September will be remembered for ......

........ the emergence of 23 year old Ryan Mason as a legitimate member of Spurs' Premier League squad. Mason first appeared for Spurs' first team as a last minute substitute for Harry Redknapp's UEFA Cup side away to N.E.C in November, 2008. Ryan then went out on a successful loan at Yeovil in the 2009-10 season, where other players associated with Spurs have also had success, such as Steven Caulker.

Ryan's next appearances in the Spurs first team didn't come until the 2012-13 season, when he again made late appearances as substitute in European games, but he did make his first start in the League Cup game at Carlisle, which Spurs won 3-0. Other loans have been with Doncaster, Millwall, Leyton Orient, and last season at Swindon, where he was again very popular.

Fast forward then to September 24th at home to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, when Ryan came on as a 65th minute substitute, and turned the game with a quite spectacular debut goal for the first team. Mason also had a hand in Spurs' second goal, and obviously did enough to be given a start in Spurs' toughest game so far this season, away to Arsenal. Mason was given the full 90 minutes too in a game where Christian Eriksen, and scorer Nacer Chadliwere withdrawn, and Danny Rose had to go off with a knock. Mason acquitted himself well in the eys of Mauricio Pochettino and Spurs fans, most of whom were really unaware of his career with Spurs to date.

I have been lucky enough to see Ryan from his early days as an Academy player, and have not been the only one to note his skills as an attacking midfielder, with an eye for goal. I was considering a headline of "All that money and the youngsters win it" for the Forest game, when one considers goals by Mason, and Harry Kane, and Andros Townsend's assist for Soldado's goal.

Ryan Mason will always remember September 2014, and after only 115 minutes football, he is our player of the month, and of the season so far.

Whether or not Mason manages to maintain his early momentum, the chances are that Hugo Lloris will remain among the elite group of challengers for that player of the season accolade, as he was voted our best player in two of the five games played this month, and only lost out to an outstanding effort by skipper Younes Kaboul in the Arsenal game.

Kaboul has been one of many players criticised so far this season by Spurs Odyssey readers and other Spurs fans, but he is one of few members of the squad who have actually improved their ratings for the season during what was a poor month for the team. Kyle Naughton is another whose improvement has been recognised.

The point at Arsenal is one of the few good things to come from September, in which we truly squandered five points, throwing away two points at Sunderland, where we were the best team by a mile, and then suffering that ignominious defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion. The team did bring back a point from Belgrade in their first Europa League Group C game.

So, we are in eighth place in the Premier League after 6 games. The table is compacted, with Chelsea head and shoulders above everyone else; Southampton as surprise members of the top four, and Spurs one of six teams on 8 points. We have six games in all in October, but only three of those are in the league. One is a tricky home match against Pochettino's former side. Then we have to travel to The Etihad, where we don't win any more, before Newcastle come to The Lane towards the end of the month. It will take longer than this month for Spurs to catch up lost ground in the league.

New signings Fazio and Stambouli have had steady starts, but have yet to claim assured Premier League places. Ben Davies is being out-done by Danny Rose at left back, where the competition could be stiffer, I would suggest. At right back, it looks as if we will be missing Kyle Walker for a while yet, as he has had to have surgery on his pelvic injury.

Nacer Chadli might be our top scorer, but he is not a player who has yet won the full affection of Spurs fans. Lamela can excite, and Eriksen can create, but we are still looking for an outfield hero to match Lloris's stardom.

Don't forget to check out the players' current figures re. appearances, cards, goals scored and accumulated ratings to date below.

...if you want to read reports of the matches played during this season, then links are on the Spurs Odyssey Fixtures/Reports page here. By working your way back through the previous month's figures, you can review the performances over 14 years!