Opinion: Looking at whether Tottenham are any better off than last season
Nine games into the Premier League season, Spurs sit sixth in the table after another shocking performance against London rivals West Ham. it has been hard to watch – fans at the ground and online have shown their discontent and it is more than understandable. The only truly impressive performance has been against Man City, […]
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Nine games into the Premier League season, Spurs sit sixth in the table after another shocking performance against London rivals West Ham.
it has been hard to watch – fans at the ground and online have shown their discontent and it is more than understandable.
The only truly impressive performance has been against Man City, which featured a masterclass in counter-attacking. Due to this season’s stuttering start, I thought I would look at whether Spurs are any better off than last season.
Firstly, let’s look at the managers. For the majority of the 20/21 season, we had serial winner Jose Mourinho whereas Nuno currently sits in the dugout.
Both managers have very similar styles of football, wanting their teams to be secure at the back. Preferably, I would want Ten Hag or Potter in charge, but if I was forced to choose one of these managers, it would have to be Mourinho. At least he has a track record of winning silverware.
Weirdly enough, I felt more confident with Mourinho. Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son had arguably their best seasons under him.
Despite the consistent sitting back and conceding of late goals, in hindsight, it would have made more sense to keep him rather than appointing Nuno. I still believe that if we gave Jose a playmaker and a new defence, it could have been something special.
However, let’s compare the players that arrived and departed in the summer.
Firstly, the centre back spot has drastically improved. We flogged an old and under-performing Toby Alderweireld to Qatar, to be replaced by an aggressive strong Argentine with Cristian Romero.
The centre-back from Atalanta has already shown his worth and is a level above the likes of Dier and Sanchez. For me, he is one of the first names on the team sheet, and is argubably Paratici’s best signing.
Next, we replaced an error-prone Serge Aurier with Barcelona right back Emerson Royal. Some people may disagree, but I think Emerson is a drastic improvement on Aurier.
He has already shown his potential, especially in that impressive display during the Aston Villa win. He is also 6 years younger than Aurier, once again showing our plans for the future.
Furthermore, Spurs completed the swap deal between Bryan Gil and Erik Lamela with Sevilla this summer. After joining in 2013, Lamela has scored some spectacular goals but has never been consistent or injury free. Due to this, it was vital the Argentine was sold on.
Replacing him with Bryan Gil made sense. The Spaniard is just 20 years old and has already shown his potential. I just wish that he is given more first team opportunities, especially as Lucas continues to under-perform.
Finally, Spurs sold Joe Hart to Scottish giants Celtic, replacing him with Italian goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. This doesn’t have a significant impact on the team, with both lacking minutes. However, I do believe Gollini is an upgrade.
He has shown his quality during the penalty shootout win against Wolves whilst also having the potential to improve. The one downside to Gollini is that he isn’t homegrown, unlike Joe Hart who helped fill the quota.
Overall, I believe the group of players we currently have are better than last season. The four players I mentioned are improvements, however the failure to replace Bale or Vinicius is incredibly disappointing.
Despite this, Nuno has still shown himself as a worse manager than Mourinho. I’m fully expecting Dr Tottenham to see Manchester United at the weekend, which may well lead to Nuno’s sacking.
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