I think the progress is in the overall makeup of the squad. When you look at our squad at the end of last season there was very little to project as positive for the long term. We had been buoyed to a solid league finish by Adebayor and Eriksen. Everyone who has paid attention knew the Adebayor thing was not a long term solution. We had six failed signings, Vertonghen and Lloris were unsettled, Bentaleb and Rose were scapegoats, and we had no coach and Franco Baldini.
Now about twelve months later we have one of the best strikers in the league who is 21 and cost nothing, Bentaleb and Rose are two of our most consistent performers, Vertonghen seems unlikely to leave, we have the young player of the season at the top three levels of English football (Kane, Pritchard, and Alli), Ryan Mason is found money even if his future is as rotation player, Chadli scored 10 league goals, Lamela could still be salvaged, Eric Dier looks like a real player, our academy is brimming with talent, at worst Pochettino is a competent coach, and we have a guy heading our transfer decisions that looks like he has a clue.
I think that in Kane, Bentaleb, Eriksen, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose, Lloris, and hopefully Walker, Lamela, and Mason we have a real base of players that we can feel confident building around the next 2-3 seasons and only Lloris looks a immediate threat to leave. Plus Alli, Pritchard, and the academy boys have tons of potential as well. Last season you would have said only Eriksen, Vertonghen, and Lloris were good bets for the future.
For that reason, I do think we've made progress. I actually feel like I see a team coming together that makes sense for the future. Do we still have huge holes? Absolutely. Is the core young and football immature? Yes. Might Levy sell a bunch of them off? Of course. However, we have a bright and talented young core with a good portion of it being homegrown. You could not say that 12 months ago. That is substantial progress IMO. Now to see tangible on field progress we need to buy smartly in the summer and hope that Pochettino is manager that can coach his team to improvement from season to season.
Last season's sixth place was built on smoke and mirrors, this year it feels like we could have something special going forward if we make a few smart decisions and get a little luck. A long way to go though.
Wow.
This.
x1000.
Thank you!