All aboard another Tottenham Hotspur rollercoaster! In this season review we are going to be taking a look at the highs and lows of the latest Spurs campaign, which saw a lot of change at the club. We’ll follow Tottenham’s story from August to May, highlighting the key matches that shaped the season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. We’ll then take a quick look at how you can attend Spurs matches next season – to witness in person the next chapter.
Tottenham’s story: Pre-season preparations
Tottenham Hotspur’s 2022-23 campaign was disappointing. Head coach Antonio Conte failed to get the best out of a very talented squad, which cost him his job in March. He was followed by Cristian Stellini, who’s temporary control was made even more temporary when he was sacked in April, allowing Ryan Mason to finish the season in charge. The eighth place finish was not good enough for a team with Spurs’ aspirations (and debt…).
In short, it was a mess. And Daniel Levy knew that he had a lot of work to do in the summer.
He got to work early – Ange Postecoglou was appointed the new head coach in early June, giving him the full summer to put his stamp on the squad. Unfortunately, the Harry Kane transfer saga dragged on for far too long, only reaching it’s conclusion on the eve of the start of the Premier League season. As such a huge part of Spurs and the way they play, the uncertainty around Kane was far from the ideal preparation for the new boss. Fortunately, the rebuilding had already begun.
Big money was spent on James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven and Radu Drăgușin – strengthening the defence and midfield. Kane’s goals would be missed, of course, but there was plenty of quality brought in – and the hope was that Son Heung Min and Richarlison would be able to help fill the Kane-shaped void.
So, onto the season proper – August, with the sun shining, perfect pitches and optimism abound.
August
Results:
Premier League
13 August 2023 Brentford 2–2 Tottenham Hotspur D
19 August 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 Manchester United W
26 August 2023 Bournemouth 0–2 Tottenham Hotspur W
League Cup
Second round Fulham 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur (Fulham won 5-3 on penalties)
The early stages of any season are difficult to predict, but with all of the upheaval at Spurs over the summer, nobody had a clue what to expect. But Spurs fans were left pleasantly surprised by, not just the results, but also the way the team was playing. Postecoglou’s style of play was gung-ho, and exciting to watch.
After a ding-dong battle with Brentford on the opening day, it all clicked in the first home match of the season, when they hosted Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They were simply too quick, too energetic, too positive and too good for Man United. Pape Matar Sarr drilled in not long before half time, and a late own goal from Lisandro Martinez sealed the win, but those two goals only told half the story. Spurs were excellent, and very good to watch – a huge relief for Spurs fans that had become fed up with a succession of safety-first managers.
They followed this up with a decent away win at Bournemouth, in which James Maddison scored his first goal for the club and started to show what he was capable of. The disappointing EFL Cup exit, away to Fulham, ended the month on a bit of a sour note, but considering all of the unknowns going into the season, 7 points from three games was a great return.
September
Results:
Premier League
2 September 2023 Burnley 2–5 Tottenham Hotspur W
16 September 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Sheffield United W
24 September 2023 Arsenal 2–2 Tottenham Hotspur D
30 September 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Liverpool W
An even better month! A real mixed bag in terms of opponents – two of the eventual bottom three and two of the eventual top 3, but Spurs coped with everything that came their way, and shot themselves towards the top of the table.
A Son Heung Min hattrick helped see off Burnley without too many issues, which was followed by a much more stressful home win against Sheffield United. In a week in which he bravely admitted that he was seeking psychological help with personal issues, Richarlison came off the bench with Spurs trailing 1-0, heading into injury time. He got the leveller, 8 minutes into injury time, and then two minutes later laid on the winner for Dejan Kulusevski. An incredible comeback which highlighted the newfound resilience in the Spurs first team.
An excellent 2-2 draw away at Arsenal in the first North London derby of the season was then followed by a bonkers home match against Liverpool. It went down as a 2-1 win for Spurs, but there was enough in this match to write a book. Two red cards for Liverpool, a controversial (and that’s putting it mildly) disallowed goal, and then an own goal deep into injury time which handed Spurs the win. It had everything – and it was to be the most controversial match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for…well…a few weeks.
October
Results
Premier League
7 October 2023 Luton Town 0–1 Tottenham Hotspur W
23 October 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 Fulham W
27 October 2023 Crystal Palace 1–2 Tottenham Hotspur W
A clean sweep! Another fantastic month for the club, which saw them sitting at the top of the Premier League – five points clear. It had been a sensational start for the new manager, with Son netting his eighth league goal in the first three months of the season, and the team purring with energy and attacking flair. Winning and playing exciting football – it was a dream come true for fans.
November
Results
Premier League
6 November 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 1–4 Chelsea L
11 November 2023 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur L
26 November 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 Aston Villa L
It couldn’t last, though. I think it’s fair to say that another utterly incredible match, this time at home to Chelsea, knocked the wind out of their sails. Spurs had two men sent off, and most people lost count of how many VAR checks there were in the game – it was a fascinating match, but one that perhaps highlighted the limitations of the new manager. ‘Big Ange’, as he is affectionately known, refused to play a more defensive formation, despite the numerical disadvantage. So Chelsea kept coming, and, eventually, managed to take advantage of the high line Spurs were playing – which had been a huge part of the success they had had up to that point. It finished 4-1 to Chelsea, as Mauricio Pochettino tasted victory on his return to Tottenham Hotspur.
The suspensions from this, plus injuries building up, definitely impacted the next two fixtures. With no Romero or Udogie, Spurs got a taste of their own medicine, conceding two injury time goals away to Wolves to lose 2-1. This was followed up with a home defeat to Aston Villa, who had injury issues of their own. A poor month, and maybe a bit of a reality check after the impressive start to the season.
December
Results
Premier League
3 December 2023 Manchester City 3–3 Tottenham Hotspur D
7 December 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 West Ham United L
10 December 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 Newcastle United W
15 December 2023 Nottingham Forest 0–2 Tottenham Hotspur W
23 December 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Everton W
28 December 2023 Brighton & Hove Albion 4–2 Tottenham Hotspur L
31 December 2023 Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 Bournemouth W
As a month, December sorts the wheat from the chaff. It feels like there’s a game every few days, so if you come out of it with more wins than losses, you’ve done well. Spurs were really good in December.
It kicked off with a fantastic match away at Manchester City. Spurs went ahead, then found themselves behind after half an hour. They equalised, but then conceded with 9 minutes to go – and then came another of those late, late goals that they had started to make a habit of, this time from Kulusevski. 3-3 the score, and Spurs went toe to toe with the best team in the country (world?) in their own backyard. If ever more evidence was needed that Postecoglou’s brand of football was not just attractive, but also effective, this was it.
A frustrating home defeat to West Ham was followed by three wins on the trot – the most impressive against a very good Newcastle United side, who were swept aside 4-1 – a scoreline that reflected Spurs’ dominance. 2023 finished with a loss to Brighton and a home win against Bournemouth, leaving Spurs a very respectable 5th, just three points off the joint leader, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
January
Results
Premier League
14 January 2024 Manchester United 2–2 Tottenham Hotspur D
31 January 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 Brentford W
FA Cup
5 January 2024 Third round Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 Burnley W
26 January 2024 Fourth round Tottenham Hotspur 0–1 Manchester City L
The chaotic structure of Premier League fixtures meant that Spurs went from having 7 games in the competition in December, to 2 in January… A decent draw away to Man United, and a slightly nervy home win at home to Brentford, which led to a lot of dart celebrations…
While everything was going pretty well in the league, Spurs ended their involvement in other competitions in January – a narrow win against Burnley (a rare highlight in the cups) was followed by a narrow defeat against Man City. Disappointing to go out, but now they could focus fully on the push for the Champions League, which their rivals had plenty of other distractions.
February
Results
Premier League
3 February 2024 Everton 2–2 Tottenham Hotspur D
10 February 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Brighton & Hove Albion W
17 February 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers L
Three matches, and a draw, win and a defeat – very much summing up the ‘up and down’ nature of Spurs’ season. A Richarlison double (the forward had scored five in four games at this point) was cancelled out by a very late equaliser, before Spurs came from behind and got a very late winner in the next game against Brighton. That was followed by one of the most disappointing performances of the season, as Wolves completed the double over them.
March
Results
Premier League
2 March 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 Crystal Palace W
10 March 2024 Aston Villa 0–4 Tottenham Hotspur W
16 March 2024 Fulham 3–0 Tottenham Hotspur L
30 March 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Luton Town W
March began with what should have been a straightforward game at home to Palace, but Spurs made hard work of it. Trailing 1-0 with 13 minutes left of the 90, they sprang into action, scoring three times and winning comfortably in the end, 3-1. This set them up for the big game against Champions League contenders, Aston Villa. It was probably Spurs’ best performance of the season, winning at a canter as Villa seemed to self-combust. The pressure of the chase starting to get to them? Spurs had the upper hand in the race for fourth.
But then they followed it up with a thoroughly disappointing defeat to Fulham – 3-0 and it was a huge blow, following all the positivity of the previous week. The month ended with another home victory, this time against Luton, which should have been more comfortable than it ended up being.
April
Results
Premier League
2 April 2024 West Ham United 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur D
7 April 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 Nottingham Forest W
13 April 2024 Newcastle United 4–0 Tottenham Hotspur L
28 April 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 2–3 Arsenal L
Spurs were showing signs of running out of steam. Whether it was the new intense style of play taking its toll, whether teams were starting to figure out how to play against them, or whether it was injury issues, they just started to look very flat. A draw with West Ham wasn’t the worst result, and beating Forest at home was a good result, but a 4-0 thumping away at Newcastle was followed by a 3-2 defeat at home to Arsenal. This handed the initiative back to Villa in the race for fourth, and in all honesty, the squad looked done for the season.
May
Results
Premier League
2 May 2024 Chelsea 2–0 Tottenham Hotspur L
5 May 2024 Liverpool 4–2 Tottenham Hotspur L
11 May 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Burnley W
14 May 2024 Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 Man City L
19 May 2024 Sheffield United 0–3 Tottenham Hotspur W
Spurs were certainly unlucky with the fixture congestion, having to play 5 matches in the final weeks of the season due to cup involvement (not theirs!). A defeat away to Chelsea – a ground they always struggle at – seemed to seal the deal in terms of Champions League prospects. They would need something against Liverpool or Man City, which proved to be too much to ask. The Man City game, despite being the match that cemented them in fifth position, might be the one to give optimism for the future, though. Ange changed his tactics a bit for this one – they were a bit more conservative and pragmatic, and they weren’t far from getting something out of the game. A Son change late on could have levelled it up, and it showed a flexibility that we hadn’t seen much of prior to that.
A convincing win against relegated Sheffield United was a pleasant way to round off the campaign.
Spurs Season Review In Brief
The 2023-24 season was a really positive one for Spurs. There was a malaise creeping over the club from the previous years – the results hadn’t been good enough to justify the brand of football that they had been playing under Mourinho, Nunes and Conte. They needed a fresh start, and maybe Harry Kane leaving was a part of that.
Getting Ange Postecoglou was a masterstroke by Daniel Levy – it was the change of direction that was needed, and it has been embraced by the fans. For the first time in a while, it feels like the club is moving in a really positive direction. They’ll be playing in Europe again next year, which is the bare minimum Spurs fans will be expecting.
There are still a few question marks – the way the form nosedived towards the end of the second half of season is a cause for concern, but Ange has enough credit in the bank to have time and space to address that.
A lot will come down to transfer business in the summer – Spurs have the makings of an excellent squad, but there are a few pieces missing, and losing a couple of first team players really hampered them. They’re going to need a little more quality, and much more depth. Get that right, and they’ll be in a great position to compete at the top of the division.
There is plenty to be optimistic with Spurs fans, and the 2024-25 season promises to be an exciting one.
Tottenham Hotspur Tickets
If you want to be there in person to watch Spurs in the league, cups and Europe next season, then we can help you out. We can supply you with some fantastic hospitality packages at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that will not only guarantee you a seat for the match of your choice, but also give you an incredible matchday experience at one of the best stadiums in Europe. Here are a couple of packages that we think you’ll love:
Premium Experience
This is the perfect package for people that want an authentic fan experience, but with a little extra comfort. You’ll have access to the Premium tier for up to three hours before kick off, and an hour afterwards. There you will enjoy unlimited bowl food (with sweet snacks at half time) and access to the premium bars there (great drinks, small queues!). You’ll have some amazing (padded) seats to watch the game – and you may even meet a Spurs legend at some point during the day.
Stratus
Or you could go for the Stratus package – a little bit extra. You’ll receive a welcome drink on arrival, as well as a grazing buffet and a complimentary bar for the day (3 hours before and 2 hours after the match). There’s always plenty going on up there, with live entertainment and stunning views of the pitch and of London. And speaking of stunning views, when kick off rolls around, you can enjoy the game from some of the best seats in the house, in the Upper Tier. It’s an incredible package that every Spurs fan should experience at some point.
If you are interested in any of our packages, please get in touch today and our helpful team will be on hand to plan your perfect day out watching Spurs (result notwithstanding!)
