Spurs Running Thin

Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 against Manchester United on Sunday at Wembley, losing the opportunity to cut the gap from Liverpool to six points. Things have now gone bad to worst with striker Harry Kane out of action till March 28th an ankle ligament injury with Son Heung-Min also unavailable as he has now gone for the Asian Cup with South Korea. While many would say it's Spurs, they always choke, Spurs have gone really well this season but they're facing the consequences of having a very thin squad fighting in different fronts.

Everyone knows Spurs have a fantastic starting XI with Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Harry Kane as their spine for about three seasons now. Under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs have notion that they have a soft spot, finishing in the top three for three straight seasons and having their highest points tally in Premier League history with 86 points in 2016/17, which is good to win the league in 15/16 and 10/11 of the past decade.

This season, they have remained very consistent with 48 points in 22 games but have Liverpool and Manchester City above showing how good the Lilywhites have become under Poch but are well punching above their weight. Spurs do not have the squad depth that the top 2 have. Manchester City have played a good chunk of the season without Kevin De Bruyne and Benjamin Mendy and they don't look like they have missed them that much while Liverpool now have the depth with Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Këita called up when required.

Spurs unfortunately don't have that luxury and it feels like it was a lost opportunity for Spurs to make a strong title challenge this season with no player signed in during the summer and it's unlikely they will find someone in January. Some say it improves the team chemistry and while that is true, no side has won the Premier League without making heavy investment in the transfer market.

The stadium fiasco have not helped matters as Spurs are unlikely to move in this season and have spent over budget which is down to Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy, who is very tight with Spurs finances in spending and player wages. If Spurs had a transfer window that Liverpool had in the summer, many would be talking Spurs winning the title instead of Liverpool as they needed to get a good backup to Harry Kane and a quality central midfielder that can drive the ball forward to start attacks.

Criticism towards Spurs and Pochettino is quite unfair and they have big games coming up with the EFL Cup semifinal second leg, the FA Cup, their Premier League game against Chelsea and the Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund within the next six to eight weeks with little break in-between. Poch has taken this team as far as he can go but there's still that what if and it does look like the camel's back is cracked.