Tottenham Hotspur started the 2013-14 season high on optimism.
Although Gareth Bale's inevitable departure was on the horizon, Andre Villas-Boas's Spurs squad had never looked so healthy thanks to a summer of heavy investment.
However, Villas-Boas's new-look team managed to score just 15 goals in the first 16 rounds of Premier League fixtures, prompting the Portuguese to be sacked and replaced by Tim Sherwood.
It is fair to say that it has been an eventful four-and-a-half months for Spurs, and Sports Mole has recapped the turbulent period below.
August
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Tottenham got the new campaign underway with a 1-0 win at Premier League new boys Crystal Palace thanks to a penalty from Roberto Soldado. The Spaniard, along with Etienne Capoue, Paulinho and Nacer Chadli, was one of four new signings making their Spurs debuts at Selhurst Park.
Soldado's goalscoring exploits continued as he netted three more goals in the next seven days. His well-taken brace inspired a 5-0 win at Dinamo Tbilisi in the first-leg of a Europa League qualifier. Another successful penalty then earned a 1-0 victory over Swansea City at White Hart Lane.
Lewis Holtby opened his goal account for the club as Tbilisi were brushed aside 3-0 in the return leg. That result meant that Spurs ended the month with a 100% record and a defence that had yet to be breached.
Tottenham's window shopping continued at the end of August, as Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela all joined the revolution, tipping the club over the £100m mark in terms of summer spending.
September
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Spurs had already recouped over £20m by selling Steven Caulker, Clint Dempsey, Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker, but one final piece of business still needed to be completed. On September 1, Real Madrid broke the world transfer record – and thousands of Tottenham hearts - by taking Welsh wizard Bale to Spain in an £85m deal. Things got worse later that day as Spurs lost 1-0 at arch-rivals Arsenal.
Villas-Boas's men quickly bounced back with four consecutive wins, aided by four more clean sheets. Gylfi Sigurdsson struck twice as Norwich City were beaten 2-0 at the Lane. Eriksen then announced himself on the scene by scoring a stunner in a 3-0 victory over Tromso in the Europa League group stage. A last-minute backheel from Paulinho secured a dramatic single-goal success at Cardiff City and the Brazil international was on target again as Aston Villa were thumped 4-0 in the Capital One Cup.
Spurs ended September with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea on home soil. That result left the North Londoners third in the Premier League table, behind second-placed Liverpool on goals scored and just two points below leaders Arsenal.
October
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Tottenham's October began well as they continued their fine start in Europe with a 2-0 win over Anzhi Makhachkala in Moscow. However, they were quickly brought down to Earth with a bump when West Ham United caused a major shock by triumphing 3-0 at White Hart Lane.
The defeat to the Hammers was put down as a freak result and Spurs responded well by winning at Villa Park for the second time in four weeks. Andros Townsend, who had made a goalscoring debut for England earlier in the month, netted his first Premier League goal in a 2-0 win over Paul Lambert's men.
After beating Sheriff Tiraspol 2-0 in Moldova, Spurs ended October with back-to-back home games against Hull City. A late Soldado spot kick secured a 1-0 win in the league, before the Capital One Cup tie was also decided from 12 yards, with the Londoners prevailing 8-7 in a penalty shootout.
November
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At the start of November, Spurs sat fourth in the league, just three points behind table-toppers Arsenal. However, they ended the month 11 points off the pace in ninth, after failing to muster a single goal in three top-flight games.
Things had started reasonably well, as a 0-0 draw at Everton was followed by a 2-1 home win over Sheriff, which saw Jermain Defoe break Martin Chivers's club record for most goals scored in European competition.
Tottenham's downward spiral began with a 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle United. Villas-Boas's men were unlucky to lose to the Magpies, who were inspired by 14 saves from goalkeeper Tim Krul. However, there were no such excuses following the club's next defeat - a 6-0 thrashing at Manchester City.
Tromso were edged out 2-0 as Spurs guaranteed their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League, but that result did little to atone for the embarrassment that had been suffered at the Etihad Stadium.
December
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Tottenham had been accused of showing a lack of character in the wake of November's heavy loss at Man City, but they silenced some of their doubters by holding Manchester United to a 2-2 draw on December 1 and then securing back-to-back away wins. Second-half goals from Chiriches and Holtby saw the Lilywhites come from behind to beat Fulham 2-1. Just four days later, Spurs produced another comeback to see off Sunderland by the same scoreline.
Soldado bagged a hat-trick as Anzhi were trounced 4-1 in London, leaving Spurs with a maximum 18 points from their six Europa League group games. They had now won three matches in a row in all competitions and optimism was slowly being restored. However, every last ounce of that positivity was abruptly ripped away when Liverpool put five goals past their hapless hosts on December 15.
Villas-Boas was sacked in the morning, leaving technical co-ordinator Sherwood in caretaker charge. Sherwood's first action was to recall Emmanuel Adebayor, who had been forced to train with the youth team under Villas-Boas. The Togolese striker's return was immediately vindicated as he scored a stylish opener in a Capital One Cup quarter-final against West Ham. Tottenham's joy was short-lived, though, as the Hammers netted two late goals to win 2-1, securing their second victory at the Lane in just 73 days.
Despite suffering a humiliating defeat in his first game, Sherwood received praise for abandoning Villas-Boas's 4-2-3-1 formation and switching to 4-4-2. He kept faith in the new system and again named two strikers when he took his team to Southampton, where Adebayor scored twice in a 3-2 win.
A host of high-profile candidates, including Louis Van Gaal, Frank De Boer, and Guus Hiddink, had been touted as potential replacements for Villas-Boas, but chairman Daniel Levy decided to show faith in 44-year-old Sherwood, who became the club's full-time head coach on an 18-month contract. Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw by West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day in Sherwood's first official game in charge. That was followed two days later by a morale-boosting 3-0 victory over Stoke City, which left the Londoners seventh in the Premier League table, level on points with Man United going into 2014.
Robert Summerscales
