When it comes to the EPL, Tottenham Hotsphur have acquired the worst luck out of any of the top flight teams in England. After ending a 50 year UEFA Champions League drought in 2011, they have hit a skid of misfortune over the course of the past five seasons.
Back in 2012, when the Spurs finished in the Top 4 and were on pace to qualify for the Champions League, things suddenly fell apart when rival Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League. As a result, this therefore snubbed Tottenham due to Chelsea finishing 6th in the league. Ultimately any chance that Tottenham had of qualifying quickly became evoked in the worst possible manner.
Once 2013 began to develop, this in fact became a year involving much controversy. For the Spurs, it resulted in a successful 5th place finish, one that to the outsiders was viewed as a disappointment. In many reasons it pertained the under-development of Welsh rising star Gareth Bale. Weeks later, he demanded a transfer and was sent to the popular Real Madrid for close to $100 Million. This turned out to be a very contentious move as Bale had the potential to become the player Tottenham could build around.
Regardless, the relentless upheavals continued in 2014, as it delivered the same results at White Hart Lane. Countless Europa League hangovers and forceful meltdowns against the Premier Leagues’ top teams proved to be the Spurs’ undoing. Also, the inability to improve on their prior setbacks resulted in a 6th place finish yet again.
Last year however, it appeared that Tottenham’s promising hopes were finally starting to become full-filled. Entering the year with a new coach, Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs’ supporters wondered where the goals were going to come from. Conclusively, those questions were abruptly answered when a home-grown player promulgated out of nowhere, his name was Harry Kane. Last year, which was his first season starting, Kane managed to score a team-leading 31 goals in all competitions. Unfortunately, brutal home defeats to teams that the Spurs should have conquered prevented them from finishing in the Top 4, as they finished just six points behind Manchester United.
The start of the 2016 season has been an optimistic one under Pochettino. Tottenham has collected points in 15 of their 17 matches and from the outset have looked to be much improved defensively, having only allowed 14 goals total.
With Chelsea perilously tail-spinning out of control and trying to stave off a relegation battle, this finally seems to be Tottonham’s best chance in decades to sneak into the Champions League. More importantly, the way that the media has described Manchester United’s struggles provides new hope for even more of a contingency to seek out something special.
Things are definitely looking up for the Spurs in North London. The three-headed attack of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen are a spark on the offensive side of the ball that Tottenham hasn’t comprised since the Bale era. The new look, advanced Spurs should be poised, because everything is there to make an exciting dash for the top four in this highly unpredictable EPL season.
Although, justifying a top four spot this year is only possible if they are able to stop losing at home. Their past disappointing losses, mainly in the 2-1 defea at White Hart Lane, was a questionable one as it came to a team that’s fought for their lives at the bottom of the division. This inconceivable loss, marked the third consecutive year that they’ve fallen at home to lonely Newcastle. Saying that losing to bad teams at home is Tottenham’s achilles heel would be a vast understatement. Fortunately, the Spurs will have a chance to prove the nation wrong on Boxing Day, where they begin the unofficial start to the second half of the season as they try to march their way into at least a fourth place finish.
The future is finally holding optimism for Tottenham fans. With only two losses on the year, the only thing that fans have to complain about is the number of ties the Spurs have gathered through the first half of the season. The 21 remaining EPL games for Tottenham will tell us how things are going in North London. The idea of having visions of the exclusive Top 4 spot appeared to be a slight stretch at the start of the season considering who the team added over the summer transfer period, thus making Tottenham’s possible ride of glory even more extraordinary.
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