By no means have Tottenham Hotspur had a bad season. They are likely to finish in sixth place on the Premier League table for 2014 2015-the same slot they occupied last year-and have scored more goals along the way. They even managed a marquis 5-3 victory over Chelsea on New Year's Day, a fireworks spectacle of a match that will stand as one of the most definitive contests of the entire 2014 2015 campaign.
However, despite the progress that new manager Mauricio Pochettino has made this season, the Spurs still have many of the same woes they had 12 months ago. For instance, they didn't get any closer to qualifying for the Champions League, were eliminated from the Europa League in the round of 32, bowed out of the FA Cup early, and lost the League Cup final to Chelsea. In other words, the wearers of the Tottenham Hotspur away jersey 2014 2015 got close to greatness plenty of times, but have mostly watched it elude them.
With that in mind, we put together a list of Three Ways Tottenham Hotspur can improve upon their 2014 2015 performance to pave the way for a better run in 2015 2016.
- Hold on to Harry Kane
The brightest spot for Tottenham Hotspur's 2014 2015 has undoubtedly been Harry Kane, who had his breakout season this year. The striker has led the club with 20 goals in the Premier League and 30 overall. He's been instrumental in numerous victories-including the New Year's Day match against Chelsea, where he netted two of the Spurs' five goals. He will also likely end the soccer season in second place on the 2014 2015 Premier League's list of top goalscorers, behind only Manchester City's Sergio Aguero.
Needless to say, Kane has been the primary reason the Spurs did as well as they did in 2014 2015, and his departure could set the football club back to square one. Bottom line? Tottenham Hotspur need to figure out a way to keep Kane in the Spurs soccer jersey for at least a little longer-even with rumors swirling that Manchester United wants to pay handsomely for the 21-year-old striker.
- Get some new blood on the defensive lineup
With Harry Kane providing a star-making performance, and the Spurs scoring more goals overall this year than they scored in 2013 2014, it doesn't make sense that the soccer club's record is actually worse than it was last year. That is, until you look at Tottenham's defensive statistics for the 2014 2015 football campaign.
In the EPL this year, Hotspur have conceded 53 goals. That's at least nine more than any other football club in the top 10, and as many as a few teams that are actually facing relegation. The Spurs have also only have six clean sheets this season-not so good when the top teams in the division are only conceding goals in about two-thirds of their matches. Clearly, Hotspur's defensive line needs to be revamped and injected with some new talent. That's where Pochettino should focus the majority of his energies during the summer transfer season. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris might also need to be reduced in his role, since he's clearly not doing his job as effectively as he should be.
- Unload the dead weight
Part of Tottenham Hotspur's problem-not just in 2014 2015, but over the past few seasons as well-has been expensive, high-profile signings that just didn't pan out the way they were supposed to. The most obvious example, of course, is striker Roberto Soldado.
In 2013, the Spurs paid a £26million transfer fee to bring in Soldado from Valencia, following a 46-app, 30-goal performance from the Spaniard during the 2012 2013 season. At Tottenham, Soldado hasn't even justified half of what the Spurs paid to bring him onboard. In 71 fixtures over the past two seasons, the 29-year-old has only scored 16 goals for Hotspur (including just one EPL goal this season). The club would be better off calling up and developing youth talent than keeping this type of dead weight onboard, and with Bayer Leverkusen reportedly showing interest in Soldado, it might be time for Tottenham to cut their losses and unload the disappointing striker.
All told, the Spurs have a talented squad and a manager who is clearly making (most of) the right moves to drive improvement and growth. In order to prepare for a better campaign in 2015 2016, though, a few changes need to be made, and the above moves might be the start to getting Tottenham back into the Premier League top three. Root for the team and celebrate the end of the current football season, with a new Tottenham Hotspur away jersey 2014 2015 or home jersey from Soccer Box.
