It’s been a perfect run up to Christmas for Tottenham supporters in the Football Transfer Tavern, who have seen their side record three consecutive victories in all competitions.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side now sit sixth in the Premier League and have a Capital One Cup semi-final booked with Sheffield United, and a genuine possibility of a major cup final at Wembley to look forward to in the New Year.
A late winner at Swansea City was followed up with only a third home victory in the Premier League this season against Burnley meaning Tottenham fans can now head into Christmas feeling better than they would have done a month ago.
Because it has not all been plain sailing during the early part of Pochettino’s Spurs career with home form proving the most difficult obstacle to overome.
Here, we have identified five players who have perhaps let the manager and the supporters down during almost the first half of the 2014-15 season.
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Click on Mauricio Pochettino to reveal 5 Tottenham stars who’ve LET DOWN Spurs fans in 2014/15.
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Emmanuel Adebayor
Adebayor was scoring goals for fun in a Tottenham shirt during the second half of last season but he has somehow managed just one Premier League goal this term.
The Togolese forward is one of those infuriating players who can be brilliant one day and uninterested the next – and sadly for Tottenham it has been the latter so far this season.
His poor form was compounded by having a public dig at the Spurs fans who had booed the team off the pitch after another home loss. He is currently out of action, having been granted compassionate leave by the club.
Paulinho
The Brazilian international was billed as a star signing in the summer of 2013,but for whatever reason it simply hasn’t worked out for Paulinho at White Hart Lane.
He was a mainstay of the Brazil side that ultimately suffered World Cup humiliation in the summer and his form as a result may have suffered.
Pochettino clearly doesn’t rate him either, considering youngsters Nabil Bentelab and Ryan Mason are ahead of him in the pecking order at present.
A January move would not come as a surprise, with Paulinho showing no signs of improvement this season.
Jan Vertonghen
The Belgian international defender was linked with a move away from White Hart Lane in the summer and his performances since have done little to suggest he was happy he ended up staying.
Vertonghen has struggled for both form and fitness this term, and has looked a shadow of the defender that took the Premier League by storm when he arrived in the summer of 2012.
He has been vocal in his desire to play Champions League football and has looked as though he is holding out until the first available moment to join a club that features regularly amongst Europe’s elite – even though his peformances this term hardly warrant it.
Mousa Dembele
The former Fulham midfielder seems to have been progressively worse in a Tottenham shirt each season. Many predicted he may come close to rediscovering the sort of form that convinced Tottenham to pay big money for him under Pochettino but the Argentine is the third manager that has failed to get the best out of him.
Dembele has barely featured and when he has he has done little to suggest he has a future at the club. Reports suggest Pochettino has made him available for transfer this winter. Now it’s just a case of waiting to see who, if anyone, is willing to take him.
Aaron Lennon
Aaron Lennon is now considered one of the most experienced players in the Tottenham squad. But rather than leading the younger players and being one of Pochettino’s first choice players, the former England man did not make a Premier League start until late November.
Lennon has struggled to find that level of consistency that made him once one of the most exciting English prospects in the game. The 2012/13 season saw him return to that kind of level but he has been on a steady decline since – a shame when you consider he is a player you know is capable of so much more.
