The A-Z of Spurs’ season so far: Tottenham Hotspur’s season analysed ahead of AZ Alkmaar clash in the Europa League | Football News
As Spurs prepare to face AZ Alkmaar in their Europa League last-16 second leg tie, Sky Sports looks at the A to Z of Tottenham Hotspur’s season so far…
A – Ange Postecoglou
There’s been plenty of pressure on the Spurs manager. Some have questioned his position and tactics, raised the possibility of relegation – briefly – but the Australian remains the man in charge for now.
While it has been a campaign with its fair share of challenges – not all of his own making – Postecoglou does bear some of the responsibility for Spurs’ struggles this season, including a continued commitment to his playing philosophy.
B – Bouncing back
Conceding first is disheartening for any side but when it happens to Spurs, their heads tend to drop. Postecoglou’s side have conceded first on 19 different occasions this season but have only gone on to rescue points in five of these fixtures (3W, 2D and 14L).
Facing adversity and remaining level-headed is often the measure of a strong team and it is something this side lacks in abundance.
C – ‘Crisis season’
The ‘c’ word has been banded about a fair bit this season. Inconsistent and poor performances for a team who has aspirations of Champions League football and domestic silverware means even the smallest of slips can leave you struggling to catch up.
‘Crisis’ is arguably relative to the club and situation, but Tottenham Hotspur’s season has certainly been one of disappointment at the very least.
D – Defence
Goal-scoring has never been a problem for this Spurs side. They have scored 55 across their 28 outings in the top-flight, which is more than all of the top four other than league leaders Liverpool, but it is their defence which has led to their downfall this season.
They have shipped 41 goals at the opposite end of the field but that might be expected when you lose key players across the back four in Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie for large parts of the season.
E – Europa League
The last competition standing. Thursday’s second leg against AZ Alkmaar represents Spurs’ final chance at silverware.
Tottenham Hotspur comfortably finished fourth in the league phase, losing just once away to Galatasaray. It meant by-passing two extra games in the round of 32, but they will now have to overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to Alkmaar to book a place in the quarter-finals.
F – Fixture list
Compared to Postecoglou’s first season, Tottenham Hotspur’s fixture list has hugely increased this season. Not only has there been the Europa League, Spurs also went all the way to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
In the 2023/24 season, Spurs played 41 games. Already in this campaign, they have played 44 matches. Postecoglou has previously said Spurs cannot complain about playing extra games in the competitions they want to be in, but it will have impacted their season.
G – Archie Gray
One of Tottenham Hotspur’s revelations this season. When he signed for the club in July, few could have predicted he would be starting as much as he has, especially out of position at centre-back.
Of the Spurs players in the Premier League this season, he is fourth-highest for clearances and headed clearances. He also has a passing accuracy of 90.83 per cent – a flash of his experience in midfield. It offers Spurs versatility, at a time when injuries, squad depth and a relentless schedule are key factors.
H – Home form
Spurs’ home form began well, winning seven of their first eight games. Since then, form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been inconsistent. They have won just four matches there since the start of November and only once in the Premier League.
Of the 21 games Spurs played at home last season, they won 14 of them and losing the other seven.
I – Injuries
One of Spurs’ biggest issues this season. At some points, they have had up to 15 first-team players unavailable, which has had a clear impact on results and performance.
Many have pointed to Postecoglou’s commitment to ‘Angeball’ as a factor behind the absences, that the intensity of the philosophy is leading to more injuries. It will surely be something to address heading into future seasons.
J – January transfer window
The signing of Mathys Tel on loan with a £45m option to make his move permanent was a good move for Spurs, but at 19-years of age, he is still a raw talent.
Postecoglou has emphasised that patience will be needed with the forward but with Kevin Danso and Min-hyeok Yang, who was later loaned to QPR, as the only other outfield signings, is it fair to question whether or not the club did enough in the winter to salvage their season?
January is notoriously hard to deal in but with injuries mounting and the club still in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup at the time, further reinforcements were needed.
K – Knocked out
Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to reach a cup final, losing to Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. After a competitive first leg at home, the second at Anfield was a lacklustre showing in which the Reds cruised to victory. It was a whimper of an exit on what could have been a season-boosting return to Wembley.
The FA Cup was also another disappointment. For the second season in a row, Spurs were knocked out in the fourth round, this year to Aston Villa. That came after non-league Tamworth took them all the way to extra-time – another domestic cup opportunity wasted.
L – Daniel Levy
The man who is taking a lot of fan ire. While Levy has undoubtedly overseen improvements in his tenure, supporters are frustrated at a lack of silverware, success and squad depth, having last won a trophy in 2008.
There have been protests this season. A number of banners have read things such as ’24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy – Time for change’ and ‘Our Game Is About Glory, Levy’s Game is About Greed’.
While Postecoglou is the public face of a lacklustre season, Levy and the Spurs hierarchy must also bear the brunt of this campaign.
M – Mentality
Tottenham Hotspur’s last two performances show both sides of their mentality. After defeat to AZ Alkmaar last Thursday, Postecoglou said his team were not in the right mindset for the game.
But fast forward three days, and the positive side came out against Bournemouth. While conceding twice hardly illustrates the point, to come from behind for a draw shows there is fight and belief is still there. The main concern is how to have more positives than negatives.
N – Newly-promoted teams
It has been an all or nothing approach to Premier League games against the newly-promoted teams. Leicester are unbeaten in their two games against Spurs – a win and a draw – with Ipswich also beating them at home.
But Tottenham Hotspur did win 4-1 at Portman Road, and have beaten Southampton 5-0 too – the reverse fixture is coming up in early April. But with aspirations such as Spurs’, these are the games you must be winning.
O – Oh when the Spurs…
The classic adage sung by Spurs fans. But it is clear from protests and grumblings this season that supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated with how the club is run, as well as team performances.
As ever with football fans, opinions differ depending on who you talk to, but they can all agree on one thing – improvements are needed across the board to avoid another poor season next year.
P – Premier League
As things stand, Tottenham Hotspur sit 13th in the Premier League, registering more defeats (14) than wins (10) this season. The lowest Spurs have ever finished in the current iteration of the league is 15th in the 1993/94 season.
While there is no danger of relegation – they have double the number of points of Ipswich in 18th – there is going to be a fight to finish in any sort of European place, especially with teams above them also in good form.
Q – Qualification
The 2024/25 season hinges on the Europa League for Postecoglou, but even more pressure gets heaped on the situation when you consider lifting the trophy in Bilbao on May 21 is the arguably the most realistic avenue for Spurs to secure European football next season.
Recruiting the top-quality talent that is needed in the summer will be nearly impossible without offering the prospect of playing amongst Europe’s elite next season.
R – Cristian Romero
An ankle, toe and hamstring injury have completely derailed Romero’s season. A leader on the pitch and his team have suffered while he has been sidelined.
He made his return to the line-up in the recent 2-2 draw with Bournemouth and will offer a huge boost heading into the second leg of the Europa League last-16 tie against Alkmaar.
S – Heung-min Son
It has not been a vintage season for Son, but he has faced an uptick in form recently. He had only found the net four times going into December, but has been more prolific since the club triggered a one-year extension in January.
He has scored and assisted 21 times in all competitions, including his penalty against Bournemouth. Another Premier League assist would take him into double figures for the season. He remains one of Spurs’ brightest talents and their leader as club captain.
T – Trophies in Ange’s second season
After a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in September, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: “I don’t usually win things, I always win things in my second year. Nothing’s changed. I don’t say things unless I believe them.”
And he was right too. With the teams he has spent two years or more with, he has won silverware, including with Celtic and Australia’s senior and youth teams.
But losing on Thursday would bring that fairly impressive run to an end. As they say, all good things must, but it will only increase the pressure on the Spurs boss.
U – Understaffed
Football is a team game but across recent years, Spurs have had Son or Harry Kane leading the charge in the goalscoring department. With the former’s powers now waning and Kane leaving for Bayern Munich, this team have lacked a lethal goalscorer.
No player has hit double figures for goals in the Premier League, with Brennan Johnson and James Maddison tied at the top with nine each, despite Johnson missing seven games at the beginning of 2025. Summer signing Dominic Solanke – bought in as a Kane replacement – has also been in and out with injuries, further impacting Spurs’ numbers.
V – Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario
Two major absences to the spine of the team, as well as dealing with Romero. The duo have missed a total of 49 games between them, forcing the likes of Ben Davies and Gray into the centre of defence, while also thrusting new signing Antonin Kinsky and the inexperienced Brandon Austin into the limelight.
Not many teams would be able to compete without their top players, as Arsenal highlighted with the losses of Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, but injuries are a problem that seems to plague Spurs more than most. Having Guglielmo Vicario and Van de Ven back in the side could prove to be crucial as we approach the end of the season.
W – Winning
It is easier said than done but only winning 35 per cent of Premier League fixtures so far is not good enough for a club of Spurs’ quality.
There has been an upturn in results as of late, with three wins in their last five top-flight outings, but failing to beat the likes of Leicester, Wolves, Everton and Ipswich is a damning indictment of the inconsistencies plaguing this side. Find a way to win.
X – xG
The expected goals figures for Spurs paint a tantalising picture of what could have been. They sit fifth in the table going forward (46.3 xG) but fourth for the same statistic conceded at the other end (47.4 xG).
Postecoglou’s all-action approach is thrilling to watch on the best days but when it does not come off, Spurs are left vulnerable at the back and the figures highlight these problems for all to see.
Y – Youngsters
Spurs’ injury woes has given chances to some of their younger players. Gray and Bergvall have arguably benefited from the most first team minutes, but there have been other bright spots too.
Against Elfsborg in January, academy graduates Dane Scarlett, Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore all scored in a 3-0 win in the Europa League. Moore broke a 68-year-old record too – at 17 years and 172 days old, he became England’s youngest scorer in major European competition, breaking Jimmy Greaves’ record (17y) set in October 1957.
Z – Zero titles again?
An all-encompassing negative note to end on but if Spurs do fail to overcome the one-goal deficit against Alkmaar on Thursday, it will be yet another season without a trophy.
As previously noted, it is now 16 years since their last triumph and 16 managers have come and gone in an attempt to address the issue.
The problems listed above apply to the present day but Spurs have been fighting an uphill battle for years now.
