Tottenham Hotspur Is Ready To Crack The Big Four

[mil1lion]

I pulled this from EPL talk. Thought it was a good article so i'll post it here:

July 24th, 2008 By The Gaffer

Sometimes it’s hard to fathom, but the Big Four as we know them won’t be able to sustain their power forever. At some point in time, one or more of those four will be dislodged and replaced by a new heavyweight. The question is, what team is capable of breaking the monopoly and which of the four clubs will be the first to drop from their mighty perch?

Call me insane, but I honestly believe that this upcoming season will see a shift in the power of English football. The club that will shake up the league reside in London N17 and is named Tottenham Hotspur.

Supporters of Spurs have been used to having their hopes built up only for them to come crashing down, but this season will be different. This will be the first full season that Juande Ramos, one of the best managers in the game, will be in charge. Last season’s experience was a good introduction for Ramos to learn more about his players, the Premier League and how things are different in England. With that knowledge under his belt, Ramos is now ready to deploy his tactical expertise in the matches against the Big Four and the other teams in the Premiership.

The four main reasons why the 16 Premier League clubs outside the Big Four have been unable to dethrone Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are:

1. The 16 Premier League clubs have less money to spend on proven players,
2. The Big Four have better players to choose from, both on and off the bench, and
3. The clubs outside the top four have a lack of self belief and, as a result, psychologically think they’re unable to beat the Big Four,
4. The 16 clubs don’t have the consistency and staying power throughout the entire season to mount a serious challenge.

With Tottenham, I believe that under Ramos they have the answer and are able to meet the four main requirements to break into the top four.
Consider these facts:

• The club has spent more money this summer than any other Premier League side
• Spurs has signed the most new talent such as Luka Modric and Giovanni Dos Santos
• Tottenham now has a team who is strong in every position
• Psychologically, Juande Ramos is turning this Spurs side into winners, and
• Ramos is continuing to work on the fitness of the team to ensure they can play the whole season at 100%.

This is not Martin Jol’s Tottenham Hotspur. The team has been spending the summer at an exclusive golf resort in Spain where Ramos has been putting the team through its paces.

I have a strong feeling about Spurs this season. I may be proven wrong, but I really believe they’ll be able to crack the top four.
Who will be the team most likely to drop out of the top four to make room for Tottenham? It has to be Liverpool. I’ve been unimpressed by Rafa Benitez’s summer signings so far. It seems like he hasn’t been given the money to get a star signing and he instead is buying another crop of players who will quickly go through the Liverpool system and be sold in the next couple of years.

The key for Tottenham is to hold on to Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov. That struggle may seem fruitless but it seems that Tottenham are fighting to hold on to them. If they are sold, then Ramos will need to make some astute signings to find players with that caliber. Both Keane and Berbatov are dynamite up front and are one of the best striking partnerships in the world when they’re on song.

It’s time for Spurs to make White Hart Lane a fortress. With the ground possessing some of the most passionate football fans in the country, it’s already an intimidating atmosphere for opposition teams. But what the club needs to do this season is to take it to the next level and to make it like Stamford Bridge where Chelsea are undefeated in the league for years. Clubs need to fear playing at White Hart Lane.

:clap: Thank you sir

 

[ohh_when_the_spurs]

i think i heard near enough last year and look what happened

 

[rez9000]

I'm not going to talk about our League position. Last summer, I bragged to other fans and then ended up looking like a total nob (even more so than normal). So this season, I'm just going to wait and see. If we do badly, I won't have embarrased myself and if we do well, I can wear a smug self-satisfied smile over the summer.

 

[tippspur59]

Oh yeah, build us up again like last year and then shoot us down. I'm not listening to any of this shite this time.

 

[theburtonshelf]

weve been here b4 and that was without losing the best strike partnership in the league. a month in and the entire league was laughing as we languished in 18th place and seemingly tore ourselves apart at the seams.

would love to think it was going to happen, indeed a month ago i genuienly thought it could, but theres not a chance the keane/berba sage isnt gonna have an adverse effect. even if its only the replacements gelling is gonna take time to settle down so while i hope against hope im proven wrong im not holding my breath

 

[Michey]

Not again!!

Anything better than relegation and i'll start a parade. That's my prediction......so let's see if i'm happy in may 2009

 

[Supersonic]

We will probably finish below Portsmouth, Villa or Everton anway

 

[DoublePivot]

Chris (aka the Gaffer) is a really good guy, and does a lot of work on his site. I forget who his team is (maybe Swindon) so he's very balanced when it comes to looking at the league. You should bookmark his site for occasional reading.

 

[Michey]

We will probably finish below Portsmouth, Villa or Everton anway

That's the spirit :up:

Bring it on.....we've got low expectations now and will cheer at anything



:wink:

 

[michaelden]

nice attitude and outlook.

I'll wait until I see our squad before I commit to anything less than first though :snooty:

 

[Casparian]

Agree Michael far better to aim high and miss out than to aim low and succeed.Try telling Ramos and the new signings to settle for mid-table i don't think so though i appreciate after last seasons mess but Ramos is a totally different calibre of manager to Jol let alone the quality of players at the lane come on seriously you think we would let a strikeforce go without equal replacements???COYS

 

[talkshowhost86]

At the moment our squad isn't even close to good enough for a top four finish. I wish that wasn't the case but it's a fact and that's without the problems of Berbs and Keane (who have carried us for two years) leaving.

On the plus side though I can see us bringing in 3-5 players between now and the end of the window who may make the difference. If we do that then we'll hopefully be up amongst the top 6 and maybe if the top four falter we'll have a slim chance of dethroning one of them.

But there's alot of work to do before then.

 

[Bingy]

The point has been risen that Berbs and Keano may not now go (may not be able to leave....as we know now about ONLY a sale abroad for Berbs and Pool seem to have cooled off?). This is, I'm afraid, just willful thinking on my behalf....but the fat bird is still quiet, as of yet? Could it be that our strik force see what we are offering vis-a-vis De Santos/Modric et al and wish to remain for that extra season....or 2? I would hope so....but .... dreams dreams!
With or without 'the pair' at our head, we can be more confident than ever of a promising year ahead. The same can be said of Man City, Everton, Villa and a few others. Notwithstanding that we are a more confident bunch this year...both players and, crucially, a top class management team, steeped in success in recent years! We can get some comfort from that? We need to 'hit the ground running', without ANY doubt.....and a hard fought pre-Christmas period is essential IF we have any hope of CL! In other words we need to be secure in 3rd or 4th, at worst, when the Fat Guy in the Red suit makes his rounds (carrying De Santos, Modric, BERBATOV and KEANE kit's for adoring little men and women. I know because I saw it in the tea leaves/Dog shit splatter! on the High Street.
Well, I am becoming one of the guys who has let his dreams get the better of him this, and every other pre-season? When will we ever learn....OR do we EVER want to learn....NOT I said the Spurs Cockerel...and HE is never to be questioned? COYS

 

[snake1]

We will probably finish below Portsmouth, Villa or Everton anway

Still good enough for 4th then.

 

[spurslenny]

the author's either an over optomistic spurs fan or a WUM
:shrug:

 

[AnotherSpursFan]

I can feel it too.
We have a leader who's gone out and said that his goal is to challenge the top four.

That for me is more important than retaining our overrated striking partnership.

 

[There's always next year]

There is less pressure from the media about us breaking into the top 4. Last year we were tipped by many to push on from the two previous 5th position. So far this year, the press are less vocal about our potential finish. They seem totally obsessed with our transfer dealings and are thriving on all the speculation coming from WHL.

IMO we will finish in the top 6, not sure where in the top 6, my heart says 4th, but my head is saying 6th.

 

[chivers!]

There's not just speculation around our transfers - question marks still against quite a few teams and their key men. Good luck in calling a top 6.

 

[johnmc]

For us to even mount a top 4 challenge this coming season with the chaos that's going on at the moment will not be a minor miracle, it would be an enormous one. Yet another season of looking on from the outside I fear. I hope I am very wrong though.

 

[PYiddy]

nailed on then