Tottenham Hotspur entered 2024 on an impressive run of four wins from five games. They were back on track, after injuries to Micky van de Ven and James Maddison ground their momentum to a halt in November 2023… or so it seemed.
Spurs struggled to match their blistering start to the 2023-24 season and became frustratingly inconsistent. They narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League but the signs suggested they were heading in the right direction under Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham signed Dominic Solanke for a club-record fee of £65million in the summer to upgrade a key position on the pitch and he has been an instant success along with 18-year-old Archie Gray who has impressed in the unfamiliar role of centre-back. However, a relentless injury crisis means it now feels like they did not strengthen enough in the transfer window.
As we approach the midway point of the campaign, Postecoglou’s side continue to impress and bewilder their fanbase in equal measure. For every emphatic victory over Manchester City or Aston Villa, there have been dismal defeats to Crystal Palace or Ipswich Town.
They end the year still in three cup competitions, but having just lost at Nottingham Forest, then drawn at home to Wolves.
Here is The Athletic’s breakdown of 2024 and a look ahead at what is to come over the next 12 months.
Best moment
Last month’s stunning 4-0 win against Manchester City at the Etihad will live long in the memory. Pep Guardiola’s side are in turmoil but that should not take anything away from such an impressive performance.
James Maddison was sensational throughout, Guglielmo Vicario played the entire second half with a broken bone in his right foot while Erling Haaland could not find a way past the makeshift centre-back partnership of Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies. Spurs calmly moved the ball around at the back and lured Man City’s players forward before they punched holes in the midfield with crisp passes. When Brennan Johnson scored in stoppage time, Postecoglou raised his first triumphantly in the air. For the second time in a few weeks, he masterminded victory over the champions.
Worst moment
When Tottenham beat Aston Villa 4-0 in March, it felt like they were in complete control of the race for fourth place and the final Champions League spot. Villa had been humbled in front of their own fans and looked beaten even before John McGinn’s red card in the second half.
What nobody expected was for Spurs to then suffer a 3-0 defeat at Fulham less than a week later. That game represented the start of a collapse which saw them lose six of their final 11 games. They stumbled over the finishing line and ended up two points behind Aston Villa. Instead of coming up against Bayern Munich and Juventus in the Champions League they would have to be content with trips to Ferencvaros and Rangers in the Europa League.
There have been some particularly painful results in the last couple of months, but that week — from Villa Park on Sunday to Craven Cottage the next Saturday — was perhaps the first glimpse of the wild inconsistency that has dogged Spurs this season.
Best game
We have already mentioned the 4-0 victory over Manchester City so let’s go for something different. October’s win at Manchester United was Postecoglou’s first away to one of the big six, but for pure entertainment and drama it’s tough to look beyond the 4-3 League Cup quarter-final victory over the same opponents.
Spurs looked to have swept aside United again, racing into a 3-0 lead even quicker than they had at Old Trafford, but this time there was a sting in the tail. Or maybe a couple.
With stand-in keeper Fraser Forster struggling to play out from the back, United were gifted two comical goals and things suddenly got extremely tense.
Even Son scoring directly from a corner in the 88th minute wasn’t the end of the drama, with Jonny Evans nodding in to inject yet more chaos into the final minutes of added time. But Spurs held on to set up the first big game of 2025 against Liverpool in the first leg of a League Cup semi-final.
Best player
Kulusevski rotated between a few different positions last season. The 24-year-old would function as an emergency striker, a right winger or an attacking central midfielder depending on what Postecoglou required. He would even perform multiple roles during the same game.
He needed to find somewhere to settle and since the second week of the season he has been phenomenal as a No 8. Kulusevski’s ability to glide past opponents creates space for his team-mates to exploit. It is incredibly difficult to steal the ball from the Sweden international and his running capacity is ridiculous. Nine direct goal contributions in 19 games underlines that he is Tottenham’s best and most influential player right now. If you still don’t believe us, this piece should prove it.
The stat that sums up 2024
Spurs finished the calendar year in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 2008-09. Back then Juande Ramos had been sacked by mid-October after they failed to win any of his last eight league games in charge.
Favourite quote
“Are you not entertained?” Postecoglou asked Sky Sports’ Patrick Davison after that thrilling League Cup win over Manchester United.
Yes, Ange, we were. And not for the first time.
Did that really happen?
Tottenham were heading towards an embarrassing exit in the third round of the Carabao Cup for the second year in a row. Coventry City were leading 1-0 in the 88th minute and Spurs looked bereft of ideas. Postecoglou threw on Maddison, Son and Kulusevski in search of an equaliser but Coventry remained on top. Then Kulusevski poked the ball into the box and Djed Spence came out of nowhere to prod it past Ben Wilson. A couple of minutes later, Brennan Johnson scored on the counter to seal a dramatic comeback.
After underwhelming loan spells with Leeds United and Genoa last season, it felt like Spence was destined to leave in the summer, yet he became an unlikely hero that night in August. He may have had to wait until December to make his first start, but recent signs suggest the Djed Spence redemption arc will continue into 2025, despite that unfortunate red card at the City Ground.
Player to watch in 2025
After becoming the youngest player to represent Spurs in the Premier League when he came off the bench against Manchester City in May at the age of 16 years and 277 days, Mikey Moore has received even more first-team exposure this season. He has started a couple of times in the Europa League and made his full top-flight debut in the 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in October. A nasty virus has temporarily halted the 17-year-old’s progress but expect him to shine on his return.
A wish for 2025
It would be nice to head into an international break following a win instead of a defeat and for Solanke to score goals at the rate his performances merit. The real answer though is for Micky van de Ven to avoid any more pesky hamstring injuries which have such a significant impact on how the team performs.
(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)