Las season
Being a Spurs fan you could say I am biased on this one, but honestly, last year I didn't think it was possible. Champions League fixtures affected their overall form and in the league they just couldn't get enough points from the teams in the bottom of the table. While they got good results against Arsenal and Liverpool, they were beaten by Blakpool and just managed some draws with West Ham, Wolves and other lower teams.
This season
This year on the other hand things look different. Scot Parker seems to be a great player, and he showed that yesterday playing for England against the European champions Spain. He constantly frustrated world class players like Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas in midfield and he is doing that week in week out with any English team. Top that with the fact that Van Der Vaart is getting even more used to the league, Bale is improving, and Modric is just top class, for me it seems the situation is quite different. The defense looks vulnerable sometimes but that's when players like Parker, Modric or Sandro come in to support them when needed. Some laughed at the big money Chelsea wanted to pay for a midfielder with poor record on goals and assists, but the facts actually say that last season Modric created about 76 goal scoring opportunities and that he is the 3rd player in the league considering passing and interceptions. What that tells me is that Spurs might have the best midfield in the premiership (also considering dept in squad).
Europa league
Harry Redknapp has played a second team in the Europea League making things even better for the first 11 that can concentrate now on getting results in the domestic matches, while teams like Arsenal, the Manchesters and Chelsea will have to deal with Champions League fixtures that will eventually take their toll on the players even with the best rotation possible. They can't just play reserves in the Champions League like Spurs are doing in Europa League.
All adding up I would say that Spurs are real contenders for the top 4 this season. I would love it to see them again in Champions League next season. Come On You Spurs!
PS: Because this is a betting forum I also have to add the idea that on the long term I think they will lose only a few matches this season, so I think that betting on every league game on "double chance" or "draw no bet" on Spurs will end up with a profit at the end of the season. You could argue that you can do that on teams like Manchester United or even Manchester City which have even less chances of losing a game, but not so great odds, so overall my guess is that the odds on Spurs will pay out better.