Fighting relegation could not have been further away from Spurs' aspirations this time last year, after winning the Europa League and hiring Thomas Frank.
The harsh reality was that it took victory on the final day to retain their Premier League status, on the back of a torrid 12 months. While the inquest into who is to blame will continue for some time yet, one thing is certain: in 2026-27, there can be no mention of the ‘R' word again.
The feeling among fans is that it surely can't get any worse than finishing 17th twice in succession (Mick McCarthy meme notwithstanding), so there are reasons for optimism.
Surely it is only up from here for Spurs?
Fortunately, Spurs' finances were still in good shape having avoided the drop, and they moved quickly to add players to their squad. Marcos Senesi is among the top flight's best centre-backs and Jan Paul van Hecke a reliable partner for him, while Andy Robertson will maintain standards.
Midfielder Mateus Fernandes then arrived from West Ham for £85m, a club record fee quickly eclipsed when a deal was agreed to bring in Sandro Tonali for £100m. Roberto De Zerbi can now shape a new squad. The miracles that the Italian boss worked in turning around Spurs' season cannot be underestimated, and the time he'll get on the training pitch should set up Spurs to climb into the top half, at least – ideally before a very spicy May schedule.
The Coach
If Roberto De Zerbi's first few months are anything to go by, this season could be far more entertaining for Spurs fans (in a good way). Galvanising an underperforming team was an impressive opening act, and even his combustible nature is preferable to drab pragmatism.
Key Player
Before injury ended his season in January, Mohammed Kudus was providing the sort of game-changing moments his side needed, and subsequently missed. Was he consistent? No, but the Ghanaian is brilliant in 1v1 situations and can benefit from De Zerbi's style of play.
Last Season's Results
PREMIER LEAGUE: 17th
FA CUP: Third Round
LEAGUE CUP: Fourth Round
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Last 16
Top Scorer
Richarlison bagged 12 goals in all competitions for his Spurs side last season.
Lessons From Last Year
Build a squad big enough to deal with injuries and a busy schedule. Not having European football this season is arguably no bad thing for Spurs, who have faced an injury crisis like no other over the past two years. But with that comes the expectation of a deep cup run, where midweek changes cannot reduce the overall quality of the XI.
Most Likely To...
Continue their tradition of taking points from Manchester City while struggling to get anything from the North London Derby. They've picked up just one point from their last eight Premier League matches against Arsenal – they must do better, if only to make their rivals' title charge a bit more difficult.
Least Likely To...
Consistently sell out their stadium. The relationship between the club and the fans has been damaged – a few signings won't fix that. The away support is fantastic, but convincing fans to buy the league's second-most expensive season ticket – after three wins there – is a big ask. At least tourists love it…
View From The Stands
Words by: TOM HAYWARD
Last season was utterly embarrassing, pathetic, cowardly – take your pick.
This season will be different because Roberto De Zerbi has earned the right to a very strong summer, by saving us from financial and reputational ruin with a mid-table Championship squad to pick from. Can he now build on what he cultivated in two months?
Our key player will be James Maddison. I hope he can return to his best level. We badly missed his quality and character.
Look out for young striker Will Lankshear. He had a decent season on loan in the Championship, and there's an opening for a homegrown hitman to make a hero of himself…
The opposition player I'd love here is Morgan Rogers – absolute class.
I won't be happy unless we sign three or four attackers. The quality and availability of last term's forward options might have been our worst in the Premier League era.
Fans think our owners are incompetent, at best.
A social media account to follow is Change For Tottenham (CFT), AKA @ChangeForSpurs, which is a fan group dedicated to holding owners ENIC to account for the first time.
The ground I'm least looking forward to visiting is the Emirates. No league wins there in 16 years is unacceptable.
Our biggest grudge match will be against anyone and everyone who wanted us to go down last season – so they're all on our list.
We'll finish 8th.
Fixtures
AUGUST
22 Brentford (A)
29 Newcastle (H)
SEPTEMBER
5 Nott'm Forest (A)
12 Everton (H)
19 Aston Villa (H)
OCTOBER
10 Man United (A)
17 Coventry (H)
24 Chelsea (A)
31 Crystal Palace (H)
NOVEMBER
7 Leeds (A)
21 Ipswich (H)
28 Sunderland (A)
DECEMBER
2 Fulham (H)
5 Arsenal (H)
12 Hull City (A)
19 Liverpool (A)
26 Bournemouth (H)
30 Brighton (H)
JANUARY
2 Man City (A)
6 Fulham (A)
16 Leeds (H)
23 Crystal Palace (A)
30 Sunderland (H)
FEBRUARY
6 Ipswich (A)
10 Man City (H)
20 Brighton (A)
27 Liverpool (H)
MARCH
3 Bournemouth (A)
13 Nott'm Forest (H)
20 Everton (A)
APRIL
10 Brentford (H)
17 Newcastle (A)
24 Hull City (H)
MAY
1 Arsenal (A)
8 Chelsea (H)
15 Coventry (A)
23 Man United (H)
30 Aston Villa (A)
Title Odds
Tottenham Hotspur to win the Premier League title odds: 50/1
FFT Verdict
FourFourTwo verdict: Tottenham Hotspur to finish 8th.
The improvement in performances following De Zerbi's late arrival was remarkable, so imagine what he can do with a pre-season and better, fitter players at his disposal. That's the theory, anyway…
This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.
