The End of The Cycle for Tottenham

Spurs so far this season have been quite disappointing if not very underwhelming. They sit in 9th position in the Premier League table after eight with over 11 points, four points away from the relegation zone and fifteen points away from leaders Liverpool. Though it is unlikely that they will finish mid-table at the end of the season, their form doesn't give any sign of encouragement and has been since the start of the calendar year.

Mauricio Pochettino stated that if he would leave Spurs after potentially winning the Champions League after leading Spurs to the Final. They eventually lost the game 2-0 to Liverpool and while it was a remarkable achievement for Spurs to reach the Final, that was the highest ceiling Poch could take with that Spurs team, particularly after a poor end to the 2018/19 season were they narrowly made it into the top four.

Their performances so far this season haven't been great to say this is just a blip. Aside from a strong display against Crystal Palace, they were fortunate in their wins against Aston Villa and Southampton, were second best against Manchester City but managed to get a point, dropped points from winning positions against Olympiacos and Arsenal and lost heavily to Brighton and Bayern Munich. Conceding ten goals in those two games.

Now, everyone is partly responsible from Daniel Levy to Pochettino to the players but this looks like the eye of this team's cycle. Teams usually go through cycles in building a team that can be sustained for three to five years. That involves evolution of the team in their playing style, tactics, etc. For Spurs, this cycle has been going on for five to six years.

To put this into context, Jürgen Klopp's first game against Spurs in October 2015 consist of only four players who are still at the club. For Spurs, the number is eight with Kyle Walker, Moussa Dembélé and Nacer Chadli players who have left North London. The motivation to continue will eventually wine down after near misses from the failed title race in 2016, finishing 2nd in 2017 and the Champions League Final last June.

With the likes of Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld out of contract next year, an ageing backline, a lack of motivation from the players and manager to continue on, Spurs have gotten themselves in this position they are in. They are still a good squad but it has ran it's course.