Top four finish?

[Lilbaz]

Were we top at the halfway stage with the best GD and defence?


I'm not talking about us winning the league. I'm talking about top 4 chances.

We have a great chance for a cl place this season. But will not get it if we cannot keep up this level.
We are doing well but i remember all too well the mind the gap bollocks.

We need to keep level heads and keep up the recent performances and hopefully come may we might even win something.

 

[dondo]

The season has not been poor, this is how the league should be different clubs up there competing not the usual top 4 clubs running away by Xmas 20pts clear of everyone else with media crowing how good it is seeing them steam roller the rest week in week out. Times are changing with the new TV deal and the more clubs like us, Everton, stoke etc can keep adding to the quality we have the more unpredictable the league will be for top spots. Seeing the likes of Chelsea, city etal rack up 15 wins on the bounce is not quality, the premier is becoming seriously competitive and long may it continue.

The general quality has been poor IMO.
I'm all for change up the top of the league and Leicester have been amazing and the EPL is very exciting to watch but I think you may be confusing entertainment with quality. You only have to look at English clubs performances in Europe in the last few year to see our top clubs are a long way behind the best

 

[kmk]

We have a great chance for a cl place this season. But will not get it if we cannot keep up this level.
We are doing well but i remember all too well the mind the gap bollocks.

We need to keep level heads and keep up the recent performances and hopefully come may we might even win something.

That mind the gap nonsense from our fans on the Internet had no bearing on our failure to finish in the top 3.

That was caused by Redknapp taking his eye of the ball, not rotating the squad enough throughout the season and Levy not buying a decent striker during the winter transfer window.

 

[kmk]

The general quality has been poor IMO.
I'm all for change up the top of the league and Leicester have been amazing and the EPL is very exciting to watch but I think you may be confusing entertainment with quality. You only have to look at English clubs performances in Europe in the last few year to see our top clubs are a long way behind the best

The form of English clubs in Europe is probably down to the overall strength of the EPL and lack of a winter break. There are no easy games in the league unlike La Liga.

 

[Lilbaz]

That mind the gap nonsense from our fans on the Internet had no bearing on our failure to finish in the top 3.

That was caused by Redknapp taking his eye of the ball, not rotating the squad enough throughout the season and Levy not buying a decent striker during the winter transfer window.

Didn't say that it did. Just saying that the job isn't finished yet.

 

[TheVoiceofReason]

Oh god, thanks for reminding me about 'mind the gap'

 

[dondo]

The form of English clubs in Europe is probably down to the overall strength of the EPL and lack of a winter break. There are no easy games in the league unlike La Liga.

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on la liga but I would argue that their top three are better than anyone in our league right now.
The. EPL doesn't have the gap in class between the top sides and the rest as the Spanish league does but I think thats mainly down to rm athletico and barca being very good not the rest being poor. How well do you think villa, Sunderland, Swansea and the likes would do vs messi and co?

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

The form of English clubs in Europe is probably down to the overall strength of the EPL and lack of a winter break. There are no easy games in the league unlike La Liga.

So - the lack of a winter break affected groups games - how?

 

[Lilbaz]

I think it is a bit of everything. Utd the biggest team in the country have rgressed over the last few years. Chelsea are struggling.

Even arsenal haven't got the likes of bergcamp, henry and viera anymore.

But the other things also effect our ability to play in europe.

 

[maltahotspur]

The form of English clubs in Europe is probably down to the overall strength of the EPL and lack of a winter break. There are no easy games in the league unlike La Liga.

I actually think that there are easy games in the Premier League........I mean, look at Southampton v Arsenal today

 

[WiganSpur]

Providing we sort out striker and we keep injuries to a minimum I do think we have more than enough squad depth and quality to go the distance. It's not something we had last season.

I think then the only worry would be an injury at centre back, but everywhere else I'm pretty confident in the players to come in. Mason, Bentaleb, Chadli, Clinton, Onomah, Trippier, Davies etc. are all good footballers.

Big difference to the likes of Paulinho, Chiriches, Soldado, Capoue

 

[Wellspurs]

Going into the second half of the season in recent years has seen us 10-12 down on Goal difference with the other top 5/6.
We are 4 better than goons and equal to free scoring city, thanks mainly to Hugo and Toby.

 

[DanielCHillier]

Weird as it seems, Watford is a 6 pointer. Absolutely crucial to win games like this and whenever we next play Palace, Liverpool etc.

 

[glospur]

I'm not suggesting it's going to happen but does anyone else think that Poch and the squad are quietly confident we can mount a serious title challenge?

Every time they speak in the media they talk about finishing as high as we can and not putting any limits on where we can go without absolutely specifying any targets. They don't want to put it out there and put pressure on the team but I get the feeling that they haven't dismissed the possibility, if that makes sense.

 

[chinaman]

I'm not suggesting it's going to happen but does anyone else think that Poch and the squad are quietly confident we can mount a serious title challenge?

Every time they speak in the media they talk about finishing as high as we can and not putting any limits on where we can go without absolutely specifying any targets. They don't want to put it out there and put pressure on the team but I get the feeling that they haven't dismissed the possibility, if that makes sense.

We could be up to 3rd in less than 2 days' time. We're in for serious business.

 

[arunspurs]

One look at the goal scored stats says a huge story.

In last 9 games,

Spurs - 20 goals
Everton - 20 goals
Leicester - 19 goals
Watford - 17 goals
Arsenal - 15 goals
Man City - 14 goals
Liverpool - 13 goals
Palace - 10 goals
United - 6 goals (???!!!)

No wonder United is dropping down the league like dominoes

United in fact have only scored 3 goals in open play after their Everton win.
While Everton have scored 20, they just won 3 in that 9 games & conceded as many goals as they scored in the rest.
With no Sturidge, Liverpool are struggling as well.

Watford & Leicester look very good but with Leicester I am hoping wheels will now come off their run.

Waford have been brilliant ,but coincidentally the 5 games they lost are against the 5 teams that are above them in table (United, City,Palace,Leicester & Arse)

Which brings it to us - we have been the only team who have consistently scored in majority of games.

IMO, we look well placed for top3 spot let alone top4.

 

[kmk]

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on la liga but I would argue that their top three are better than anyone in our league right now.
The. EPL doesn't have the gap in class between the top sides and the rest as the Spanish league does but I think thats mainly down to rm athletico and barca being very good not the rest being poor. How well do you think villa, Sunderland, Swansea and the likes would do vs messi and co?

Conversely it could be argued that La Liga is an easier league to play in than the PL. E.g. Soldado and Forlan struggled to score goals here compared to Spain.

I agree that none of the English clubs are as good as Barcelona, Real, Bayern or PSG.

But those clubs are far ahead of anyone else in their respective leagues which means they don't have to play at 100% in every league game.

 

[kmk]

So - the lack of a winter break affected groups games - how?

I'm talking about reaching the semis and finals of the Champions League.

Anyway, this season 3 English clubs have progressed to the last 16.

 

[DogsOfWar]

Lowest goals conceded, around 5th highest goals scored, joint best goal difference, only lost 2 games.

When you consider the, relatively, poor start we had to the season we have been the form team for quite some time.
With the top team only averaging just over two points a game this is the most open PL we have had for a long time and, if our form stays the same, we have to get our heads around the fact we will be challenging for the title.

If we can keep Hugo, Toby, Moussa, and Kane fit then I see no reason why that form would change.
And now we are fourth our bargaining power in the January window will be even stronger. If the likes of Berahino wanted to come to us in the Summer he'll be positively kicking off to come here now.

We could be in for a very interesting ride.

 

[punkisback]

What we should be doing is looking ahead and not looking behind us. It's not the cliche of aiming high, but our mentality if we aim for teams above us, who are dropping points, will really affect our mindset towards games.