New sponsor means change of one top-flight position at most for Spurs

Given that Tottenham are set to make in excess of £12m a year for the next five years from their new shirt sponsor, supporters may be better off being grateful to the money coming into the club, instead of being more concerned that the writing on the logo of AIA is Arsenal red.

The insurance company have already spent the current season as Tottenham’s partner in cup competitions and it is believed that the deal will help grow the Spurs brand in the Asia-Pacific region.

AIA will become the eighth different shirt sponsor in Tottenham’s Premier League existence at the start of next season, although the deal will become the 10th different period of change since Holsten donned the club’s shirts in the 1992/93 campaign.

This is because Holsten and current sponsor HP have both had two separate stints as the chief shirt sponsor.

What is interesting when looking back to previous change-over periods is that Spurs only ever move a maximum of one place up or down the top flight from the last season of one sponsor to the first of the next one.

Spurs finished seventh in their last season with Holsten in 1994/95, before finishing eighth in the following season when Hewlett Packard took over sponsorship duties.

1998/99 was the last season of the technology firm’s first sponsorship stint and Spurs finished 11th, with a climb to 10th in the next season when Holsten returned.

The change-over between Holsten and Thomson saw a one-place drop from ninth to 10th, then successive fifth-place finishes were secured in Thomson’s last season and the first of Mansion.

A demotion of one place from fourth to fifth occurred when Mansion were replaced by Autonomy, but this place was gained back when Aurasma replaced Autonomy as shirt sponsor.

Having finished fifth last season, if this trend is to continue, Spurs will finish fourth, fifth or sixth in the current campaign and it is 2/1 that Tim Sherwood can guide his team to a top-four finish.

Should Spurs finish sixth, history intimates that it will be at least the 2015/16 campaign before they can regain their position in the top four.