5 Reasons Tottenham Fans Should Be Hopeful for the New EPL Season

As the new Premier League season gradually approaches, it is understandable for Tottenham supporters to be hung up on the failures of last season.

After all, the sting of a second consecutive season in which the club missed out on its annual goal of Champions League qualification by one point to archrival Arsenal is quite painful.

Sure, Spurs did less this past season to choke away their grasp of the Premier League's Champions League places, instead falling victim to Arsenal's outstanding late-season run.

However, it will be a tough offseason for the fans in north London as they recover from the disappointments of the season past.

Luckily for Tottenham fans, there are many good reasons to look ahead to this next season with anticipation.

Here are five reasons why the fans at White Hart Lane should be hopeful for Spurs' upcoming season.

Heading into the summer, the biggest issue affecting Tottenham was whether or not superstar winger Gareth Bale would be hanging around for another season.

The 23-year-old is coming off a season in which he carried Spurs to a record points tally and won the PFA Player of the Year award for the second time in three years.

Hence, the reported interest from rich clubs like Real Madrid made Bale's departure from White Hart Lane a real possibility, especially since Tottenham has no Champions League football to offer him.

However, the Welshman looks set to stay in London, as Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas has recently told reporters that the club will not sell Bale this summer (via Evening Standard).

Now, it is not certain that Gareth Bale will be at Spurs through the summer, as Real Madrid is apparently ready to make an official bid (via Mirror) now that they have a manager on board.

However, the mere possibility of a player of Bale's talent hanging around at Tottenham for another season should provide fans with a good deal of excitement.

Tottenham has the potential to make quite a few interesting new signings this summer.

It's being reported that the club has already reached an agreement with 24-year-old Brazilian midfielder Paulinho (via Independent), a creative player who has great potential and could quickly become a fixture in the starting lineup.

Further, Spurs have been linked with scores of strikers, including high-profile options like Leandro Damiao (via Express), Roberto Soldado (via Metro), David Villa (via Daily Mail) and Christian Benteke (via Mirror).

Given the difficulties that Tottenham experienced at the front of its lineup last season, it should be exciting enough for the club's supporters to hear of potential new signings at the position.

Add in a few more signings and the possibility for this side to improve greatly before the season's opening kickoff is clear.

Sounds like a compelling prospect.

Heading into the 2012-13 Premier League season, many of the league's top clubs find themselves in a state of transition.

Of the clubs that finished in the top six last season, four of them (including the top three finishers) will start the season with a different manager than the one with which they finished last season.

In fact, the only two clubs in the top six that return with the same manager are Tottenham and its north London rival Arsenal.

While those clubs that are experiencing changes have gone through a quick hiring process and brought in very experienced new managers, there is still a distinct possibility for one of them to falter.

One might not expect David Moyes, Manuel Pellegrini, Jose Mourinho or Roberto Martinez to struggle at Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea or Everton, respectively, the probability of one of them doing so goes up with all four of them entering at the same time.

This could be an important factor in Spurs finally getting back to the Champions League.

Last season, Tottenham brought in a new crop of talent that contributed quite well to their season's accomplishments.

Defender Jan Vertonghen earned his way into the PFA team of the year, establishing himself as one of the stand-out defenders in England.

Moussa Dembele's ability to create while keeping possession proved vital to Spurs' success, as the club earned 2.23 points per match in the 30 Premier League matches the Belgian played and just 0.63 points per match in the ones he missed.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris put together a fine season, winning the starting position in just a few months.

Clint Dempsey experienced a few struggles early in his career at White Hart Lane, but showed his ability to get into the right spot at the right time, scoring the decisive goals in both league encounters with champions Manchester United and a pair against Basel in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal tie.

Finally, midfielders Lewis Holtby and Gylfi Sigurdsson showed some potential in spots.

With a season of experience under their belts, these players could well be headed for even more improvement this season.

Last season may have been manager Andre Villas-Boas' first campaign at Tottenham, but the Portuguese boss did quite well in adjusting to the new club.

However, now that a full season has taken place and the manager can work a full summer transfer window, chances are that he will look to make a few changes.

While AVB did most of the adjusting around his available personnel and their familiar styles, he can now fashion a team to fit his own image, maybe even shifting the tactics to the holding 4-3-3 that he played in his heydays at Porto.

A good indication of these changes is the club's appointment of former Roma director Franco Baldini as technical director, hinting at a shift in the club's transfer logic.

As Villas-Boas' tutelage came as an assistant under Jose Mourinho, a second season like the ones that the "Special One" has had would be exciting to say the least.

A shift to a new approach to the game would be a good place to start.

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