2012/2013 Season
Review:
With
Harry Redknapp’s departure at the end of the previous season, Tottenham were
left in a state of uncertainty, as the Englishman was widely considered to be
the best man for the job. The chairman, Daniel Levy, decided to take a risk on
Chelsea reject Andre Villas Boas. Considering that Chelsea paid £12 million to
get AVB out of his contract at Porto, to get him on a free is a significant
saving. AVB quickly got to work in the transfer market, bringing in Ajax’s Jan
Vertonghen, Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Lyon’s Hugo Lloris before
the start of the campaign. However, these additions failed to get Spurs off to
a good start, losing their first league game 2-1 away at Newcastle, and only
drawing their opening two home league games against weaker opposition.
With
these poor early performances, AVB secured two further signings, with Clint
Dempsey and Moussa Dembele tasked with creating and scoring more goals.
Tottenham’s league form then began to improve, with three consecutive league
wins in September, the last of which being their first win at Old Trafford in
23 years. Unfortunately, Tottenham’s European form failed to match their good
domestic performances, drawing their opening three games and leaving the Londoners
in danger of exiting the competition in the group stages. Their league form
then began to dip, as defeats at home to Chelsea and, more alarmingly, Wigan,
left Spurs a way behind the league leaders. During the poor run, Tottenham also
exited the Capital One Cup, with a Fourth Round defeat away at Norwich. Further
controversy over the destination of the goalkeeper’s jersey dominated this
period, as Brad Friedel’s early season form was keeping big money summer
signing Hugo Lloris out of the side. A poor defeat away at Manchester City and
then a horror show at rivals Arsenal seemingly made AVB’s mind up, as Lloris
became ever more preferred as the season went on.
After
the disastrous Arsenal result, Tottenham were shaken into life, and their
league form gradually began to improve. Three successive league victories,
including an important win over Liverpool, followed the derby aberration, and
they ensured progression in the Europa League, beating Panathinaikos 3-1 in the
final group stage game. During December, Spurs’ flying winger, Gareth Bale,
really began to come to the fore, with excellent performances either side of
Christmas, and a habit for scoring spectacular goals. By the turn of the year,
Tottenham sat just below the Champions League spaces, and with a very good
chance of qualifying for the competition automatically. Bales’ fantastic form
continued after the New Year, where, apart from a poor performance in the FA
Cup against Leeds United, Tottenham remained unbeaten for the whole of January,
including a heartening performance against runaway leaders Manchester United.
As the
season ticked into February, it was becoming more and more obvious that the
battle for the final two Champions League places would be between Chelsea,
Arsenal and Spurs, with all hitting good form as the season moved towards its
climax. As a result, we saw more and more dramatic results and finishes to
games, with none of the three teams able to slip up. February saw a
continuation of the good form of the previous month, and ended with a stunning
Bale goal away at West Ham to win the game 3-2. Having also claimed a two leg victory
over Lyon in the Europa League Last 32, Spurs were drawn against old foes Inter
Milan in the Round of 16. Firstly though, they had to negotiate a crunch derby
game at home to Arsenal, and one that could have a significant impact on the
top 4 places. A tight first half exploded into life with two Spurs goals in the
space of three minutes, as firstly Bale and then Aaron Lennon put the Lily
Whites in a commanding position. Per Mertesacker headed in from a corner to
reduce the arrears for the Gunners, and precipitated a grandstand finish, in
which Arsenal poured forward in search of an equaliser. It never came, and
Spurs held on to strengthen their grip on 4th place.
After a
brilliant 3-0 victory over Inter at home, Spurs travelled to Milan knowing that
only exceptional circumstances would see them eliminated from the Europa League.
Unfortunately, without the injured Gareth Bale, Spurs were poor throughout,
ending up being fortunate to make it to extra time. An Emmanuel Adebayor goal
gave Spurs a priceless away goal, leaving Inter unable to respond.
Nevertheless, a shock for AVB and his side, reminding them that they cannot
afford to take their foot off the gas. April turned into a very damaging month
for the Lily Whites, going out of the Europa League at the hands of FC Basle,
and dropping valuable points in the race for fourth, handing momentum back to
Arsenal. Three wins out of their four remaining games was not sufficient to see
Spurs into the Champions League, missing out once again on the final day to
their great rivals. Reminiscent of the end of the 2006 season, where Spurs were
unable to field a full side due to a mysterious intestinal illness, leaving
Arsenal clear to take the final Champions League spot.
Overall,
a successful but disappointing season. AVB has clearly continued when Redknapp
left off, only narrowly missing out on Champions League competition. Whilst
they had a good chance to win the Europa League, their league form has been
encouraging, and in Gareth Bale, they have arguably the third best footballer
on the planet.
Player of the Season:
Gareth Bale – The Welshman’s most successful season to date. His pace,
dribbling and ability to score truly outstanding goals has made him an
incredibly valuable asset to the Spurs side. This season in particular, he has
at times carried this side, picking up points almost single-handedly. Having
failed to deliver Champions League football, I fear for Tottenham attempting to
keep the winger, as there are many that are looking for his signature.
Game of the Season: West
Ham 2-3 Tottenham – An enthralling game, which swayed first one way, then the
other, as Tottenham took an early lead through Bale, before a clumsy Scott
Parker challenge gave Andy Carroll the chance to level the scores from the
spot. A chance he took, and momentum swung wholly in the Hammers favour when
Joe Cole drilled a shot past Lloris to turn the game on its head. A valiant
Tottenham fighback ensued, with Gylfi Sigurdsson levelling with quarter of an
hour to play. This led to an incredibly open final ten minutes, with both sides
going for the victory. With time running out, Gareth Bale received the ball a
full 30 yards from goal, and unleashed an unstoppable drive to beat the
helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen and keep Spurs in the hunt for the Champions
League.
Summer Transfer
Targets (What I Think They Need): Inevitably, the talk this summer will be
all about whether they can keep hold of Bale. If not, I fear that he will be irreplaceable.
If they do manage to keep him, only minor changes will be required to push
Spurs that couple of points forward next year. A top quality striker and left
back may be reasonable transfer targets, with David Villa and Ignazio Abate
possible signings.
Transfer Gossip
Links:
In:
Leandro Damiao (Internacional, ST), Thomas Ince (Blackpool,
RW), Roberto Soldado (Valencia, ST), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid, ST), Heung
Min Son (Hamburg, ST), Abdelaziz Barrada (Getafe, LM), Sergi Roberto
(Barcelona, LB), Miralem Pjanic (Roma, CM), David Villa (Barcelona, ST),
Alberto Botia (Sevilla, LB), Joao Moutinho (Porto, CM)
Out:
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, LM), Danny Rose
(Sunderland, RB), Emmanuel Adebayor (AS Monaco, ST), Aaron Lennon (Inter Milan,
RW)
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