Minor Tweaks Not Radical Overhaul Is the Summer Blueprint for Tottenham

In the most surprising season in Premier League history, Tottenham’s involvement in the title race was not the headline event. 

Leicester City’s championship victory overshadowed Spurs’ remarkable jump from outside contenders for the Champions League places. 

Of course, Tottenham didn’t win the title. They didn’t even finish second after the catastrophic final-day defeat to already-relegated Newcastle. 

Mauricio Pochettino spent much of this past season chipping away at his team’s reputation for softness and an inability to finish the job, but the 5-1 embarrassment on Tyneside erased much of his good work. 

It was the fourth consecutive disappointment after Spurs conceded leads to draw with Chelsea (2-2) and West Brom (1-1) and lose to Southampton (2-1). 

That string of failures is cause for concern. 

The absence of Mousa Dembele in the final three games through suspension showed just how shallow Tottenham’s midfield strength really is. 

The Belgian emerged as perhaps the most important single player in the division this season; a notion underlined by the fact that Spurs did not lose a game with him playing in central midfield. 

Despite the fact that Tottenham’s Premier League title chase unravelled in such spectacular fashion, there is no cause for a radical overhaul. 

Instead, the very fact that Spurs ran Leicester closer than any other team and that they were bitterly disappointed by finishing third proves that the club is moving in the right direction. 

The only sensible conclusion to draw from Tottenham’s great leap forward this season is that the necessary …

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