Big 4 now the Big 5?

Stag said:
davestar, the team that dropped out of the top4 that year were Liverpool because they put all their eggs in the Champions League basket. Everton have certainly got some great players but one or two injurys to Arteta or Johnson and your performances will dry up. Depth is something Everton do not possess and over a course of a season their form will fluctuate as a matter of course.
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Yeah I'm well aware of how they did it.

Incidentally I don't believe any team will break the top 4 this season, I just found it odd to suggest Everton had no chance whilst Spurs do. The lack of squad depth and injuries could equally affect Spurs, particularly in midfield. Everton still finished strongly last year even though Johnson, Arteta and Cahill were all missing for sizable chunks of the season.
 
You don't need to quote the post above when replying btw, it gets a tad annoying.

With regard to squad depth it's all about opinion, mine just happens to be that attacking wise Spurs wee over Everton from a great height. They have also improved their weak areas on last season with Kaboul and Bale sorting out the defence somewhat. Spurs still lack a tenacious ball winner in midfield and that may cost them, but we shall see.

;)

I'm also not suggesting Spurs will break the top4, but I predict that a gap will open up between the Spurs in 5th (or above) and the places below. Though I'm seriously tempted to put money on Everton at 8-1 to finish 5th.
 
Vaguely tempted by 16/1 on West Ham to win the 'minus tb4' league.
They have a lot of talent at the club, a reasonable manager now and a big financial backer. I really can't see them suffering this season like they did last time around. Will be a lot less upheaval too assuming the Tevez thing gets sorted, in terms of boardroom changes, managerial changes, dodgy Argentianians etc, FA hearings etc.
 
Just to add a bit of spice back into the Newcastle/Tottenham thing, this is from Prince Boateng:

Prince Boateng said:
"To be in London and playing for Spurs will be great for me.
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Guess London is a big point and why players would go to Spurs over Newcastle :p
 
NokkonWud said:
Just to add a bit of spice back into the Newcastle/Tottenham thing, this is from Prince Boateng:


Guess London is a big point and why players would go to Spurs over Newcastle :p
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It is, i would think that the majority of players coming from abroad won't even know where Newcastle is. Not sure whether thats a good or bad thing for Newcastle though :D ;)
 
BaZ87 said:
It is, i would think that the majority of players coming from abroad won't even know where Newcastle is. Not sure whether thats a good or bad thing for Newcastle though :D ;)
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Newcastle is a fantastic city though, it's certainly the best I've been to in the UK.
 
HangTime said:
Vaguely tempted by 16/1 on West Ham to win the 'minus tb4' league.
They have a lot of talent at the club, a reasonable manager now and a big financial backer. I really can't see them suffering this season like they did last time around. Will be a lot less upheaval too assuming the Tevez thing gets sorted, in terms of boardroom changes, managerial changes, dodgy Argentianians etc, FA hearings etc.
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I agree with that, they would be top 10 easy i think. AC had Charlton in the Top 10 with what limited resources he had, with all the talents and resources at West Ham, I can see West Ham being the surprise team this season. European place finish is well within their reach.
 
i agree on the big 5 or even a big 6 next season

oh and about newcastle not havin any big players over the past ten years it must be a joke thay have had some top players
 
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Why do people always say Newcastle are not a big club and can't attract big players. They are the 8th most successful club in England, have had some of the biggest players in Europe over the last decade, although there have been a few useless players as well.

They have had Shearer, the best English Striker in a long time, possibly ever. They have had players such as Parker, Klivert (sp?) Andy Cole, Jonathan Woodgate, Les Ferdinand Peter Beardsley etc. So they have had some very big names and still have some exceptionally good players such as Owen, Martins, Duff (if he comes back to what he was), Luque (just watch how good he was for Depo), Taylor, Milner, and super Shay.

With the players they have now as a foundation to build on and Big Sam there to get the best out of the lost players (Luque) they could easily be back up challenging the top 4/5 this season and break into it next season.

Although for now I think spurs are going to be better than them this season as they aren't in the middle of rebuilding their team.
 
I actually think we could be in for a cracker of a season.

Teams like Spurs and Newcastle should be on the up, Villa have a decent manager and an interesting (albeit not amazing) squad, West Ham will be there or thereabouts, Pompey got wads of cash to throw around.... not to mention sides like Everton and Blackburn who have had good finishes in recent years.

I think the fight for european places is gonna be tougher than ever, the days of a good squad and manager guarenteeing a UEFA cup spot are gone.
 
What I worry about, not just with Spurs but with all of the teams "on the up", is that the new players will take a while to bed in and get used to playing in the Premiership and with each other.

I think their could be some very disgruntled fans come November.
 
Tunney said:
What I worry about, not just with Spurs but with all of the teams "on the up", is that the new players will take a while to bed in and get used to playing in the Premiership and with each other.

I think their could be some very disgruntled fans come November.
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Good point. This is why Spurs have to hit the ground running as they have an advantage over some of their closer rivals.

Our first team is virtually unchanged. We've strengthened our cover and potential players looking to break through. Of the £40m we've spent only Bent is over 21 and even though he's our record signing he still isn't first choice! Crazy!

Bale is only very young, doubt he'll be first choice LB straight away? Kaboul is cover for King and Boateng won't be walking into the first team straight away. Rose is 16 and I doubt he'll even make his debut this season.

So pretty much unchanged really.
 
Jol Sacking odd have droped form 16-1 to 8-1 ^^

Spurs MF is shocking bad with Jenas the only bright spark and all that money wasted on Bent. Might not be a wast now that Berbatov is out for a while.

Last min bid for Dyer? He has the pace and attacking flair you need and he did play well last year for the toon just diped towards the end of the season due to fitness.
 
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Wouldn't surprise me to see Spurs above Man Utd before the end of this week.

Spurs, Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea all have £40m+ strikeforces so they are all feared throughout the land.
 
From the Independent.

Jol's future in jeopardy after crisis talks on Spurs slump
By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent
Published: 16 August 2007

The Tottenham Hotspur chairman, Daniel Levy, had crisis talks with his manager, Martin Jol, yesterday over the Dutchman's future at the club. Jol's position at the club has been made fragile by his side's poor start to the campaign, but he has been in a difficult position since last season.

The 51-year-old has been told in no uncertain terms that he will have to turn the season around quickly – starting with Derby County on Saturday – or face the consequences. Jol has rescued his Tottenham career from the brink before but, one year on, he will be shown less patience by the board this time.

The Tottenham manager was under pressure in the second part of last season before the 4-0 win over Fulham in February put the club back on track. Having invested more than £40m on players over the summer, the club have started with two defeats and the gloom deepened yesterday when it emerged that striker Dimitar Berbatov is facing two weeks out with a groin injury.

Even Everton's manager, David Moyes, whose side beat Spurs 3-1 at White Hart Lane of Tuesday night, expressed alarm on Tuesday night that already questions were being raised over Jol's long-term future at the club. However, the hardening of attitude in the Tottenham hierarchy is not simply a result of the two defeats to Sunderland and Everton, it has been evident in some figures at the club since last season.

The position of the club's director of football, Damien Comolli, is not in question and he has impressed Tottenham's hierarchy with his attitude in the last two years. Should a decision be made to part company with Jol, any new manager would be obliged to work under Comolli.

Jol has clashed with the board in the recent past and was told to pick Berbatov for the FA Cup tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in March, having originally left the Bulgarian striker out of the team in order to rest him. The form of Berbatov has been one of the key areas of concern for Tottenham over the first two games of the season, not looking the same player who took the Premier League by storm last season.

Younes Kaboul, their new £7m centre-back, is out for four weeks. There were understood to be harsh words spoken after the last minute defeat to Sunderland, with the Bulgarian angry at his team-mates.
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Bigpig said:
Jol Sacking odd have droped form 16-1 to 8-1 ^^

Spurs MF is shocking bad with Jenas the only bright spark and all that money wasted on Bent. Might not be a wast now that Berbatov is out for a while.

Last min bid for Dyer? He has the pace and attacking flair you need and he did play well last year for the toon just diped towards the end of the season due to fitness.
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dyer is the same as jenas..weak and gutless...couldnt give a fig about who he plays for as long as they pay him enough

theres no fight or passion in the spurs midfield...your defence is constantly under pressure as the midfield is just being bypassed

spurs need a robbie savage..somebody who everybody hates playing against, who can break up the opposition attacks and free somebody else up in midfield to actually play football and to provide service for your strikers...at the minute you have a couple of headless chickens in the centre
 
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