2014/2015: Progress Reviewed

It’s been a long season. As Daniel Levy wrote in his pre-match notes last week, game-for-game, this has been our longest season in recent memory. Almost everyone associated with the club has used the same term at some point or other this season to express our ambitions for this term: progress.

I wrote a piece about this back in late 2014, coincidentally also after a game against Everton, and with the season now drawn to a close, it feels appropriate to reflect on exactly how we as a club have progressed over the past 12 months.

Progress is intrinsically linked to success, but success is a slippery beast to define. You can get a record points tally, and still see the team finish lower than it did the previous season, as happened under AVB. You can alienate half of the first team and most of the fans, and still boast a better win percentage than Bill Nicholson, a la Sherwood. Or you can employ no discernable tactical plan, yet guide the club to its two highest finishes in the Premier League era, Harry Redknapp-style.

[linequote]Progress is intrinsically linked to success, but success is a slippery beast to define.[/linequote]

So we must approach this knowing that it is difficult to agree on a common definition of progress. Nevertheless, it feels like there are a number of areas we can identify in which the club has progressed this season.

The first of these is the progress of youth. Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb, and, of course, Harry Kane, have all established themselves as first team regulars in this campaign, and Poch’s willingness to give game time to our young players should serve us well going into next season, with the likes of Alex Pritchard, Dele Alli, and Josh Onomah all showing great promise.

Of course, Tactics Tim will no doubt continue to take the credit for giving Kane and Bentaleb their chance (and to be fair to him, he did), but there can be no denying that they have reached a different level under Pochettino. Both are now among the first names on the team sheet, and all being well, will remain so for many seasons to come.

The most refreshing aspect of this pro-youth policy is the level of sustainability it brings to the club, ideally seeking to fill vacant squad positions with top performers from the youth team. This should not only reduce the amount of money spent on squad players in the transfer market, but also enable us to bring in better youth prospects, enticing them with evidence that they can break into the first team at Spurs. As a club that cannot match the spending power of our rivals, a sustainable squad development policy will likely be the very foundation of our ability to compete on the pitch.

[fullquote]Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb, and, of course, Harry Kane, have all established themselves as first team regulars in this campaign.[/fullquote]

The second area of progress this season has been our performances against the big clubs. While we were by no means outstanding in this regard, we did manage to take 8 points from the top four finishers this year, compared to just one point last season.

Critics will point to our humbling defeats at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, and the Etihad, along with the capitulation at home to Liverpool, as evidence that we haven’t really moved forward, but generally speaking, we have given it a much better go this season. We were unlucky to lose at Anfield, played well at home against City, and forced Mourinho to park the bus at Wembley. This came on top of admirable draws at the Emirates and at home to United, and of course our terrific home performances against Woolwich and the Chavs. There is reason to hope that we will improve further in this regard next season.

Finally, and possibly most significantly, Pochettino’s assessment of the squad should be seen as a key area of progress. As Daniel Levy wrote last week, one of the main aims at the start of the season was to give the Argentine time to identify which players would suit his style. He has been fairly ruthless in doing so – evidenced by the sidelining of Capoue, Kaboul, and Adebayor for much of the campaign.

In recent months, there has been very little alteration on the teamsheet – changes usually only being made when enforced through injury or a particularly abysmal performance. This suggests that Pochettino has a very clear idea of who is capable of playing in his system.

It could be argued that performances have suffered as a result of this preliminary cull – we have effectively operated with a reduced squad size, limiting the number of replacements available for those who get injured or are suffering from fatigue. And yet in spite of this, we have finished one place higher in the league, reached the final of the league cup, and made it out of the group stages of the Europa League. With a full squad of players who understand Pochettino’s philosophy, and who he trusts to implement it effectively, we should be able to sustain better performances for longer on multiple fronts.

There are, of course, areas requiring further work. Too often this season we have struggled to convert possession into the creation of clear-cut chances, often reduced to taking pot-shots from distance. This has been particularly true against weaker teams, who often sit back and then hit us on the break.

[linequote]Pochettino has a very clear idea of who is capable of playing in his system[/linequote]

Added to this, our defensive woes are well-known, and it goes without saying that we need to concede fewer goals next season. In this regard, Pochettino and Paul Mitchell have already moved quickly to sign the highly-rated Kevin Wimmer from Cologne – again, a sign of decisiveness and focus that has been lacking in our recent transfer campaigns.

And with a renewed transfer policy driven by Mitchell’s analytical approach, there should be optimism that our signings this summer should perform better than those of recent seasons. Quite who those signings will be is unclear, but the increased chatter around a new bid for Morgan Schneiderlin is encouraging – the Frenchman would certainly add further dynamism and energy to our midfield.

All this suggests that while this may not have been a season of obvious achievement, it should nevertheless be looked back on with a certain satisfaction – a necessary, if unglamorous, job well done. The time to judge Pochettino’s philosophy will be at the end of next season, not this, but if all goes to plan next year, we will no doubt look back on this season as one in which the foundations were laid for success.