Football Season Guide

Tottenham start another new era this season with the latest manager appointed over the summer with the expectations of breaking the glass ceiling that is the top four. Last year, Spurs were a study case how not to run a football club as a highly promising squad was not allowed to develop under a bright and talented manager due to the erratic and irrational decisions of the man responsible for taking the decisions in the boardroom. Tim Sherwood proved an awful appointment and Spurs basically sleep-walked through the second half of the season thanks to the complete ineptitude of both the man in the dugout and the ones higher up in the hierarchy. Yet, things are looking a bit better now as Tottenham appointed an excellent new manager in Maurico Pochettino and now need to give him ample time to develop his ideas and make the team a better one. The Argentinian was met with scepticism when he arrived in England at the start of 2013 as a manager of Southampton but he left the south coast this summer with the adulation of the Southampton fans and the acceptance across the country that he is a fine team-builder and superb tactician. Saints were genuinely superb last year and Tottenham will definitely be expected to match the same level of performances this year given that Pochettino has better players to work with. He has sought to maintain the chemistry of the squad and the signings so far have not been too eye-catching. Ben Davies and Michel Vorm have arrived from Swansea but only the former can really claim a regular starting slot this season. A few other additions are expected until the end of August but Spurs do have an excellent squad at the moment anyway. The big problem for the new manager is to mould a distinctive style and make the team a much more coherent one this season. Erik Lamela will be expected to do a lot better under the guidance of his compatriot after his struggles last year. There is also a bit of a question mark up front as Emmanuel Adebayor is a fine striker but only when he is bothered while Roberto Soldado has not really settled yet and the odds are against him really thriving this season. Yet, the midfield is excellent and Christian Eriksen showed flashes of brilliance last season. There is a good base for Pochettino to work on but one feels that even a Champions League push is beyond this team given the improvement of the sides above them.