At the start of the summer, Tottenham's main weakness was that while their best XI was among the most formidable in the Premier League, they lacked strength in depth.
Sizeable gaps in quality between first choice and reserve players meant that when Mauricio Pochettino lost or rested his biggest stars last season, results dipped.
A second string lineup exited the League Cup as soon as they faced top flight opposition, with a team featuring Kevin Wimmer, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Tom Carroll, Josh Onomah, Georges-Kevin N'Koudou and Vincent Janssen losing 2-1 at Liverpool.
That defeat came during Spurs' worst period of the season as they struggled to cope without Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane between mid-October and late November, winning just one of 10 matches in all competitions.