Tottenham Hotspur fans will want to quickly forget the last three months of the previous campaign - turning from potential title contenders to falling below bitter rivals Arsenal, and to make matters worse, seeing their Champions League qualification spot cruelly taken away from them by Chelsea.
The man who caused turmoil at Chelsea is now in charge of Spurs. Andre Villas-Boas had a horror few months at Stamford Bridge - there is no denying that fact, even if the Portuguese himself might think otherwise.
However, Villas-Boas, who replaced Harry Redknapp at the end of last season, at Tottenham seems like a more natural fit than the one at Chelsea. So on that fact at least, the manager must be better tuned to perform at Spurs. However, much like last year, when ironically Villas-Boas and Chelsea chased the signature of Spurs' best player Luka Modric with chairman Daniel Levy refusing to sell, keeping the Croatian at the club for one more season where he excelled yet again; this year not much has changed.
Modric still wants a move, not to Chelsea but to Real Madrid, and that saga has overshadowed any work or even the signings brought in by Villas-Boas at White Hart Lane. The issue is on the verge of being resolved, however, with Spurs and Real reportedly agreeing a fee and the Croatian on his way to Madrid to complete a medical and sign on the dotted line within the next 48 hours.
That leaves Villas-Boas, who has a point to prove to his doubters in the English Premier League, with plenty of work to do. While Spurs have already brought in Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen from Hoffenheim and Ajax respectively, Villas-Boas has also seen bids for Yann M'Vila, Gaston Ramirez and Hugo Lloris rejected. Emmanuel Adebayor, who enjoyed a highly successful spell with Spurs last season, keeps stalling on a move to White Hart Lane with wage demands holding the deal up.
Spurs are alarmingly slim in the striker department, with Jermain Defoe their only recognized striker, although Villas-Boas has been talking up youngster Harry Kane. That situation means, Spurs will most likely start the first game of the season, a far from easy match against Newcastle United at St James' Park, with just Defoe.
The Adebayor deal is still possible, while Spurs are still trying to manufacture a move for Brazil's fantastic young striker Leandro Damiao of Internacional.
Gareth Bale committing his future by signing a new contract this summer would have come as a huge fillip to the club and the fans, while Sigurdsson and Vertonghen seems to have settled into life in North London pretty well already. It remains to be seen if Villas-boas, who is undoubtedly a talented manager, can take Spurs to the next level, with Levy demanding a minimum of Champions League football.
With the teams above them and indeed below them strengthening this summer, a run similar to last year's and a finish in the top-four would be more than acceptable.
