The new season heralds the true start of a new era at Tottenham: ‘AngeBall’ is here.
The hope is that new head coach Ange Postecoglou will return the club to their traditions of entertaining football, blooding young players and, crucially, winning silverware after Antonio Conte's tenure turned sour.
The start of Postecoglou's rebuild has been overshadowed by Bayern Munich's attempts to sign Harry Kane.
But their performances in pre-season offer reasons for encouragement ahead of the big kick-off at Brentford on Sunday.
Here, Standard Sport Tottenham correspondent Dan Kilpatrick previews Spurs 2023-24 campaign...
What has changed in 11 weeks?
Fans are back in a place of cautious optimism under a boss who finally feels a good fit. The squad has been refreshed with intriguing signings, notably James Maddison, but there is still work to do to in the window.
Transfer business
Much depends on Harry Kane’s future, which now seems to lie with Bayern Munich. But Spurs have otherwise done encouraging business. In Maddison, they finally have an heir to Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, while goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and Micky van de Ven strengthen the back line. On outgoings, though, progress has been painfully slow.
Tactic to look for
Attacking! It sounds novel, but under Ange Postecoglou Spurs will get on the ball and have a go. He demands his side play out from the back, press hard to win back possession and never stop trying to score. It promises to be fun and, at least at first, chaotic.
It is a big season for
Everyone. But, to name just one player, Richarlison. The Brazilian may have the daunting task of filling Kane’s shoes, despite a disappointing first season at Spurs, in which he scored just one League goal after joining from Everton for £60million. Even if Kane stays, Richarlison has work to do to prove he is not another expensive Spurs flop.
Success would be… A trophy, obviously, and-or a top-four finish, but rebuilds are hard, so top-six and a domestic cup run would probably count as a success. Again, a lot depends on Kane, but more than anything most fans want to enjoy watching their team and will forgive patchy results if they see clear evidence of progress and methodology.
Failure would be... Even with signs of progress, another season finishing outside the European places and failing to win a cup would probably constitute a failure given the quality at Postecoglou's disposal, regardless of whether Kane stays. The last manager to complete a full campaign for Spurs was Mauricio Pochettino, way back in 2018-19, so they desperately need Postecoglou to buck that trend.
