Tottenham Hotspur Season Review: What a Difference a Year Makes
In 1959, American singer Dinah Washington released her career-defining version of the song, ‘What a Diff’rence a Day Makes!’.
Lamenting the storms of yesterday whilst appreciating the beauty of the here and now, no song has better encapsulated how life can change in an instant.
Football is no exception to this idea; many of the game’s greatest stories have been defined by radical, almost overnight changes in fortune.
17 years since a major trophy and many Tottenham Hotspur fans are wondering whether their fortunes will ever change.
Harry Kane looks on as Spurs lose in the 2019 Champions League final
Their managers have puzzled at this too.
Antonio Conte, perhaps most emphatically, had his own theory as to why the forecast has been so bleak in North London.
It was 64 years since Washington’s hit single was released, and an almighty storm was brewing on the south coast of England. The final whistle had blown at St Mary’s and Spurs manager Antonio Conte had already disappeared down the tunnel.
From being 3-1 up, a late penalty had consigned Tottenham to a draw at Southampton, a result inciting the Italian to condemn his club in a manner rarely seen before in the Premier League.
He said: “Tottenham’s story is this – 20 years there is this owner and they never won something. Why?
“If they want to continue in this way, they can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me.”
Conte looks on as his team throws away a 3-1 lead
Unsurprisingly, Spurs did change the manager soon after this press conference. Conte left the club by mutual consent on the 27th of March, exactly two weeks after it was announced that Rehanne Skinner had been removed from her post as the Spurs women’s team manager.
Despite a record fifth place finish in the 2021/22 season, nine straight league defeats in 2023 forced Spurs to move in a different direction, with Skinner paying the price.
Conte’s words divided the fan base. Some fans interpreted them as the rantings of a beleaguered manager desperately trying to save face whilst others praised his honesty and frankness in a heroic final act of managerial martyrdom.
Just over a year has passed since this now infamous outburst. The curtain has since come down on the 2023/24 WSL and Premier League season, so what difference has a year made?
The season of change
Permanent options were sought in the summer of 2023, with Robert Vilahamn and Ange Postecoglou chosen to lead the women’s and men’s teams respectively.
Recent years had seen a departure from the attacking style of play that fans consider a core part of Tottenham’s culture, a change that Levy seemed determined to address in that summer.
Conte had directly attacked Levy in his explosion of anger in Southampton, so the under-pressure chairman had to ensure his next move was the right one.
Speaking to Football London when he was first appointed, Vilahamn said: “My last interview was with Daniel Levy.
“It was mainly about making sure the women’s team is something we are proud of, a team that everybody can come and watch.”
Postecoglou watching the women’s team play
In Postecoglou’s first interview with the club, he said: “Football that’s exciting, that people talk about, not just the end result but also the manner in which you played your football.
“That is what is important to me.”
It was clear that Levy wanted a cultural reset across the board.
When asked about his vision for the future, Vilahamn said: “We want to be one club; we want to have one fan base.
“When the fans see our teams play, we want them to see one identity.”
The front-footed philosophy has been evident in Tottenham’s youth teams as well. Wayne Burnett’s U-21’s knocked out Chelsea in the PL2 semi-final last week, dominating the Blues in nearly every offensive metric.
The Style Council
It was clear to both Vilahamn and Postecoglou that a unified return to the ‘Tottenham way’ was integral to the club’s future.
The change in style was immediately apparent for both managers. The men’s team recorded 32 shots in Postecoglou’s first game as Spurs boss, a friendly 3-2 defeat against West Ham.
Vilahamn’s baptism of fire at Stamford Bridge saw Tottenham have 11 shots on target as the Lilywhites narrowly lost 2-1 to the eventual champions in the first game of the WSL season.
Vilahamn in his first game as Spurs manager
Despite visible changes on the grass, both managers feel there is still a way to go before their style of play is fully realised.
“There’s been no game that we have nailed the style from the first whistle.
“There have been moments, sequences where we have done it but not one complete game,” Vilahamn told the Sports Gazette last week.
The final Premier League press conference of the season saw Postecoglou praise his team’s effort in putting his ideas into practice.
He said: “I think I have got maximum effort this season, which is all a manager can ask for.”
Despite his praise, the long list of expected summer departures from the men’s team indicate that Postecoglou isn’t convinced by his squad to play the way he wants to.
Postecoglou applauds the fans after the final game against Sheffield United
Style over substance?
Like their male counterparts, Tottenham’s women’s team have won very little in the last twenty years.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team, the best Spurs side in the Premier League era, were defined by scintillating football and brilliant players that ultimately won nothing.
On the surface, Conte is yet to be proven wrong. In the 2023/24 season, the men’s team didn’t get beyond the third round in domestic competition and were never in serious contention for the Premier League title.
The women’s team came much closer. Reaching the FA Cup final for the first time in their history, Vilahamn’s side fell at the final hurdle as they lost 4-0 to Manchester United.
Vilahamn watches on as his team prepares for their first ever FA Cup final
Both sides recorded improved final league positions, with the men finishing fifth and the women finishing sixth.
Summer upheaval
The summer of 2024 could be one of the biggest in Spurs’ recent history. Postecoglou inherited a patchwork squad made up of players signed by four different managers with four different styles.
The Women’s FA Cup final highlighted the disparity in squad quality between Spurs and Manchester United.
United loanee Grace Clinton swept Tottenham’s player of the year awards, amidst speculation as to whether her stay in North London will be made permanent.
Clinton speaks to the fans after the last game of the season
There is a lot of work to be done with both teams, but the skies are seemingly much sunnier over Hotspur Way.
Both teams have improved in nearly every aspect since last season. They now play an eye-catching, attacking style of football, a stark contrast to the dull, reactive approach under previous managers.
The sun shines over the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
In truth, the 2023/24 season has neither vindicated nor discredited Antonio Conte. Both teams impressed in spells but didn’t come close enough to competing for the top honours.
That being said, this wouldn’t be the first time in history that Tottenham went from also-rans to champions.
In 1959, while Washington’s Grammy-winning single was topping the charts, newly appointed Tottenham manager Bill Nicholson led the club to an impressive third-place finish in his first full season.
Only a year later, and Tottenham Hotspur would finish the season as First Division Champions and FA Cup winners.
What a difference a year could make.
