After a tumultuous 2022/23 season at Tottenham Hotspur, the club hired manager Ange Postecoglou to restore calm and get the club heading in the right direction again.
The Australian arrived in London on the back of a hugely successful spell with Scottish Premiership giants Celtic and was eager to make an impression.
Postecoglou made a fairytale start, guiding Spurs to the top of the Premier League after ten games. He instilled an ultra-attacking style of play that charmed fans, and they genuinely believed they could mount a title challenge based on their early results.
Football fans in Australia watched with keen interest, hoping to see one of their own succeed in the English top flight. His involvement at Spurs also sparked a surge in betting activity in his home nation.
New betting apps in Australia were inundated with wagers on Tottenham claiming their first league title since 1961, but the bookmakers ultimately came out on top.
Opposition teams targeted their high backline and Tottenham drifted out of the title race. Punters who placed a saver on them finishing in the top four were also scuppered at the end of the season.
Aston Villa pipped them to the fourth Champions League spot, yet Tottenham fans and Aussie bettors have plenty of cause for optimism if Postecoglou makes the right moves for next season.
Postecoglou Must Resolve Tottenham’s Defensive Issues
The Chelsea match in November was undoubtedly a turning point for Postecoglou as it exposed some sizeable flaws in his ambitious tactics.
Postecoglou urged his team to pour forward despite being down to nine men. His defenders planted themselves on the halfway line, but Chelsea took full advantage to claim a 4-1 win.
His bullish style can come off as naive at times. Postecoglou must refine his tactics to maintain their attacking threat while shoring up the defence to avoid these vulnerabilities.
The former Australia national team head coach also needs to get his side to defend set-pieces better.
Tottenham had a woeful record at set-pieces towards the end of the season, even though their manager insists he will not hire a specialist coach.
Only five teams conceded more goals from corners in the Premier League last season than Tottenham (nine).
Teams loaded the box when they played Spurs, crowding goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. The Italian struggled to deal with these situations.
Tottenham Need Attacking Reinforcements
Tottenham’s title challenge began to crumble when creative maestro James Maddison suffered an injury against Chelsea in November and he was ruled out until January.
Maddison had led the league in assists before the ankle ligament injury derailed his momentum. Spurs must bring in another number ten to provide competition and take the creative mantle from the England international when he is injured or off-form.
Spurs have been linked with a move for Sunderland attacking midfielder Jobe Bellingham but would be wise to pursue a more established player.
Morgan Gibbs-White has been linked with the club and would be an excellent signing. The Nottingham Forest star is a Premier League-ready option waiting to make the step up.
Spurs must also fill the Harry Kane void they failed to plug last summer when the striker departed for Bayern Munich. Chairman Daniel Levy did not sign a replacement when Kane left last summer, forcing Postecoglou to utilise captain Heung-min Son in the centre-forward role.
The South Korean delivered some brilliant performances, but he did not offer the same centre-forward presence as Kane.
Richarlison should be sold to make way for a more potent centre-forward. Santiago Gimenez and Ivan Toney are reportedly on their shortlist.
Spurs also need another winger on the right flank, with Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson failing to live up to expectations.
Their midfield needs strengthening, particularly with several of last season’s regular options facing uncertain futures at the club.
Postecoglou did reasonably well to guide Tottenham to a fifth-place finish last season, but building on that will not be an easy task.
If he is prepared to tweak his tactics and the club makes the necessary improvements to the squad, Tottenham should be in the mix to claim a top four spot.
However, challenging for the Premier League title will likely be too much to ask for a club which has a long way to go to match reigning champions Manchester City.