As long as AVB is there I actually think it's a realistic possibility. I'm still confident we will finish no lower than 3rd. We should get our act together by New Year and as it stands we're closer to 1st than we are to 5th/6th. Before the season started I think my prediction for the season was: 1. City 2. United 3. Chelsea 4. Arsenal 5. Newcastle 6. Liverpool Can't remember which way around I had them but I had Spurs and Everton for 7th and 8th. It's still way to early to come to any significant conclusion but I'm sticking by my top 3 (in that order). I would definitely have backed us to finish above United if we had even 1 half decent striker. There's no way Newcastle will make top 5 now IMO, they'll do well to make top half. Liverpool are an interesting development though. I actually think they have a far better manager now than they've had for the last 10-12 years. Having played all of Arsenal, City, Chelsea, United, WBA, Everton, Newcastle at least once although they are 11th they are only 2 points off Spurs in 8th. Spurs now lost 4 league games in 5 (we started that bad run ) and an immensly tough few fixtures coming up without Adebayor for 3 games. The way the league is shaping up and because of Arsenal, Chelsea and United having all declined in recent seasons (Arsenal significantly) even a side as poor as Liverpool are could realistically target that 4th spot. It is perhaps indicative of modern football that the battle for 4th is more interesting than the battle for the title or even relegation. With AVB at the helm, Spurs will do well to get top 6 IMO. Looking at their fixtures now it seems quite plausible they may have racked up 6-7 defeats before we've even hit New Year. I think the gap between 4th-8th may well only be 6-8 points in it (maximum) come the end of the season.
I think that's a realistic forecast apart from Newcastle! I really think David Moyes will get Everton in the top 6.
Looking hard to put Everton outside the top 6 right now. Hopefully they'll have a reverse of their usual season and plummet. I'd like to see them up high instead of Spurs though (due to their fans).
Hmmm, really can't see us getting 4th. It all depends on our run up to Jan and who we bring in. Although it is certain that the team that gets 4th will be of less quality than your average English champions league team, whether it be Arsenal, Spurs, Everton or us. But any of those teams can benefit the CL money and attraction to make them a better team for next season.
in my opinion: 1)City 2)Chelsea 3)United 4) Arsenal 5)Everton 6)Newcastle 7)spurs 8) wba 9) Liverpool I think Everton will last the season out as will newcastle. I think we will be inconsistant and I think WBA will hit a bad patch. Liverpool are too dependant on Suarez and I can see city coming in for him with stupid money as they will fear you getting Falcao (excuse spelling).
Can't see City coming in for Suarez,we simply don't need him We will probably offload Balotelli abroad to one of the Milan clubs or PSG and spend the money on someone like de Rossi. As for top 4 for Liverpool,I think they will need to close the 8 point gap considerably and buy well in January.Not impossible but 6th is more likely.If they could play with the same passion every week as when they played us off the park it wouldn't be a problem.Right manager at the helm for me though and next year really could be there year
We've lost 4 out of 5 as you say yet we're still ahead of Liverpool so it seems unlikely. If Dembele's back like AVB says then expect us to be much improved, we've won all 4 league games he's started in and whilst the recent results have been disappointing we've got out of the way 4 of last seasons top 6(5 + us) away from home whilst 'Pool have only played your lot away. When Liverpool show they can put together a string of wins I'll take them seriously but until then they won't be anywhere near top 4. If Dembele keeps picking up injuries though we could find ourselves way off the pace too by January but if we do end up caught up scrapping in midtable Liverpool will be the least of my worries.
You are ahead by a mere 2 points YV and we've only had 1 striker so far(that'll change in january), we had a legit last minute winner disallowed at Everton so in the real picture we should be 1 point ahead of you, you Spurs fans delude yourselves that your better than you really are, we accept our present situation and league placing so should you. Top 4th/5th for us this season would be a bonus, but i'd settle for 6th. Btw you are 'caught up scrapping in midtable' in november and we're unbeaten in 7 games, welcome to the real world.
Actually you'd be level with us if you beat Everton unless they've changed the rules and you get 4 points for winning the Merseyside Derby. We had a player wrongly sent off against Norwich and should've had a penalty, who cares. Deluding myself? I was pointing out that we've had tougher games this season, had a chaotic start, gone through a patch where we we've been mostly crap and yet still we're ahead of you. 1 striker? We've only had Ade back for a handful of games so we've been in the same boat but just as you only have 1 quality striker, we only have 1 quality creative midfielder, now imagine how badly you'd be doing if you only had Suarez available for 5 games. Scrapping in midtable means being there for a long period of time whilst those above get some real distance on you. That's why I said scrapping in midtable not just "in midtable". Sorry if you think I'm deluded but that's honestly just your lack of comprehension skills - you haven't put together a string of wins and we're not scrapping it out in midtable but if either of those two happen you could well find yourselves finishing above us. It shouldn't be that hard to understand.
Temper temper, you blurted on about how like Spurs were the dog's bollox compared to us etc, Spurs have had better attacking options than us yet as i pointed out our attack this season has been our only downfall, take a look at your goals against tally(21), your goal diff is in the -. You said you'd take us serious if we went on an unbeaten run, we're unbeaten in 7 compared to Spurs 4 losses in the last 7 'seriously', we are in better form than Spurs with a weaker squad at the moment and if you wan't to keep your head buried in the sand fine, like i said 4th/5th for us this season would be a massive bonus considering we're work in progress but i'd settle for 6th.
Temper? I'm not angry at all. Seriously though, read what I actually said again you've totally misunderstood... again. I never said you needed to put together an unbeaten run. Being able to put together winning streaks is how you prove that you're a team that can challenge for a top 4 spot and it's the only way you're going to ensure you make up ground on all the teams above. Bizarrely you even admit that your squad is weaker yet you've taken umbrage to my assertion that Liverpool won't challenge for top 4 and are unlikely to finish above us. Confusing. It's why fans of other teams find yours so funny though. You've fallen from your position as a big 4 club and whilst at times you can admit that, you still can't accept that clubs like Spurs have overtaken you.
I like Spurs fans because their entertaining. Their forums really amuse me. They genunely believe they are so much better than what they are and what they don't realise, is that its THIS very fact that will see them slip down the table as with the a new Manager with a complete new way of working, and the squad they currently have, after losing most of their best players like Modric, VDV and King, they are by no means definite top 4. Thats just how it is. Their squad is significantly weaker than last season with the players who were top 4 quality, and largely the reason theyve been there in the first place, leaving and not being competently replaced with equally good players (besides Dembele he looks like he could be good). They are only equal contenders for 4th with Arsenal and Everton, due to their retrograding of their squad, but they refuse to see this and so their expectations of 4th at a minimum isn't realistic and is what is causing all the aggro amongst their fanbase (mainly aimed at AVB and Levy). Even a Mourinho wouldn't be assured of getting Spurs 4th with that current squad, and AVB is no Mourinho. The basic fact of the matter is this. Any team losing players the quality of Modric, VDV and King are not going to be as good as they were, as the chances of bringing in replacements of the same calibre, and then them hitting the ground running instantly, is very unlikely. If they had those 3 players back in their team right now then I'd comfortably predict at LEAST 4th for them, but theyve gone and not replaced. They are creating a huge cauldron of pressure around AVB, a Manager who could be great for them given time and support, with their unrealistic demands and the circumstances of the squad level. This pressure results in AVB and a much weakened team, finding getting results even harder due to the pressure on them. You can feel it at every league game at WHL. Booing as well? I'd be ashamed. They are going to hound AVB out of the club due to their unrealistic demands and the pressure this creates on the man and the team to perform to such a high standard in every single game. If they are to get 4th then they need to have a good January and bring in some better players to really replace the departed and start getting behind their Manager and team at WHL reducing the pressure on them to perform. Look at Liverpool as an example. Poor most of the season, with results worse than AVB for Rodger's (although in interests of fairness Rodger's has had to face harder teams than Spurs so far as DL demonstrates in his OP), yet you don't see many Liverpool fans calling for his head, and you certainly won't hear booing at Anfield this early. The support hasn't been great, but slowly getting better and the pressure felt by BR and the players much less and slowly but surely the tide is starting to change. Why can't Spurs fans just act the same towards their brand new Manager? I counted 6 different threads on a well known and popular Spurs forum on the weekend all basically saying in different ways; "AVB out". How will that mentality help anyone at Spurs? You tell me. If they can start trusting AVB and actually show a bit of patience then they still have a chance of 4th. If they carry on like they have and Levy does a typical Levy January, then Arsenal will piss them to it and possibly Everton could come above them too. They, like Liverpool fans have finally been able to do regarding the top 4, need to accept that they are not as good as they think or used to be. Neither Spurs nor Liverpool will be top 4. I guarantee that.
Lots of us have criticised the booing and moaning...but I do find it hard to hear you claim Liverpool fans are understanding and patient....you lot were booing Hodgson and demanding his head by september! Football is now so unbelievably impatient...chairman, directors, players and fans of ALL clubs have no patience on the whole.
If we bring in who i expect us to bring in, and Levy still doesn't replace VDV and Modric or strengthen the wing depth as there's only Lennon and Bale their who are top quality, and lets face it, with Levy this could easily be the case, I think we'll have at least as good a squad if not a better one than Spurs. We already have a better defense which all this seasons and last seasons show, and with Gerrard, Allen, Sahin and Lucas back on Thursday are central midfield is just as good, we just need to strengthen centre forward and left wing with real quality and we'll be level pegging. Again, Spurs squad is nowhere near as strong as they think it is and like to make out it is, especially compared to last season. The difference in opinion on their squad between Spurs fans and non-Spurs fans can be quite illuminating.
Under Hodgson we sold our best players, bought awful players like Konchesky and had the oaf come in and tell us we were of relegation quality thanks to the 'mess' that Champions League winning and Premier League Runners Up manager Rafa Benitez left him. He told us constantly how much he loved Man U and Fergie and how we should too, he told us a win against Notts County would of been "a Famous Victory for the club" and said a draw with Everton was "absolute Utopia". He criticised all the players pubicly constantly and tried to bomb out Daniel Agger and Glenn Johnson two of our best players and best players in their position in the league and both Internationals. On top of this the straw that broke the camels back wasn't until DECEMBER when he pubicly criticised the fans in the ground and blamed the fact we were down amongst a relegation scrap on the fans themselves rather than his own incompetence. He held the club, the city, the players and worse of all the fans in complete and utter contempt and made this abundantly clear in public from day one. Explain to me how this is even comparable to AVB, who you lot booed after the whole 2 games. 2. At least we waited until december getting beat at home by lower league clubs and PL relegation fodder and finallly, until he actually INSULTED us, before we booed him (and most of the time we didn't boo him, we chanted "Hodgson for England" and Dalglish".) In no way can you compare our behaviour with Hodgson to your lot with AVB. He's done nothing wrong other than win every game you've played convincingly enough. You lot even moan and have digs at him when you win. Like against QPR FFS!
A few things to correct, Toela. Most of us don't expect top 4 but we target it, like you might with 6th. Dembele's looks like he's very good, not good. There's plenty of top 4 quality players left too, the trouble is in addition to bedding in new signings and returning loanees being promoted to our first team we've also had injuries to Parker, Kaboul, Ekotto and Adebayor who were all key players in our first 11 last season. For those reasons it hasn't been so much introduce them slowly as throw them all in and hope it works from the off. Pure cheek for a Liverpool fan to suggest we overrate our players Have you read your board? Anyway, keep seeing it how you want.
Apologies to DL if he genuinly didn't want his thread to turn into an argument between Spurs and Liverpool fans. I suspect you might well be quite pleased with yourself though
Interesting one. I'd currently have Spurs a little ahead of Liverpool for a top 4 but it depends on what Liverpool do in Jan as much as anything as they are bound to be the busier of the 2 IMO. Personally and subject to us remembering how to win a game again, I'd still have the mancs, us and arsenal as top 4 anyway.
Liverpool's owners weren't interested in spending big money in the summer so I can't see that changing. Levy tends to give new managers a good amount of money to spend and since we made a net transfer profit in the summer after the Moutinho deal collapsed last minute I think we'll see more movement from us.
