In the race for a top 4 spot - who will be our biggest contender? Personally I think Spurs are going to drop down to 6th, and possibly lower in a few seasons but I'm not going to write them off completely yet - they can still surprise me. Arsenal have strengthened, but they still seem weak and I think whether they contend with us will really depend on what strengthening they do in January, because at the moment they look like us 2 years ago.
If we take the common punditry theme at present then it would be Spurs as Arsenal still have little midfield presence. However, I think this is going to be a season of surprises with mid-table teams taking points off the top sides throughout the season.
Next weekends game is a must win for us. The difference being that we could be level with Spurs in losses so far in the season opposed to 3 losses to 1. A draw would be disappointing for both teams. Arsenal looked dodgy at home to Swansea, with a full squad it's hard to tell what they will be like, remember we were written off early last season.
It's a tough one. I think Spurs having a manager that spends most of his time making 'TV' appearances and is soon destined to take over from Capello is problematic, plus having a player there that clearly wanted to leave isn't a good idea. The TV thing baffles me - If Kenny was on TV shows anywhere near as much as Harry than I would be extremely concerned. It is clearly panned so he gets plenty of media attention before his new appointment. Although they have an Ok squad it just seems very disjointed to me. I see Spurs finishing 6th. Arsenal I reckon will give us more of a fight. I know they are going through a 'crisis' but I think once injured players are back and suspensions are complete they will have plenty more than Spurs. I think the blip they are going through now shouldn't fool us as we know they will considerably improve. Remember how long our blip was last season, I don't see theirs being anywhere near that length. I still think we are favourites to finish 4th and on current form we are clearly more impressive than Spurs and Arsenal. Also when looking beyond the team - such things as management, coaches, owners etc etc It is clear we are in a better position than Spurs and Arsenal. It is a hard one to call and I'm not going to be over confident just yet - but to be honest so far this season I don't rate Spurs and Arsenal one bit.
It's so early in the season and although Arsenal have started badly I think they will recover and challenge for top 4.
Arsenal's current side are abysmal and their Manager has completely lost it. Tottenham look so disappointing. I hate to say it but I think Liverpool will come 4th.
Just to add to my previous post - I was watching TV with the Mrs the other night and Harry was on a TV chat show - She said 'I thought he was a football manager' My point being - Shouldn't he be sticking to his day job?
Just in an improved and more detailed and sophisticated manner LDC - you'll go far if you take a leaf out of my book
Can I go for Stoke instead? Spurs were a good team when 'arry took over, but he loves to buy pensioners and all the talented players appear to want out. 'arry is another Woy, he's made to be scrabbling about for freebies in the bargain basement, which makes Bale and Modrić twitchy. I mean Joe Cole, really??? after seeing what a flop he was at Liverpool??? Added to that, they have Europa commitments, all those Thursday nights... Arse, panic buys from the reject piles of good clubs? I can't see the Arse getting it together this year, I think they bought well enough to stop them going down, but unless Arsen'hole thinks about who he should be buying, rather than who can he get in the next 48 hours... If the manager can think of a coherent transfer policy for January, they may well get it together, but I think it's too little, too late, for this season at least. Everton are just straining to snap with the squad depth, God only knows what Kenwright and his fellow shady board members are up to over the park, but with no money and no trust from the bank, I think they will flirt with relegation rather than Europe this season. Fulham. Slow start so far, I don't recall much of their transfer activities, other than the fact that they got a really **** manager. Just to look and listen to Jol makes me 100% sure he should be on the sex offenders register. I can't see Jol getting anything from Fulham. Also why did Hughes walk? something fishy there, too. You don't "progress" your career by quitting a job with a smaller team, you win cups with them to show how good you are. So I can't see them doing better than top 10. Villa. Not sure, but I don't think they have a good manager, and they have lost their best players, so I can't see a threat there! So I say Stoke, they have stability from last year and have bought well in the window. While I don't care for their style of play, I think they could get a fair few results this season.
