A year for change??

[basskadet]

Before I start I'm not posting this as another top 4 debate. Its more intended as an assessment of our rivals and whether the EPL is about to see a change.

It has almost been a given that Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea & Arsenal will be the teams to beat in the last 3-4 years &, once again, before a ball has even been kicked in the EPL its the same old story. We all, not just Spurs fans, seem to take it for granted and always analyze those teams' strong points. Well, hang about, its not all rosy for them either and this year could well see the start of a new era.

Arsenal have got a point to prove. If they have yet another trophyless season will their fans be satisfied with just finishing in the top 4? They're certainly under more pressure this year to achieve than they were last year because nobody thought they would do as well as they did. The thing is, they've sold all their holding players in Gilberto Silva & Matthieu Flamini and are yet to find a replacement for them. Flamini was also one of their star performers last season and it was in part down to him and Hleb that they did as good as they managed. However, they've sold Hleb also. The reason their 2 star midfielders left was because they wanted to win something so imagine how many will walk if they fail again. Probably Fabregas as he has already stated his desire to go to the Bernabeu. They still don't have any real experience in the team either, even less this time around having sold Gilberto and Lehmann. In fact having Almunia as your main keeper hardly ideal in itself.

Moving on to Chelsea and its a similar story. They too failed to win any silverware last year and will be under massive pressure to not do the same. That pressure has fallen on the shoulders of Scolari but is he really the right guy for the job? He hasn't managed at club level for a very long time and, when he did, it was at nothing like the level of European football. Sure, he won virtually everything when he did but we're talking about a middle-eastern league/cup and a Brazilian league/cup. Not quite the quadruple he's harping on about. When he was international manager he only ever won 1 thing. Yes it was the World cup but he did do it with Brazil and they didn't exactly play that great did they? And then there's the players. His midfield has a combined age of 116! I know there is an abundance of talent in that midfield but will they have the legs to drive the team through four massive competitions? And will Scolari even have a concept of the level of fitness required to do so? I'm not sure, the jury's out.
There's also the question of Abramovich. Now, if there's one thing Scolari will be good at its keeping him at arms distance but he really,REALLY likes to interfere. He meddled with Mourinho who wasn't very happy about it and he continued with Avram. They would have been in the S**t if it hadn't have ben for Avram last year and I think its pretty unfair he didn't get a full season to show what he can do. What's interesting is that Avram worked really hard at removing the image Chelsea had been tarnished with under JM. It was to his credit they stopped the disrespect and 'win at all costs' mentality but that is exactly the game Scolari relies upon. Look at Portugal's behaviour in the World Cup! He even got criticised for using tactics of intimidation, etc in Brazil and if a South American is complaining about it, it must be bad! It certainly won't get a good reception in the EPL if he starts all that nonsense up again.


Liverpool too had a trophyless year. In fact the only one of the 4 that won anything last year was Man United. We won something. Portsmouth even won something. There are huge cracks under the surface on Merseyside and they may well rise to the top again this season. I don't know how long their owners will tolerate Rafa and, if his bizarre transfer policy of spending way too much on players doesn't come off, I'm not sure the fans will continue to support him. They all need silverware this year and will be scrapping amongst each other.

Man United are probably the most sorted out of the 4 but they are not without their problems. They still lack a dedicated striker and relied heavily on Ronaldo last year. However, he has missed the entire preseason with an ankle injury and who knows when he'll be fit again. Also, is his heart really still at Old Trafford? Much like Dimi, its difficult to say. Hoewver, without him Manchester United are not the goal threat they are with him, that's for sure.

So, if you remove the focus from their many strong points there is enough there for at least one of them, if not two, to slip up and its up to us, among others, to be there when they do.

[MyGoula]

nice post and good work giving your opinion and a break down of those four teams

[nickGT]

Nice post mate. I too agree with most of your points. However next season i just wanna focus on spurs doing well and not other teams doing bad. (If you get what i mean)

[basskadet]

Nice post mate. I too agree with most of your points. However next season i just wanna focus on spurs doing well and not other teams doing bad. (If you get what i mean)

Yep, I definitely know what you mean. However, we still need to stop giving these rivals an invincible status before the season has even started. Their fans seem determined to point out all our faults and so I've been collecting ammo to fire right back at them!

[nickGT]

Yeah and you done a pretty good job

I am just hoping i don't have to get drawn into arguments with the fans of the big 4 next season. With a bit of luck our football team will do all the talking for us.

[basskadet]

...........COYS..........nuff said.

[DontGoDimi]

Good analysis mate.

Being a Spurs fan though, I find more fun speculating if Spurs are good enough, irrespective of how much weaknesses the Big 4 have.

Spurs forever!

[bigmartin]

i like what you've done here, being a spurs fan can sometimes imply that you have to think negatively about the situation but its good to be reminded that everyone have their weaknesses and it will be good to see if we tactically take advantage of this, e.g. destroy the gooners in midfield!

[basskadet]

This should help scupper Scolari's plans for Chelsea too!

tribalfootball.com - "Respect" initiative spreads to Premier League

[yidno1]

I think youve looked to hard into things on paper, what I mean by this is youve picked on the points that are there so called weaknesses but for me they are still the strongest teams to catch and no matter what angle you look at it from thats forever the case.
If Spurs finish 5th or a mighty 4th il be so chuffed.

[basskadet]

I think youve looked to hard into things on paper, what I mean by this is youve picked on the points that are there so called weaknesses but for me they are still the strongest teams to catch and no matter what angle you look at it from thats forever the case.
If Spurs finish 5th or a mighty 4th il be so chuffed.

I disagree. If people were making such points about Tottenham they'd be accepted as valid faults that need addressing before we can improve. I'm not saying that they aren't the teams to catch. What I am saying is all we ever do, even as fans of the opposition, is make such a big deal about their many good points but actually there are many underlying issues that get overlooked because they are the 'big 4' and they sell Premiership football to the rest of the world. They are susceptible to the same problems as any other club and are under far more consistent pressure to achieve. Like I said, only 1 of the 3 won anything last year and there won't be very many happy faces about if it happens again. Except at White Hart Lane of course!

[yidno1]

But its about finishing in that top 4 isnt it???? id accept that over the Carling cup win any day, that whats Spurs must be striving to do and thats catching the top 4, even with their so called problems that you have out lined they wont slip far from the positions so its up to Spurs to improve and not hope their negatives will help us out.
Thats my opinion anyway.

[basskadet]

Do you know when the last time only 1 of the top 4 one anything? 2001/2 Season. 7 years ago!

I agree that its up to Spurs to improve, fight tooth & nail each game and try to beat those four teams when we play them, absolutely. That wasn't the point of the post though. If we go into the season highlighting their positives ahead of our own and put them on a pedestal, then we're already half beaten. Those teams (& their fans)work hard on the mind games that make the rest of us think that we are all rubbish & they're untouchable but they're not.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not even saying they will have to fall for the rest of us to catch up. I hope that we do it while they're playing their absolute best. However, If we understand that they aren't some magical, indestructible entity that they're made out to be in the press then we can believe that they can be beaten. I'm a big believer in the strength of mind and I've always felt that there is a lack of belief when any team (not just Spurs) comes up against one of the big 4 and that is embedded in us by the media. Once you start to realise that, on paper, they are not much different from the rest of us then you can start to compete on a level playing field.

Man united with no Ronaldo till Xmas? Chelsea with an unproven manager & ageing midfield? Those are BIG issues in my opinion that bring them back down to earth a bit.

[yidno1]

Ok mate i still think your clutching at straws in regards to your last two examples of Man U and the Chavs in turmoil.
You make some good points specialy about the media being so far up the top fours arse its sickening but for me its up to Tottenham on and off the pitch to close the gap and that includes sorting out the f*cking stadium which is just dragging on and on while we all sit in limbo, until we get a 50k plus stadium then we cant really achieve the very most we all want.

[basskadet]

I'm not saying they're in turmoil! Just trying to knock em down a peg or two. Like you say, it is up to Spurs to catch em but the post is more directed toward fans & media who believe them to be intolerable. Sorry....I meant indomitable.

They've all made such a huge deal about how Spurs are going to replace the 23 goals Keano got for us last year despite the fact we've got Benty knocking em in for fun and Berba's not left us yet. Man U are still without a dedicated striker & will be without their topscorer (with double what Keano got!) till Xmas and nobody has said anything.