Their collective XI was the strongest of all teams that year.
There's a reason why City had to spend a load on FBs following the season and why Chelsea dropped off when they didn't strengthen effectively in the transfer window and had more fixtures with CL.
Wanyama was excellent that season before he became a permacrock. Same for Dembele, who also was excellent before age and injuries impacted his performance.
Kane won Golden Boot, and Alli and Son had 20 plus goals in all comps. Kane, Alli, Walker, and Rose were all in the PFA Team of the Year, joint most with Chelsea.
This is from a Spurs blog itself in their season review:
"The general consensus was that, despite Chelsea winning the title, Tottenham Hotspur were the best team in English football since the start of 2017."
https://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnati...30/tottenham-hotspur-2016-17-season-in-review
It absolutely was thought by many they were the strongest team in England that season.
Again, not a massive failure in my eyes they didn't win, but they definitely had more than just a chance for 2 seasons running. After that with City and Liverpool strengthening as they had, and even United performing better in 17/18, I understand the drop off in form in the league to an extent even though there were elements of it I think were concerning.