Tottenham Hotspur were embroiled in a pretty dire situation last season, but that hardly matters now that the London club is really firing on all cylinders under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou.
Having drawn the curtain on an illustrious reign at Celtic to take to the dugout in the Premier League in the summer, Postecoglou was faced with a club in disrepair, nursing the wounds of a terrible 2022/23 campaign that resulted in an eighth-placed finish and the sacking of Antonio Conte.
Worst of all, club record scorer Harry Kane finally ended his career-long affiliation with the Lilywhites and completed a transfer to German giants Bayern Munich in August, seemingly fed up with his continuing wait for a first slice of silverware.
Postecoglou has eradicated all of that malaise and Spurs are absolutely flying right now, atop the Premier League table after ten matches and looking ever bit the formidable title challengers.
It remains to be seen whether or not they will secure the Premier League title as there is some ominous competition, with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool all snapping at their heels, but Postecoglou's biggest triumph is swiftly reviving the feel-good factor.
There is optimism anew, and despite the troubles of last year there are few who doubt that this Spurs side have what it takes to fight for a place at the front of the pack.
With the defensive frailties patched up and the attacking vigour restored through James Maddison's £40m arrival from Leicester City and Heung-min Son's new role as the focal frontman, the lofty ambitions appear possible.
Postecoglou must also receive credit for shipping on some of last year's deadwood, with Clement Lenglet the perfect example of last season's issues, best left behind as a new era shapes up.
What was said when Clement Lenglet joined Tottenham
Antonio Conte had just led Tottenham back into the Champions League with a fourth-placed finish in 2021/22, ending two years away from Europe's elite club competition.
It was supposed to be a time of optimism and buoyancy, with Lenglet among the additions to shore up the defence and aid the London club in their endeavours, joining on a season-long loan from Barcelona no less.
Player
Signed from
Price
Richarlison
Everton
£52m (initial)
Yves Bissouma
Brighton
£26m
Djed Spence
Middlesbrough
£13m
Ivan Perisic
Inter Milan
Free
Fraser Forster
Southampton
Free
Clement Lenglet
Barcelona
Loan
Cristian Romero
Atalanta
£45m
Destiny Udogie
Udinese
£16m
*Sourced by London World
Upon his arrival, the Frenchman said this: "For me all of this is new but I'm hungry, I want to play, I want to be the best soccer player to help the team to help the team to win trophies, to fight.
"I want to be a good teammate, to be a defender who can be aggressive, who can help the group win the ball."
Maybe this dream was too big on this occasion, with Lenglet, who was once branded a "complete & utter liability of a defender" by journalist Jonathan Johnson, only succeeding in flattering to deceive.
How Clement Lenglet performed for Tottenham
Lenglet might have completed 160 appearances for Barcelona and won LaLiga, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa de España, but he did not manage to make a positive mark on Tottenham's squad.
As per FBref, Lenglet ranks among the top 20% of central defenders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists and the top 4% for successful take-ons per 90, but his attacking, progressive qualities were never in question.
While he sought to progress the play and influence Spurs' performances with his passing skill, Lenglet was very much a major part of a shocking defensive record.
Indeed, Tottenham concluded the 2022/23 Premier League season with 63 goals conceded, more than every side bar newly-promoted Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth and the relegated trio.
As per Sofascore, he played 26 times in the top-flight last season and earned a lowly rating of 6.65, only averaging just 1.5 tackles and 2.7 clearances per game despite the endless onslaught on Hugo Lloris' goal, keeping a solitary clean sheet.
Branded an “imposter” by talkSPORT pundit Jamie O'Hara, the 28-year-old dud was even worse than Davinson Sanchez, who struggled to get into the starting line-up with regularity.
Sanchez arrived from Ajax for a club-record £42m in 2017, but flattered to deceive for large parts of his Tottenham career and was sold to Galatasaray for just £13m this summer, aged 27.
O'Hara took the time to rebuke the Colombian's efforts too, stating that he's "one of the worst players" he had seen earn their wage at Tottenham for a long time.
Last season, Sanchez only managed to start eight matches in the Premier League, serving as a bitter time to his spell on English shores as he failed to evoke the kind of confidence needed to contribute to the club's struggling backline.
It was perhaps a mistake to have opted to unleash Lenglet with far greater regularity, especially considering that he made more direct defensive errors that led to shots or goals (two to zero) and won 54% of his ground duels as opposed to Sanchez's 64%.
This suggests that the Frenchman was worse than the Colombia international, who made fewer costly errors and dominated his opponents with greater effect.
What Clement Lenglet is doing now
There were discussions in the summer to bring the 15-cap France international back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Fabrizio Romano even claiming that it was one to watch in August.
Ultimately, though, Lenglet did not wind up back at the club, though he was not to remain in Catalonia and joined Spurs' Premier League rivals Aston Villa on a year-long loan deal following Tyrone Mings' serious injury.
The £50k-per-week ace has not even played a minute in the Premier League at Aston Villa, though he has started all three of the club's matches in the Europa Conference League group phase.
To be fair, Lenglet has not really had much of a chance to exhibit his qualities at Villa Park this season, but perhaps that speaks of the trust placed in his ability by Unai Emery, who is hardly struggling to click his side into gear.
What is on record, however, is his abject seasonal record with Tottenham, where he featured at the epicentre of a season that brought nothing but hardship and suffering.
That being said, the seeds of the 2022/23 term brought Postecoglou's reign into bloom, but the Australian manager will likely be thankful that moves were not made to tie up a permanent deal, instead concluding what will be remembered as a substandard stint.