Tottenham Hotspur Season Preview: Top six and cup silverware would be big achievements

Talented young boss Mauricio Pochettino is set to be a hit at Tottenham this season and beyond

Don't expect Tottenham to be challenging for top league honours this season says Mike Norman, but that doesn't mean that the Lilywhite won't make progress under extremely talented young boss Mauricio Pochettino...

Last Season

It's difficult to sum up Tottenham's 2013/14 season in a few hundred words but we'll try. Gareth Bale's pre-season move to Real Madrid made worldwide news, and attracted a world record transfer fee, while Andre Villas-Boas - or at least someone at the club - spent over 100m on the not-so-magnificent seven.

Despite goals being in short supply Spurs started well, though a surprise 0-3 home loss to West Ham in early October set the alarm bells ringing. It wasn't long before AVB was under immense pressure, and it wasn't long before he was out of work following 6-0 and 5-0 thrashings at the hands of Manchester City and Liverpool respectively. In came Tim Sherwood on an 18-month contract, that was duly terminated after six months with Tottenham finishing sixth in the Premier League.

The cup competitions brought little success neither. A defeat to north London rivals Arsenal meant an early exit in the FA Cup while it was the Hammers once again who triumphed at White Hart Lane in the League Cup. And as for the Europa League, well, does anyone care? All in all it was a strange season for Tottenham, one that had the end of season report card saying 'must do better'.

Ins and Outs

It's been incredibly low key so far for Tottenham with no significant departures and only goalkeeper Michael Vorm, left-back Ben Davies, and defensive midfielder Eric Dier arriving at the Lane, the latter two signings clearly being made with one eye on the future. So undoubtedly the biggest arrival at Tottenham is former Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino. See below.

Manager

In his 18 months in charge at St Mary's former Espanyol boss Pochettino made a big impression, most notably for guiding the Saints to their highest ever Premier League finish of eighth last season, while at the same time giving talented youngsters a chance to establish themselves in the first team. Given the signings of Davies (21) and Dier (20) we can expect more of the same at Tottenham from the 42-year-old Argentine.

In fact for a Spurs squad brimming with players under the age of 25 the future looks promising under a manager who clearly believes that if you're good enough then you're old enough.

Pochettino likes to play an attackting style of football, instructing his full-backs to get forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation, so expect plenty of entertainment and goals whenever Tottenhan are in action, and expect Pochettino to become a firm favourite at White Hart Lane.

Expectations

It's safe to say that the majority of Spurs fans rarely expect too much from their team and that will probably be the case ahead of this season. Yes, some will expect a serious challenge for a Top 4 Finish - for which they can be backed at 4.84/1 - and undoubtedly they'll get one. But Tottenham will probably fall just short again, and that's more than likely what most of the Spurs faithful really expect.

But they can also expect progress under Pochettino in terms of stability (as long as Mr Levy doesn't intervene), possibly a decent cup run, but most importantly a lot of hope for the seasons ahead.

Best Bet

Wherever Tottenham and Everton finish this season I don't expect there to be many points and many places between the two clubs. Both have excellent young managers at the helm and both have squads that boast a lot of emerging talent. The Toffees finished three points ahead of Spurs last season and it could easily be the same again this time around.

In other words, I'd have both Tottenham and Everton at the same price in a Season Match Bet, so that fact that the north London club are strong favourites at 1.748/11 I'd have to recommend a lay.

Value Bet

You have to look to the cup competitions if you believe Spurs will challenge for silverware this season. They are the early 14.013/1 favourites to win the Europa League which doesn't interest me one bit, so look instead to the Sportsbook price of 13.012/1 about them lifting the Capital One Cup.

They are a similar price to lift the FA Cup but given the tendency for the big clubs to field weak teams in the Capital One Cup, if Pochettino wants some silverware in his first season then this is the one to aim for.