Former Tottenham defender William Gallas feels the absolute best Spurs can hope for this season is fourth and he is not convinced they will manage that.
Ange Postecoglou’s side looked great as they got their season underway against Leicester on Monday night, taking a first-half lead and dominating the contest.
However, it turned out to be a frustrating evening as they couldn’t convert any more of their numerous chances and switched off at the back, allowing Jamie Vardy to equalise and secure a 1-1 draw at the King Power.
It is hardly disastrous for Tottenham, but it was annoying for their fans and Gallas feels they have more frustration to come this season.
The Frenchman is not expecting big things from Spurs, and an outside chance of grabbing fourth place is as much as they can hope for.
‘I don’t want to burst the Tottenham fans bubble, but I’m not convinced that it will be a great season for the club,’ Gallas told Genting Casino. ‘I don’t expect Tottenham to challenge for the Premier League title.
‘Every season, it is always the same thing. They always come up short. I’m looking at the squad, and, yes, I like the signing of [Dominic] Solanke. They have signed a couple of talented young players, but other than that, it is the same team as last season.
‘I haven’t seen anything that makes me think “this is a Tottenham team that is ready to fight for the title”. Maybe they can finish fourth. Maybe they will finish fifth again.
‘I think Tottenham’s season will be determined by how Ange Postecoglou wants to play and how well the squad deals with the rigours of playing every Thursday and Sunday with the Europa League.’
Gallas, who also played for Spurs’ London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, feels the element of surprise that Postecoglou’s tactics produced last season will have already worn off for this campaign.
‘The objective at the club will be to improve on last season’s fifth place finish,’ he said. ‘It’s as simple as that. I’m not sure if they will be able to do that because I still have some concerns about how Ange Postecoglou sets his team up to play.
‘Last season they surprised and startled some teams with the way they played with such a high line, I’m not sure if that will be as effective this season as managers know what to expect from Tottenham.’
On the draw at Leicester, Postecoglou said: ‘Yeah, look disappointing outcome. Very dominant first half, really wasteful in front of goal. We started the second half similar, first 15-20 minutes very dominant, wasteful, but you know at 1-0 there is always an opportunity for the opposition to come back into the game.
‘That’s what happened and we lost our way for 15 or 20 minutes. We lost our composure and the crowd got behind them, but again we finished strong.
‘Just really disappointed we lacked a little cutting edge in the front third, made some poor decisions, lacked some composure and didn’t get the reward our football deserved.’
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