7th August

Right well, this one is a doozy.

SPURS

I have no idea how Spurs finished 3rd. When they beat Stoke 4-0 on 18th April, they looked bang in the title race. But just two points off their final four games saw them completely capitulate. They lost their heads, they lost their motivation, they lost their bottle. Their 5-1 humbling at the hands of Newcastle on the final day just compounded their miserable end to what was otherwise a superlative season. 

Spurs were a revelation.They played vibrant, attacking football, with absolute class and the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli were phenomenal. And defensively, they were the joint best defence in the league, conceding just thirty five goals, including those five on the final day. Toby Alderweireld was the best central defender in the league, Eric Dier was absolutely incredible and they were well supplemented by the likes of Eriksen and Lamela. 

But overall, Spurs' biggest weakness was their lack of strength in depth, and reliance on their starting eleven. They had decent fullback cover, but if they lost any of their midfield or attacking six, then their entire team fell apart. Missing Dembele? Lose to Newcastle, cue the excuses that they only had ten of their starting eleven so what were they supposed to do? Lose to United on the opening day? Well Lamela wasn't playing. But nevertheless, in each of the four games Spurs lost before their last two, they were missing at least one key individual and it completely threw their attacking game. 

But it's hard to be too negative. Spurs was excellent for long spells of the season. Their biggest problem was that they took a while to get going, failing to win a single game in August as Kane struggled to find his form. But once they got going, they really got going, putting four past City, five past Bournemouth, three past Villa and four past West Ham. But their problem was too many draws before Christmas, as they picked up eight draws in their first nineteen games, despite losing just two, and going four months unbeaten before they lost to Newcastle, following their opening day defeat. 

After losing to Leicester in January, Spurs hit the ground running in 2016, and this was where their title charge really materialised, as they won their next six league games in a row, including a huge win against Man City. This put them in prime position after Leicester dropped points, but this was when Spurs went full bottle and lost to West Ham, before throwing away a 2-1 lead against ten man Arsenal. They managed to keep the pressure on with wins in four of their next five games, but then they blew it under pressure against West Brom and Chelsea, to hand Leicester the title. 

In terms of Spurs' weaknesses, well there are two main factors. They had arguably the best starting eleven in the league last year and you can't fault them on goals scored or conceded, they looked solid at the back and extremely dangerous all season and were arguably (although Leicester fans would have to disagree) the most well-rounded side for large periods of the season. But their problems were simple. A lack of mentality in the crucial moments (West Ham, Arsenal, West Brom and Chelsea all critical examples) and a lack of depth in midfield. If anything happened to Dier, Dembele or Alli, then Spurs simply had no answer. No replacement. 

But nevertheless, if you'd offered Spurs third at the start of the season, then they'd have taken that. They played really really well this season but there was never the sense that they had the squad for a sustained title challenge, and they were very fortunate with injuries. Considering how badly affected Liverpool, United, City and Arsenal all were, Spurs got off very lightly. If they'd had one or two more key injuries then they might have struggled to make top four at all. 

But that's being churlish. Spurs were exceptional this season, and they thoroughly deserve to be playing Champions League football next season, and on another day, they might have been closer to pushing for the title, even if Leicester never looked like letting it slip. 

The Hard and Fast Section

• England have 84 overs to bowl out Pakistan. Game on. 
• Armistead goes for gold today. Controversial. 
• Murray in action today. Good luck. 
• And Gary Neville is back with Sky. Signing.