Monday 25 May 2015 10:04, UK
We look back on Tottenham's 2014/15 campaign, with top quotes, stats and pundit views...
Tottenham Hotspur
Finishing position: 5th (+1 on last season)
Total points: 64 (-5 on last season)
Europa League: Knocked out in round of 32 by Fiorentina
FA Cup: Knocked out in fourth round by Leicester
Capital One Cup: Runners-up to Chelsea
Season review
It has been another season of transition for Tottenham, having hired their third manager inside a year last summer. Mauricio Pochettino has had to establish who among a fractured squad is prepared to play his highly-demanding style and who isn't, which has seen the emergence of some bright talents from the academy and the decline of several 'stars'.
Harry Kane is the brightest of those shining lights from the youth team, of course. He was a nobody to the rest of the country and still a relative newcomer to Spurs fans at the beginning of the season, but became Spurs' first-choice striker by November, broke a club goalscoring record by March, and landed the PFA Young Player of the Year Award in April. He also broke into the England team and scored on his international debut. The accolades for him are many but, for Tottenham, Kane epitomises the direction the club is going and heads a queue of youngsters keen to be a success under Pochettino. Danny Rose, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Eric Dier round out the top-five.
An ultimately underwhelming season did see some jubilant results – a 5-3 win over Champions Chelsea topping the list – and a League Cup final, but a late push for fourth proved superficial. Meanwhile a plethora of pricey imports have been found out. Emmanuel Adebayor, Younes Kaboul, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches, Benjamin Stambouli, Federico Fazio, Moussa Dembele, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado have all had forgettable campaigns.
Matt Le Tissier’s star player: Harry Kane
“Harry Kane is their player of the season by an absolute mile, there’s no debating it. Hugo Lloris is very consistent and if they can keep him this summer they’ve done well.”
Quotes of the season
“We need time to improve, stamp our philosophy and change the mentality. You have to be brave to give young players the possibility to play. You need to take a risk” - Mauricio Pochettino
“I feel the fittest and in the best shape I've ever felt. In pre-season there were double sessions and the gaffer did a lot of work getting us fit. At times you were pushing yourself to the limit, but we're seeing the benefit.” - Harry Kane
“Many times I wanted to give up; ask my sister how many times I was ready to commit suicide. I kept these stories for years but, if I die, no-one would know my story and no-one would learn from it.” - Emmanuel Adebayor
Stats of the season
- Harry Kane became the first Tottenham player to score 30 goals in a season since Gary Lineker in 1992 and the first player during the Premier League era to do so.
- Spurs have conceded as many goals this season as relegated Burnley (53), but scored more than any other team outside the top four (58)
- Tottenham have played more games across all competitions than any other team in the Premier League this season (56)
Matt Le Tissier’s view
“As soon as Tottenham get in front and start believing in themselves, they suddenly start to become really negative, and it’s a problem they’ve had at the club for a while I think and it’s been there all too often this season. There’s been the odd flicker from Chadli and Eriksen but there’s not been a lot of good campaigns from individuals, Kane aside. In all honesty, I expect at least 10 players to be leaving Spurs this summer – it’s another re-building job.”
