope in these circumstances would seem to hint at the need for greater strength in depth.
While that might seem harsh on the young English midfielders, Pochettino is likely to have noted that Tottenham won only two of the 10 games in which one of them was required to start. Spurs picked up 11 points from those matches compared to 59 from the other 26.
As a result, if Pochettino had been in a position to bring in players of a similar quality to those withdrawn and thus maintained a similar points average in those games, Spurs could've been playing to win the title at Stamford Bridge rather than just stay in the race.
Next season, with Champions League commitments to worry about too, a larger and better squad will be a necessity. But it will also be an opportunity. Pochettino has built a formidable team. Now there's the chance to transform that into a formidable squad instead.
Only tweaks are needed and, in that respect, the upside for Spurs is clear. For while the squad issues at rival clubs might be more complicated to solve, Pochettino's task is simple - bolster the squad and give this bright young team the help it needs to get over the line next time around.
