It's time to rate the Tottenham Hotspur players and all three head coaches after a poor season across the four competitions the club were in
www.football.london
Tottenham Hotspur have finally closed the door on a poor season and now it's time to rate every single player and head coach that took part in it.
Spurs had three different head coaches over the season in Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and finally Ryan Mason and the club ended up with an eighth-place finish, their worst final position in 14 years. That meant they missed out on European football next season for the first time since that season in 2009.
Tottenham also slipped out of the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup with barely a whimper to make it yet another campaign without silverware for the club.
Now it's time to dish out our ratings for the players and also for
Conte, Stellini and Mason. It's worth taking into account that our ratings are based on the individual player's expectations for the season due to the previous standards they have set for themselves, rather than being a tool to compare them against their various team-mates.
We've looked at every single player who has played at least a minute for Tottenham's first team this season. For those who have managed less than 100 minutes on the pitch, we've not rated them but instead spoken about their performances and prospects. Let's start with the goalkeeper and captain.
Hugo Lloris Lloris had a really good first quarter of the season including some top drawer saves in the matches against Sporting and Leicester. However, following a thigh injury and September's international break, the Frenchman became more inconsistent amid the frantic fixture schedule. It did not improve after the World Cup, having admitted he may have returned to action too quickly after the final, and then came a knee injury followed not long after by a muscle problem which ended his season. The Spurs skipper could depart this summer despite having a year left on his contract and having played only 25 Premier League games and struggled at times this was not the swansong he would have wanted.
5
Fraser Forster The 35-year-old has proved himself to be the best of last summer's transfer dealings, which is a damning indictment of the window when your free back-up goalkeeper has been the best signing. That's no reflection on Forster though as he made 20 appearances across all competitions and kept six clean sheets and proved to be a more than able deputy in Lloris' absence.
7
Emerson Royal The Brazilian turned his season around after that reckless red card at Arsenal and the crowd cheering when he was taken off against Leeds. He earned plenty of praise for his post-World Cup performances and while his attacking limitations remain, there's little doubting his solid defending or his desire to succeed. In terms of his expectations after most had written him off, it's been a successful season with 36 appearances and a couple of goals. He will fit far better into a back four if the next manager uses one but has also shown he can play on the right of a back three. He's also shown terrific mental strength to fight back this season.
7.5
Matt Doherty The Irishman's exit was farcical and it came after a little period when he started to show some signs of the form of the second half of last season after months of struggling to regain his rhythm after his knee injury. However, Emerson took over, Porro was coming in and when Spurs realised they couldn't loan Doherty they had to release him. A mess of a season all round for the wing-back who is now at Atletico Madrid where he has played just eight minutes of football across two appearances.
4.5
Djed Spence Conte made it clear that Spence was a club signing but one he believes can become an important player one day, yet he never really gave him much of a chance. He went on loan to Rennes at loan and got minutes aplenty to start with before the club's captain Hamari Traore returned from injury to take his spot back and Spence returned this month to Spurs with a knee injury. He will be looking to push on under the next Tottenham manager or at least get a loan that helps his development.
N/A
Pedro Porro A tough first game at Leicester soon gave way to an improving run of performances. He then had a wobble and showed he struggles as a straight-forward right-back. However, he ended the season strongly and proved his future could be as a right winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation. He ended up with three goals and three assists in 15 Premier League matches, making it 14 assists and six goals in all this season for Tottenham and Sporting. His £40m deal goes through next month and there's something to build on there.
6
Eric Dier Dier's season started so well. He was in fine form, scored twice and earned himself a return to the England team. We looked back and we had given him an 8.5 in our ratings before the first international break earlier in the season and he had Conte calling him one of the Premier League's best defenders. However, everything took a turn for the worse after that England recall and despite the occasional strong game he became the fans' figurehead of a stuttering and stumbling season as the central figure in a back three that conceded 63 Premier League goals, with only five teams in the table having conceded more. It was later revealed that he had been carrying an ever-worsening groin injury since the World Cup but with his form after the tournament you have to wonder why he didn't get it sorted sooner rather than later.
4.5
Davinson Sanchez The Colombian also had a strong start to the campaign and continued his run of clean sheets from last season with good performances against Wolves and Nottingham Forest. However, he has struggled to maintain that when he's come into the side since and despite the odd impressive showing, there's just been too many moments when he makes a messy mistake with what should have been a simple bit of control or judgement. Another who did well mentally to bounce back after the fans turned on him. Needs to move on to get the regular football he needs to iron out the mistakes.
4.5
Cristian Romero On a personal level, Romero will always be able to say he won the World Cup during this season but at club level he's got nowhere near the standard he is capable of. He started the season brightly against Southampton but after picking up an injury against Chelsea, he missed three weeks and then returned looking a little bit rusty. He then suffered a hamstring injury before heading off to win that World Cup with Argentina. He's had the odd top drawer game but he's only played 34 of the 50 matches this season, again missing an end to a season as injuries kept disrupting his rhythm. He has so much potential and knows he can be much better than he has this campaign.
6
Japhet Tanganga A move to AC Milan looked close last summer but Spurs never ended up agreeing to the transfer. Tanganga needs a move and regular football. He's appeared just four times in the Premier League this season and he understandably hasn't looked sharp.
3
Ben Davies The Welshman is another who gets turned on by the supporters when things go against Spurs but the reality is that he's been one of the side's more consistent performers. He played on the left of the back three and often looked a better option than Ivan Perisic at left wing-back when called upon. He missed around six weeks with a hamstring injury himself in March and April. He will get beaten for pace at times and he's never going to be a star name but, while some might disagree, unlike others Davies has often done the job required of him, while contributing two goals and two assists.
7
Clement Lenglet Some mixed performances across the season and he's found himself out of position on a few occasions, but overall Lenglet has been a solid presence on and off the pitch. Bearing in mind it's his first season in the Premier League, he's adapted well and ousted Dier in the season's final weeks. If he's only a mooted £10m buy this summer then you could do a lot worse for a squad purchase.
6.5
Ryan Sessegnon Conte had high hopes for Sessegnon and the 22-year-old started the campaign well, with two goals and an assist, before beginning to struggle in some games. Unfortunately once again a hamstring injury has taken a chunk out of his season and eventually ended it. When he returns he needs to find more productivity down the left, if he can trust his body to perform.
4
Ivan Perisic He took a little while to warm up but the experienced Croatian started to rack up the assists, with 12 eventually in 44 appearances - a number from set pieces - and his first and only goal for the club came at Southampton. The problem has been his defending and the speed of the Premier League left him exposed in a number of matches, particularly away from home this season. The 34-year-old has adapted to every league he's played in but his age might just count against him as a wing-back in England. It would be a surprise if he's at the club next season.
6
Matthew Craig A fine season for the struggling U21s ended with the 20-year-old making his Premier League debut in the final game after making the bench a number of times. It was just reward for his hard work across the campaign.
N/A
George Abbott Another academy midfielder rewarded for his efforts with the U18s and then U21s with his debut at Leeds. Not bad at all for a 17-year-old.
N/A
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg The Dane, who was nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month for September, made some improvements this season. He's really pushed on with his offensive contribution, with five goals and seven assists including the goal that sent Tottenham into the Champions League last 16 as group winners. As Spurs have wobbled in recent months so has Hojbjerg at times and he hasn't looked the same without Bentancur alongside him and ended the campaign with an injury himself.
7
Oliver Skipp After a slow start to the season, Skipp returned with a bang, taking full advantage of the injuries in Spurs' midfield and he's started every Premier League match since February 19 after Bentancur's injury. He ended up making 31 appearances for Tottenham, scoring his first goal for the club with that rocket against Chelsea. He's suffered from playing alongside a perhaps too similar player in Hojbjerg and some of his passes are rushed, but at just 22-years-old there's plenty of time and potential to work with. His mark, like others, is based on his expectations for the season and he's ended up with plenty of game time and experience.
6.5
Harvey White Made his Premier League debut with four minutes against Crystal Palace before heading off to Derby on loan.
N/A
Pape Matar Sarr The young Senegal international got 14 appearances in the second half of the season, not enough really, but he showed plenty of promise for what's to come. A work in progress but lots of potential.
6
Yves Bissouma Other than his 20 minute cameo from the bench against Leicester and his display against Liverpool, Bissouma was nowhere near the player he was at Brighton while working under Conte, who said he was struggling to adapt to the tactical aspect of his instructions and needed to improve his defending. After three months out following an ankle operation he looked good in the final three matches under Mason. A low mark though because this season has been below his expectations but he will get better.
5
Rodrigo Bentancur The Uruguayan reached new heights with his performances and that only made his cruciate ligament injury all the more cruel for him and Tottenham.
Bentancur was a calming presence in the midfield and his team-mates always trusted him with the ball in tight situations. With six goals and two assists now, the three-time Serie A winner became a game changer with big goals in big moments. Just 26 appearances, with four games missed through a World Cup injury, but he had been having a great season overall before it was cruelly curtailed in mid-February.
8
Lucas Moura The Brazilian signed off his time at Tottenham with a wonderful goal and it was a positive note to end a tough season in which he missed much of it with a calf injury. Just 140 minutes of Premier League football and that last day goal was his only one of the season. He left the Spurs fans with some great memories but he won't remember much of this season fondly.
3
Dejan Kulusevski A season of two halves for the Swede. He ended up with two goals and seven assists to his name, but after missing a month with injury before the World Cup and some time after, he never really got going again consistently after the season returned. It's easy to forget he's just 22-years-old though and he isn't the only one who has struggled at times. Spurs expect to make his deal permanent this summer.
6
Bryan Gil Just over 300 minutes across 11 appearances for the Spaniard before he left for Sevilla on loan so it's too difficult to judge him on game time, but he looked bright in some of his displays, most notably against Frankfurt and Crystal Palace.
5
Alfie Devine Got a couple of minutes in the FA Cup as reward for his patience this season. Needs a loan move next season to get regular first team football under his belt.
N/A
Richarlison The Brazilian has not had the impact he wanted and both he and Conte had their says on his season since arriving for £60m from Everton. Richarlison only scored in two games all season, with four assists. He missed too much time through injuries and it's difficult to see his first season as another other than a major disappointment after that big fee and the fact that he has been a Premier League player for years so needed little adaptation.
4
Arnaut Danjuma Just one start to his name and another that Conte claimed was a club signing and didn't particularly fit his formation. He did manage to grab a couple of goals but he just didn't get many opportunities to impress. Scored in the same number of games as Richarlison but with a fraction of the minutes though.
4
Son Heung-min It shows just how good Son is that even in a disappointing campaign by his standards he's still managed 14 goals and six assists, meaning he contributed a direct goal involvement in almost every other game. However, after last season's brilliant season, sharing the Golden Boot with 23 goals with Mohamed Salah, this was a tough campaign and Son admitted he had a difficult time of it and that his finishing has been "poor" and he felt he had "disappointed his team-mates and the fans". Conte's system didn't exactly get the best out of him either and Son should have more than enough credit in the bank with everyone. Nowhere near his best but he still contributed more than many. He sacrificed himself for the team often but his lower mark is based on his own expectation for his season.
6.5
Harry Kane It's a miracle what Harry Kane achieved this season, scoring 30 Premier League goals in such a poor Tottenham side, netting in 26 matches. He became the club's all-top scorer, England's record goalscorer and shattered plenty of other records along the way. His only personal disappointment will be netting just the single goal in the Champions League but it's difficult to pick fault in another wonderful individual season when he's carried the club on his back. You shudder to think how they would have fared without him. He deserves so much better around him.
10
And the head coaches
Antonio Conte Conte's side were a strange beast. They scored lots of goals yet were often dull to watch. They often looked to be set up to defend yet conceded a huge amount of goals.
The Italian had a lot to deal with personally during the season, including his own health problems, and that needs to be taken into account and the campaign itself was difficult with the World Cup and fixture pile-ups, although everyone had to deal with that.
However, it was all so disappointing after the promising finale to his previous season and the way it ended was all so utter predictable, much like the football. He left Spurs fourth in the table but with so many teams below having games in hand it always felt like a false position.
6
Cristian Stellini Stellini had done well in being in charge with Conte's input, including the wins against Manchester City, Chelsea and West Ham, but he has to be judged on the game in which he was completely on his own and unfortunately all that contained was the somewhat fortunate win against Brighton, the draw at Everton and the defeats to Brighton and Newcastle, the latter one featuring one of the worst displays ever put in by a Spurs side. It's not often an interim coach gets sacked but it was that bad.
2
Ryan Mason Much of Mason's impact has been felt behind the scenes as he has gone about fixing much of the fragmented club left for him to pick up the pieces of. The squad he inherited didn't suit the 4-2-3-1 formation he wanted to play and he had to work quickly with them. You can't help but wonder if he had been given Stellini's four matches to work with the team whether they would have been in a better shape by the time the final matches came around. He won two, lost three and drew once with his team scoring 12 goals but also conceding 12.
4.5
