The Tottenham fanbase seems to be on a perpetual rollercoaster of emotions right now. The dramatic comeback victory at Leicester had supporters dreaming of the Champions League and praising Antonio Conte. Then the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea brought everyone back down to earth.
Results in the Premier League have been largely good since Conte took charge, but Spurs have never been too far away from a performance that demonstrated the lack of depth in the squad. Perhaps the fact that we are now in the last stages of the January transfer window, is adding to the sense of gloom and desperation, that seems to have gripped a large percentage of the fans. Once again, Tottenham go into the final week of the window having yet to have signed a single player.
If you look at the statistics, there’s no need to panic. Though seventh in the Premier League, Spurs have games in hand on all the teams in front of them and will move up to fourth if they win just one of those matches.
Tottenham have taken 21 points from a possible 30 under Conte (P10 W6 D3 L1), which averages out at 2.1 points-per-match. If they can maintain that sort of form, then a total of 36 points after 20 games, would become 73 points after 38 matches. That’s been enough to finish in the top four in each of the last three seasons.
That’s the positive spin on things. The negative would start with the fact that the points haul under Conte has been better than the performances have merited. In the remaining 18 games of the season, there are some very tough away days at the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United. Spurs also have to host their top four rivals West Ham and Arsenal.
Maintaining the current points average will be difficult. Yet with their top four rivals all struggling to find any consistency, Tottenham have a great chance of qualifying for the Champions League. Online betting companies such as Powerplay Canada rank Spurs as the fifth favourites to finish in the top four, behind Manchester United.
A lot could depend on whether Tottenham can get any business done before the end of January. It seems as if they are looking to get three players in and are just as keen to get the likes of Dele Alli, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele off the books. There is the potential for the squad to be stronger by the time that Spurs are next in action, but also for it to be weaker, further enraging the fanbase. It could be a long week….
