Tottenham can look back on a season in which they definitely progressed as a team on and off the pitch but at the end their big aim just eluded them yet again. They will not be playing Champions League football despite being in contention throughout the campaign but it was definitely not for the lack of effort on the part of Andre Villas-Boas and his player. The Portuguese was put in charge as a successor of Harry Redknapp in the summer with the aim to make Tottenham a fresher and more progressive side. Villas-Boas's personal purpose was to rebuild his reputation after a bad spell at Chelsea but the start of the season was a testing one for him. The overdrawn saga over the departure of Luka Modric distracted the team in the early weeks of the campaign and they barely got going until well into September. Poor displays at home to Norwich and West Brom in the first two home games of the season already made some Spurs fans voice their discontent but eventually started to get going. They had a great run of form in September when they ended their long-standing hoodoo away at Manchester United, turning a brilliant display to get a 3:2 win. It was the turnaround moment of the season and Villas-Boas definitely won over any doubters within and outside the team after that performance. However, Tottenham stumbled through October and most of November as both Chelsea and Arsenal inflicted them painful losses. Yet, Tottenham remained a strong outfit with Moussa Dembele impressing in midfield, Jermain Defoe scoring freely up front and Hugo Lloris overcoming a difficult start of his Spurs career to establish himself as a reliable and assured presence on goal. Tottenham went on a very good run of form after a late 2:1 collapse at Everton at the start of December and won seven out of nine league games from early December to January. Gareth Bale was starting to emerge as a real team leader with some brilliant displays both from the left wing and in other positions all across the forward line. His demolition of Aston Villa for a 4:0 win was particularly eye-catching and finally Tottenham caught some serious momentum. They continued to get results in early 2013 but Defoe had badly lost form and the team was completely reliant on the freakishly brilliant form of Bale to get points. He was as good as anyone the league has seen since the Cristiano Ronaldo time four or five years ago, completely pulling his team through with great goals. Wins away at West Brom and West Ham and at home to Newcastle were all of his making and a big 2:1 win at home to Arsenal at the start of March seemed to cement the team's place in the top-four. The gap to the Gunners was seven points at the time and little seemed to be able to stop Bale and co. However, a loss at Liverpool in the next game seemed to take out some of the confidence of the team and they suddenly became insecure and stabling. Dropped points against Fulham and Everton further decreased the gap while there would be no European glory for Spurs too after a dramatic penalty shootout loss at the hands of Basel in the last eight of the Europa League. The team still rallied to beat Manchester City and a comeback win away at Stoke kept them in the hunt for fourth place until the last day of the season. Yet, Arsenal just had a bit too much for them and finished a point clear with Tottenham being left with the Europa League again. The big question mark now is whether Bale will be keen to stay with no Champions League football as he has really elevated himself to the level of the best footballers in the world in the past six months and has become simply irreplaceable in the current Tottenham team.
