For all the failings on the pitch, Thomas Frank did not enjoy the best of fortunes when it came to players available to him.
Injuries denied him the chance to use some of his most influential performers. And there also was the departure of the iconic Son Heung-min.
Another major blow came when the club let the potential signing of Eberechi Eze drag on so long that Arsenal seized the opportunity to hijack his move from Crystal Palace.
Spurs also thought they had a £60m deal to sign Nottingham Forest's gifted midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, with a medical tentatively pencilled in. But Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis begged to differ, and the saga ended with the player signing a new deal.
In Eze and Gibbs-White, Spurs could have acquired match-winners who might have proved priceless to Frank.
Dejan Kulusevski's long-term knee injury robbed Frank of a crucial attacking weapon
Kulusevski - one of Spurs' most dangerous game-changers - never played a minute under Frank because of surgery on a patella injury sustained last season.
England midfielder James Maddison had been in and out under Ange Postecoglou, but his hopes of making an impact under Frank disappeared when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle in June.
Dominic Solanke - the side's £60m spearhead - was also missing for months after an operation on an ankle injury, while Mohammed Kudus - a £55m signing from West Ham - and Richarlison also suffered long-term injuries.
While Frank was unable to find solutions, there is no question those absences were damaging.