TOTTENHAM SEASON PREVIEW: Villas-Boas has to finish in the top four - with or without Bale

Club at a glance

Manager: Andre Villas-Boas
Captain: Michael Dawson
Stadium: White Hart Lane
Capacity: 36,284
Last season’s finish: 5th
Official club website:tottenhamhotspur.com/

Story of the summer…

Gareth Bale. Real Madrid have chased him all summer but he remains at Spurs. For Now. The lure of Madrid may have turned Bale’s head, but Spurs have invested significantly elsewhere in the squad. Still, losing Bale would be a big blow. 

Manager’s main challenge…

Breaking into the top four. Despite a record points haul last season, Spurs still fell short, again. They need to establish themselves as a Champions League side if they are to hang on to any future Gareth Bales. 

What now? Gareth Bale's transfer saga rumbles on as the start of the season grows near

Hiccups on horizon…

With the potential loss of Bale, several new signings and a potential shift in formation to 4-3-3, Spurs are transforming. But with so many changes, there is no guarantee they will all work from the off.

First name on the team sheet…

Roberto Soldado – Spurs have spent big on the Spanish striker and will expect a hefty goal return.

Goals please: £26m man Roberto Soldado opened his account in the friendly with Espanyol

Youngsters to watch...

Kenny McEvoy Age: 18 Position: Right winger Twitter: @kennethMcevoy

The joke doing the rounds online is that Spurs should sell Gareth Bale to Real Madrid but send McEvoy, the 18-year-old who looks just like the £85million man. But McEvoy deserves credit in his own right. He terrorised West Ham in the FA Youth Cup in January, scoring twice, and has pace to burn. Needs to improve decision making.

Pre-season quote…

'The only thing I can say about the stories is I am not going to comment because everybody has speculated a lot' - Andre Villas-Boas on Gareth Bale

Top Tweeter

Sandro - @sandroraniere Tweets the odd kung-fu video

Plan B: Andre Villas-Boas knows he'll most likely have to push on without Bale

Ins: Paulinho (Corinthians, £17m), Nacer Chadli (FC Twente, £6m), Roberto Soldado (Valencia, £26m)

Outs: Steven Caulker (Cardiff, £9m), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders, undisclosed), William Gallas (released), John Bostock (Royal Antwerp, free), David Bentley (released), Jake Nicholson (released), Massimo Luongo (Swindon, loan), Adam Smith (Derby, loan), Ryan Mason (Swindon, loan), Bongani Khumalo (Doncaster, loan), Alex Pritchard (Swindon, loan), Ryan Mason (Swindon, loan), Grant Hall (Swindon, loan), Tom Huddlestone (Hull City, £5.25m).

New kit

We have seen many clubs look back to previous decades from the 1980s backwards in search of inspiration behind designing a new strip.

And officially it's no different for Spurs who claim their new Under Armour kit (the second under the American designers) is a classic take on their 1960s numbers where the navy shorts were as dark as they had ever been.

But not many Tottenham fans will need reminding that it is in fact like the 1990s all over again, as Hewlett Packard are back to sponsor the club for the first time since 1999.

It's a very classy home strip but the HP logo while looking an off putting shade of blue is also a little big on the kit and slightly ruins an otherwise great design.

Price: £48

New signing: Paulinho joined for £17m from Corinthians over the summer

Stats from 2012-13 season...

• Tottenham were not awarded a single penalty kick in 2012-13 – only five other sides have not been awarded a penalty in a PL campaign before in 2012-13, with the last instance being Charlton Athletic in 2004-05. (Swansea also in 2012-13)
• Spurs scored 16 goals from outside the box (Bale with nine of them), more than any other side.
• Tottenham’s total of 72 points is the highest ever total for a top-flight team finishing outside the top four in a 38-game season.
• That points total would have been enough to finish in second place two seasons ago.
• The north London side had 241 shots on target in 2012/13, more than any other side.
• Spurs had the best shooting accuracy in the Premier League in 2012-13 (49.4 per cent).
• AVB’s side made more clearances than any other PL side in 2012-13 (1595).
• Gareth Bale scored more goals from outside the area than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues in 2012-13 (nine).

Exchange of ideas: Mousa Dembele and captain Michael Dawson have a chat

Where do I buy tickets and how much do they cost?

Tickets can be bought through the official website, via phone 0844 844 0102 at the stadium box office, which is open 9-5 Monday to Friday. Category A £25-£81, Category £19-£59 and Category C £17-£47.

Pre-season results

July 16 Swindon Town (County Ground) - drew 1-1
July 19 Colchester United (Community Stadium) - drew 0-0
July 24 Sunderland (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong - Barclays Asia Trophy) - lost 1-3
July 27 South China (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong - Barclays Asia Trophy) - won 6-0
August 3 Monaco (Stade Louis II) - lost 2-5
August 10 Espanyol (White Hart Lane) - drew 1-1

FULL PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

AUGUST
18 Crystal Palace (a) (Sky Sports, 1.30pm)

24 Swansea City (h)

SEPTEMBER
1 Arsenal (a) (Sky Sports, 4pm)

14 Norwich City (h)

21 Cardiff City (a)

28 Chelsea (h) (BT Sport, 12.45pm)

OCTOBER
5 West Ham United (h)

20 Aston Villa (a) (Sky Sports, 4pm)

26 Hull City (h)

NOVEMBER
3 Everton (a) (Sky Sports, 1.30pm)

10 Newcastle United (h) (Sky Sports, noon)

23 Manchester City (a) (Sky Sports, 5.30pm)

30 Manchester United (h) (BT Sport, 12.45pm)

DECEMBER
4 Fulham (a)

7 Sunderland (a)

14 Liverpool (h)

21 Southampton (a)

26 West Bromwich Albion (h)

28 Stoke City (h)

JANUARY
1 Manchester United (a)

11 Crystal Palace (h)

18 Swansea City (a)

29 Manchester City (h)

FEBRUARY
1 Hull City (a)

8 Everton (h)

12 Newcastle United (a)

22 Norwich City (a)

MARCH
1 Cardiff City (h)

8 Chelsea (a)

15 Arsenal (h)

22 Southampton (h)

29 Liverpool (a)

APRIL
5 Sunderland (h)

12 West Bromwich Albion (a)

19 Fulham (h)

26 Stoke City (a)

MAY
3 West Ham United (a)

11 Aston Villa (h)

*Fixtures subject to change