Under Harry
Redknapp things were looking good for a strong Spurs that were near the top of
the table throughout the season, and at one point they were 10 points clear of
London rivals Arsenal, however after losing the derby at the Emirates 5-2 late
on in the season things changed for Spurs. They suddenly went on a run of
dreadful form which ended up with them finishing behind third placed Arsenal
and missing out on a Champions League place after Chelsea miraculously beat
Bayern Munich in the final. Redknapp at the end of the season was sacked so a
role at Spurs was now vacant.
Many names were in
the mix but it emerged that Andre Villas Boas – not long after being sacked by
Chelsea – was the man to manage Spurs. A shock for many but it is a chance to
prove himself in the Premiership with a job that has considerably less pressure
than the job at Chelsea. The question is though; can he progress with
Redknapp’s squad and make them title challengers?
I don’t wish to
break any Spurs fans hearts but I just don’t think that AVB will be able to
maintain a title charge, I think it’s going to be a fifth place finish for the
Spurs. Why? Well to start with let’s have a look at what’s going on with the
other title contenders and how they are going about making a title charge.
Premiership winners Manchester City haven’t been spending that much so far, and
with only the signing of Jack Rodwell from Everton; Man City are sure to build
upon their squad with some world class signings in the near future to help them
try and retain their first ever Premier League title. Despite their lack of spending look at the
squad they already have, it defies description due to the class that it has so
maybe spending here and there for Man City is the best option, but who knows?
The ever present
Manchester United is rebuilding and with a couple of good young talents United
are sure to make up for the title loss last season. The signing of Borussia
Dortmund’s Japanese creative midfielder Kagawa enhances the quality within that
United field and with the rumour that RVP has joined the Red Devils, United’s attack is
one to be wary of. United aren’t the club that spends out huge on lots of
players as they don’t need to so it’s obvious that even though this side is in
transition, United can still have a chance of winning the Premier League.
Chelsea – after a
disappointing Premier League season (despite winning the FA Cup and Champions
League) – are yet again in the transfer market spending Abramovich’s millions
on top quality players and getting rid of the ‘dead wood’. Chelsea has already signed up the extremely
talented Belgian winger Eden Hazard from LOSC Lille for reportedly £32m. Hazard
is one of those creative players that can make a huge impact for Chelsea, his
ability is unquestionable and is key signing for the Blues – a signing Spurs
could only dream of. Also Chelsea have also bought in Marko Marin from Werder
Bremen, playmaker Oscar from Brazilian side Internacional and Eden’s brother
Thorgan from RC Lens. All top quality players who will help Chelsea maintain a
better title charge than last season.
Moving on to
Arsenal – a team we always say will challenge for a title – are actually
spending in the transfer window this year, but let’s face it, they have to.
With the departure of RVP Arsenal have been looking deep into
the scout reports to find the right players to replace RVP and also to help
improve their squad. The signings of German international striker Lukas
Podolski and French international striker Olivier Giroud are brilliant signings
for the Gunners. Yes, they are both unproven in the Premier League but look at
their goal scoring records at club level. Both are top quality strikers, they
may not be s higher calibre than RVP but they are good replacements for when he
leaves. Also with Wenger bringing in Santi Cazorla from Malaga Arsenal are
bolstering their midfield options and surely this year we can say that Arsenal
can actually challenge for a title without fading away due to lack of form.
In comparison to
these teams, Spurs haven’t spent that much in this year’s summer transfer
window but they have bought in a couple of shrewd signings. Belgian centre back
Jan Vertonghen and Icelandic creative midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson are certainly
top talents that have been added to Spurs’ squad but in terms of the difference
in class between Spurs and their title rivals is different. The quality that
the other top teams have attracted is unmatched by Spurs and unfortunately this
can only be a sign of bad things to come.
However it’s not
just about transfers, squad wise Spurs – in my opinion - have the weakest squad
out of all the top teams challenging for a title. Yes they have the likes of
Gareth Bale, Rafael Van Der Vaart, Modric (who possibly is leaving White Hart
Lane) among others but look at the difference in class with the rest of the top
teams. The other top teams have squads that only Spurs could dream of, Chelsea,
Man City and Man United technically speaking have two squads due to how many top
class players they and as for Arsenal, the squad they have is full of talent
that they put them all into one squad. It’s very difficult to see how AVB can
even challenge these squads but it’s all down to how his management style and
how he can get this Spurs squad to challenge for the title.
If Spurs are to
maintain a title challenge loss of form has to be a no, they can’t go through
3/4 of a season near the top and then fall away just like last year. To keep up
a title challenge their form has to be matched to that of the other top teams
in the Premier League. If this happens, maybe, just maybe Spurs can fight for
the title but I think it’s highly doubtful. Also Spurs have to be able to beat
their title challengers. Last season Spurs didn’t really have much hope against
the big sides therefore this has to be improved, however I can’t see this
happening because of the gulf of class between them.
Hard to say really
if Spurs can maintain a title challenge as there are just so many factors that
could happen in the Premiership but as this report is only an opinion I could
be wrong. With Liverpool in resurgence I can see Spurs finishing 6th below
Liverpool which wouldn’t impress the fans or the Spurs board. Success is key
for AVB now at Spurs and with so many trophies on offer for AVB this year I
think he need to walk away with a minimum of 2 trophies such as the FA Cup and
Europa League (not the Premiership as I can’t see that happening) to make his
season look a success, however a high Premiership finish is a definite as well
to define a successful season.
No comments:
Post a Comment