Source : Daily Telegraph
Alan Hansen: Tottenham's talents mean fifth place can only be seen as a disappointment.
Despite their defeat at Old Trafford, Tottenham still look better equipped than any of their rivals to become the team who finally break the stranglehold on the Champions League places.
The sooner they do it, the better, though, because if they fail this season, they will find getting there becomes ever more difficult.
There is a vast chasm between fourth and fifth that does not exist, say, between fifth and sixth. Finishing fourth represents a fantastic campaign, increasing a club's revenue streams and enabling the manager to go out and buy better players. Fifth can be seen only as a disappointment.
Though both Spurs and Manchester City, their closest challengers, have the look of sides who could become realistic, regular challengers for both the top four and even the Premier League title over the next few seasons, at the moment it is Harry Redknapp's side who are the more impressive.
They have the better players, the better team and their strength in depth is as good as there is in the league, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal included. City have spent a significant sum to build a side, but they still seem a mishmash of talented players with not many who would qualify for inclusion in the very top bracket in world football.
That will change, though, especially if it is City who qualify for the Champions League. It has cost Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan around £200 million to take his team to the brink of the top four, but actually achieving it may tempt him to have a real go at toppling the established order.
There could not be a better time to do that, as the top four are not as good as they once were – that can be seen by how many times each has lost this season – and it is an opportunity City would not want to miss.
Regardless, such is their financial power that it is just a matter of time before someone gets it right at Eastlands. That will be a problem for everyone, and that is why it is of such importance that Spurs hold on to fourth place.
Alone among the eight or so clubs with aspirations of finishing in the top four, Tottenham could start next season with a very similar squad to the one they have now and still keep pace with their rivals. They should also be encouraged that their success this season has been based around a core of players Fabio Capello may choose to call upon for his England squad this summer.
Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch will definitely be selected by the Italian, while you would expect Aaron Lennon to join them. Tom Huddlestone has been mentioned in dispatches, and Michael Dawson has enjoyed a better season than most of his rivals for a centre-back berth.
The most exacting conundrum Capello faces, though, concerns Ledley King. Though his quality cannot be questioned, it is a difficult decision to take a player so susceptible to injury that he cannot train with his club for fear of aggravating his knee problems.
With doubts over Rio Ferdinand's fitness, it would be placing your fate in the lap of the gods to take a player with such injury problems, but – against my better judgment – I would put him on the plane, simply because he is streets ahead of the alternatives.
As well as Ferdinand's back, there are concerns over John Terry's form, which has been indifferent this season. Taking King, a player who could have been a regular were it not for his injury problems, as cover is a risk, but it is one worth taking.
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Hansen: Tottenham's talents mean fifth place can only be seen as a disappointment
Discussion in 'Spurscommunity Front Page News' started by ricardo_archibald, Apr 26, 2010.
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Discussion in 'Spurscommunity Front Page News' started by ricardo_archibald, Apr 26, 2010.
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