Tottenham looking to buck a trend by coming from nowhere to win the Premier League title

Spurs are just four points from the summit heading into the weekend when they will play Everton

Saturday 02 January 2016 00:01 GMT

Son Heung-min and Harry Kane celebrate

It usually takes more than one season to build a team to become champions of England. Forget the old maxim that the slate is wiped clean every August, because the foundations for title challenges are laid well before the new strips and haircuts are unveiled in late summer.

It has become an unwritten rule which Tottenham must break this season if they are to continue their accelerating progress under Mauricio Pochettino by winning the club’s first title since 1961.

Not since George Graham’s Arsenal side won the First Division with Michael Thomas’s stoppage-time goal at Anfield in the 1988-89 season has a club been crowned champions after finishing outside the top four in the previous campaign.

Arsenal finished sixth in 1987-88, 24 points adrift of the champions Liverpool, but somehow propelled themselves from the start of the next campaign to gather enough momentum to win the club’s first title in 18 years.

Everton started even further back on the grid prior to their title-winning campaign in 1984-85, with Howard Kendall’s team trailing in seventh, 18 points behind Liverpool, at the end of the 1983-84 season. But since the 1980s, the blueprint for title success has depended on a marker being laid down in the final six months of the previous campaign.

Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City, the clubs who have disrupted the old guard to win the title in the years since Arsenal’s leap from sixth, all finished no lower than fourth before going on to win the league 12 months later and the only team to go close to emulating Arsenal – Liverpool in 2013-2014 – ultimately did a Devon Loch by slipping up in the final furlong, a year after finishing seventh.

Having finished fifth last season, Tottenham travel to Everton on Sunday just four points behind the leaders Arsenal at the halfway stage of the campaign.

Pochettino’s team boast the goals of Harry Kane (11 in the league so far), the flair of Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela, Dele Alli’s youthful energy in midfield, defensive resolve in the shape of Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen plus, crucially, a top-class goalkeeper in Hugo Lloris.

So Spurs possess all the necessary ingredients, with the exception of “been there, done that” experience, and Pochettino admits his team are showing all the signs of being able to sustain their title challenge.

“Yes,” Pochettino said. “We are very quiet, but we believe in ourselves. We are very confident and in football a lot can happen. We believe.

“Football is about winning games and to win games and to be close to winning games, you need to work hard and to show better quality than the opponent. The only way we cannot achieve all that we can in football is if we stop working hard.”

Last year was a good one for Spurs and perhaps the foundation stone for a title challenge was laid with the 5-3 victory at home to Chelsea on New Year’s Day 2015.

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

Show all 8

1/8Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

WATFORD

Gomes: 5
Despite his eight clean sheets this season there still remains a sense of unreliability from Gomes, who was caught out by one corner when Spurs should have scored. He could do nothing about the goal and in truth had little else to do before smartly claiming the ball off Son’s feet. His unreliability was proven as he was found well off his line for Son’s winner.

Anya: 6
His defensive deficiencies were rarely exposed as Tottenham steadfastly refused to pile numbers down Watford’s weaker right hand side. In all it was a quiet game for the Scottish international, who was rarely found wanting.

Cathcart: 6
Criminally careless in midfield early on, giving the ball away as Tottenham went on to score their opener. It was the only mistake he made, but it was a disappointing one as he did not give Spurs another good chance.

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

WATFORD

Britos: 5
The disciplinary problems that blighted Britos at Napoli seemed to rear their heads again as the defender struggled to deal with the direct running of Spurs’ young forwards. He was lucky to pick up only a yellow early in the second. Removed for Prodl before he got himself sent off.

Ake: 7
An outstanding tackle in the area in the early period against Kane set the tone for an encouraging display by the Chelsea loanee, who was full of defensive gusto whilst looking to overlap beyond Jurado. Would have every right to feel aggrieved over a red card for what was a high, but not criminally dangerous, challenge.

Abdi: 5
Could hardly complain when he was hooked off at half-time as far too often he was simply bypassed when Tottenham looked to counter.

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Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

WATFORD

Capoue: 5
Perhaps he was overawed by the prospect of a reunion with his former employers, because the dominant midfield presence of recent months was not often to be seen at Vicarage Road. Bar a few efforts from outside the area he did little of note.

Watson: 6
Solid as ever in the heart of Watford’s midfield, he made himself a tough player to get past whenever Tottenham looked to stream forward.

Juardo: 6
The only one of Watford’s midfielders to provide much threat in attack, he looked to make the most of Trippier’s eagerness to bomb on. Though he cut inside often he never looked like crafting a shooting opportunity for either himself or his team-mates.

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

WATFORD

Ighalo: 7
Spent most of the opening 45 minutes on the sidelines of the contest but when an opportunity fell to him he was yet again more than up to the task. The goal inspired him and his pacey running posed plenty more challenges to Spurs in the second half.

Deeney: 5
Struggled far more than his strike partner with Tottenham’s back five, dropping wide, deep and anywhere else he could to try to find space to operate. Whilst he had plenty of the ball he didn’t often look like he would do much with it.

Best off the bench: Behrami: 5
Offered little more than Abdi after replacing him for the second half as yet again the Watford anchorman struggled to follow Tottenham’s fast and fluid front three.

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

TOTTENHAM

Lloris: 5
Was uncharacteristically slow off his line as Ighalo pouched an equaliser from close range. It was his only significant call to action and he was found wanting.

Trippier: 7
The addition of an extra body to the Spur’s backline gave Trippier licence to get forward, which he exploited ably. He could have had an assist after a dreamy cross for Kane.

Alderweireld: 7
Constantly alert to Deeney’s attempts to slip behind him down the left, which he covered with ease. He cut out one pass from the Watford striker on the aftermath with considerable élan, scarcely worried that Ighalo would surely have scored if he had misjudged his move.

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

TOTTENHAM

Vertonghen: 6
Another to flourish in a back five, he came forward at will to showcase his fine passing range. With just two in the Spurs midfield Vertonghen’s ability to dictate the play from deep was vital for the visitors.

Rose: 5
Did not quite make the most of his chances to bomb on down the left flank, particularly with Watford posing little attacking threat on his side of the pitch. It was all too rare that Rose, such a pacey attacking presence, was seen in the opposition’s third of the pitch.

Dier: 6
Looked as at ease in the heart of Tottenham’s defence as he had in midfield, offering a spare man whilst Alderweireld and Vertonghen dealt with Watford’s front two. However he was found wanting when Ighalo brought the hosts level as he was all too easily turned by the striker.

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

TOTTENHAM

Dembele: 5
Seemed a touch off the pace in the first period, and it was little surprise when Christian Eriksen was brought on before the half was over.

Lamela: 8
Flourished in his role in Pochettino’s reconstituted attacking trio, ably switching positions with Kane to allow himself space to run at the Watford backline. When he is able to play his natural attacking game he is unquestionably a force to be reckoned with.

Alli: 7
The passing was as accurate as ever from the youngster, who seemed to have few difficulties playing on the left of a front three nor when he was pushed back alongside Carroll. In the centre of the pitch he tackled well, won the ball in the air and prompted attacks. Another impressive display from the youngster.

Watford 1 Tottenham 2 player ratings

TOTTENHAM

Carroll: 6
Rarely put a foot wrong in the heart of midfield, neat and tidy in possession, but then he rarely stated his case for a more regular starting slot by doing something to ask questions of the Watford defence.

Kane: 7<
His 2015 had got off to the biggest of bangs as he inspired Tottenham past Chelsea and he will have little reason to be disappointed with how it ended, even if it did not include a goal. Full of running, he dovetailed well with Lamela and, on another day, might have converted a chance.

Eriksen: 6
One of those games where Eriksen was too ponderous in possession to challenge the Watford defence, and indeed his lack of zip in the second period was rather damaging for the visitors, who couldn’t craft a way behind Watford.

Best off the bench: Heung-min Son: 7
A quiet presence off the bench until his late winner, expertly taken with a backheel worthy of deciding any contest.

Progression to the Capital One Cup final, where they lost to Chelsea, was another step along the road and Spurs ended 2015 with only Arsenal and Manchester City ahead of them in a league table of the calendar year.

“It was a good year to build and settle the basis for the future of the club,” Pochettino said. “I was very happy, and beating Chelsea was a good start for the year. It was a very good result to believe – an important game for us. But it is one year ago and what is important for us is to believe in our way.

“For a lot of young players, it showed our quality. It was important, but during 2015 we played very good games.”

History counts against Spurs. Back in 1985, they sat on top of the league on 1 January, ahead of Everton on goal difference, only to finish third – 13 points behind the Goodison Park club.

For Sunday's trip to Merseyside Spurs are in perhaps their best new year health since 1985, however, and Pochettino admits that, if his players can reach the run-in with a shot at the title, they will be contenders.

“I think we need to arrive in the last 10 games with the possibility to fight for the objectives,” Pochettino said. “The next nine, 10 games will maybe make the mark on how we finish in the table.”

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