Never mind top four, Spurs face a battle to hold onto fifth place

buying lots of players and a manager with a very good league record whatever people say about him

Manchester City are just about to buy a bag-load of international-class players. If they gell quickly enough we'll be a lot closer to the top than the bottom!

Hold onto 5th? This guy is a comedian and an obvious gooner. The question is more likely will Arsesnal be able to hold onto 4th. something they have just about done for the last 2 seasons with Henry.

There's always going to be a battle to hold onto any place, but Spurs have made some good signings, and hopefully have bolstered the defence and midfield enough to reduce the number of goals they conceded last season. With Bent added to the roster, we're only going to score more goals, so if we can reduce the figure in the GA column, we've got a great chance of finishing 5th or higher. Yes, teams below us are improving, but we've hardly stood still, have we. 10 days to go, then it's down to the boys in white!

So all of a sudden because West Ham, Man City & Newcastle have new signings/managers means they are automatically going to be challenging for 5th?! What a stupid comment! Spurs have added quality in depth and quality, this does not guarentee us finishing 5th or 4th but we are more equipped then most of the other teams mentioned!

this is a really poor report, and fails to take into account many of the weaknesses the teams you've mentioned has. Bolton and no Big Sam, means the wont adopt the long ball tactics as well. they need time. Blackburn r in a situation where any half decent player will leave. Newcastle have many average midfielders and world class injury prone players. portsmouth lack the drive, west ham need alot longer . and id question whether everton have strengthened sufficiently. Rebuttal in a nutshell. you could be right, but your argumen is poorly thought of

HaHa you make me laugh we have beat man city to most of the players they wanted and just to spite the gooners we are going to buy davies, i can see us not only knocking on the door of the top 4 but kicking it open and kicking the gooners out. Im not worried by everton as they are only a mid table team as well as pompey and man city and west ham well they nearly got the chop last season so im not worried, and tevez will be at man u all they got was a washed up CAMP freddie and a welsh rare bit who runs hot and cold all the time, common how many clubs has he been at in the last 6 years.

I think a much more relevent suggestion is Can Arsenal finish in the top half?

I totally agree, that it will be tough to hold on to fifth but not unrealistic. Spurs have bought some good players but so have the likes of West Ham etc who won't be far off. I think the most intersting stuff going on will be the supposed top four who will find it hard to beat every single team in this 2nd tier.

I would place Man City as more of a threat than Bolton (big loss Allardyce) or Blackburn (Roque chap has poor goals record) or West Ham

Agrred the journo is a confirmed gooner, however, the article is fair comment on the surrounding clubs having bolstered the ranks with proven and foreign talent, the top 4 is far from a given this year. Arsenal could drop like a stone, as could(should) Bolton, whilst anyone who overlooks Sunderland this year, do so at their peril.......

Who are you trying to kidd every year we keep hearing the same coming upto the start off a season, they are going to do well and so are they and every season its the same the top four will be the same and again spurs will probably be best off the rest. As for newcastle is big sam not moaning already and Blackburn cannot sell season tickets its just a matter off time before they lose Hughes infact probably if Erickson starts bad Hughes will end up at city but long term the guy will want to win things. Bolton are on the wain they will do well to be in the top ten having lost the manager aswell as the odd player, and as for Everton they cant seem to spend any money so probably not much improvement there. Anyhow come on spurs at least they look like they are trying to compete.

I am a Spurs fan and I believe the minimum will finish is 6th and highest 3rd. We have a very young talented squad and it all depends if all these players reach their potential. Injuries to key players is also crucial. If we can have better start this year and obtain around 70 points, I believe we can challenge the top four. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

You say that Pompey (9th last year) have added Sylvain Distin, Sulley Muntari and David Nugent but surely that is trumped by the quality Spurs have added. I agree Everton & Bolton will struggle to maintain last seasons results. As for the rest, I view Man City, Villa, West Ham, Blackburn and West Ham as all capable of challenging for the top 7 BUT Spurs would have to seriously underperform to lose their 5th place/fail to challenge for 4th (or higher). Although they have all strengthened, Spurs are ahead in terms of the development of their team & have continued to strengthen.

Good article but... your analysis of Everton is off the mark. first off, the transdfer window isn't over and secondly they have shored up some key positions already like the wings and back four. When I consider that Everton allowed the 5th least goals last season what should be an improved defense combined with even slightly better goal scoring (wings and a healthy Cahill alone will do this plus I'm confident they will find someone to support Johnson) added to the fact that Everton had 13 drws last season I can see several of those draws turning into wins and a loss or two turning into a draw. Conservatively we're looking at an extra 8 pts on the table which should be a strong case for 5th again. Just because Everton hasn't joined in the insanity of signing players well over value doesn't mean they stood still. And signing mediocre players above book doesn't make a mediocre team better. In the end I am sure Everton will not get much notice in the pre season and will once again quietly get the job done week i

It's good to see that not all over-expectant eyes will not be glued to Tottenham this season. How can you question Tottenhams ability to maintain a top 5 finish? Not only hae we bravely held onto two of our best players (who are arguably the best players in their positions in the league - I'm talking of course of Chimboda and Berbatov) but we've added to the team by bringing in a proven premier league goal scorer, who can score more than Bellamy with his eyes closed. Yes, I'm talking about Darren Bent. Steel in the midfield? Have a look at Hertha Berlins former Bundesliga young player of the year 06 in the shape of Kevin-Prince Boateng. Younes Kaboul - Football Manager 07 supremo. Ha! West Ham sold two of their best players in Yossi Benayoun and Tevez. Instead they bought Craig Bellamy and an injured Faubert. The only good signing they've made is Scott Parker. I wouldn't want Ljunberg on a free. He's past it. Man Utd are the only team buying the potential stars. Arsenal have made one good signing in

Hi guys, appreciate all the comments even though some are critical and making incorrect assumptions. For the record, I'm not an Arsenal fan, I don't support an English side so you don't need to worry about any kind of bias. My view is that Spurs are rightfully by merit currently the 5th best side in England, but I feel there will be a batch of clubs in the mix to challenge that, although they may not succeed. I was just making an overview of possible contenders. I accept the Man.City fans arguments that they are now in a position to strengthen their side and also get in the mix with these other clubs who I feel are all much of a muchness in totality between say 6-11/12th. Spurs are at the head of that queue at 5 but are not so much stronger that I don't believe they might fall back into the pack.

If one thing has come to light in the past few seasons is that spurs along with the likes of everton and bolton have proved you dont need super stars to be a top premiership team the managers at these clubs and even Mr rednapp have shown that they can get player playing together in strong formations, however once you have build a side that players good football you do need those inspirational players and berby and and the signings of bale , bent and more to come surely equate to BMJ adding that inspriation to an already strong gelling team. Im sure Sam and Redknapp are doing exactly the same. Its not a question of who can break the top four I think its now a question of can the top four keep all those fntatsic players playing as a team i have no doubts that fergy can but looking at chelsea and the bombs they bought in ballack and shevy the constant players that go there leaving in year with no first team football, and the likes of liverpool always blowing hot and cold i do think the top four this season will

how is it that you people continue to be allowed to publish this bollocks? so the fact that lots of other clubs have signed lots of players means they'll all progress, but spurs who have signed more quality across the board than any of the clubs you mention (including Arsenal) are only going to stand still or go backwards? HOW DOES THAT WORK YOU RETARD? Spurs should be looking for 4th as a minimum or else Berbatov'll be off next summer. 3rd is potential if they perform to the best of their ability. Now please f*** off and never darken my internet again, you Gooner twat.

Well lets be honest. Spurs have strengthened a lot this closed season but so have others. Liverpool in particular. So can we break into the top 4. I think it is possible but it will not be easy. The gooners do look the weakest of the top 4 and whatever they may say will Miss Henry for sure. The others around us don't worry me too much apart from Everton who have been there or there abouts and have not had the changes most of the other have. West Ham may spend big but have a lot to do so they will not be there this season. Man City have a new owner (Who may be in prison in Thailand soon anyway) and a new manger (Who has done well at club level in the past but that was a long time back). Blackburn and Bolton I think will fall short this season (Bolton because they have lost big Sam and blackburn simply don't have the quality in depth). Newcastle are still in turmoil (Big Sam just has nothing to spend by the look of it - He will get them up the table but not top 6 this year) I have tried to be honest and think

What an absolute idiot. Just the fact that you have included West Ham shows you know absolutely nothing about football. I'd put money on the Spammers going down this year (like they SHOULD have done last year). MUG.

Just because he is a gooner doesnt make him wrong. Lets face it in the Prem its usually more exciting at the bottom of the table than in the top four and last season there werent many points between Totenscum and 15th. Any of a dozen teams could be looking at a UEFA place next April and no one has a god given right to it because of what they did last year. If I (and thank God I am not) were a supporter of either team from North London I would be a bit worried Arsenal have a small and inexperienced squad and Tottenscum arent that much better than the team that wasnt good enough last year. Lets face it if you had to look at which London club would be making the biggest jump its got to be West Ham, they have bought quality and added depth to their squad and getting rid of the deadwood means they have spent very little so watch out for a few more quality signings.

I also accept the points made by Everton fans that there is still time for them to make moves in the market and bring in a player or two. As yet, they haven't really done that other than say the addition of Pienaar & Jagielka. They may of course be signing Baines, but I still feel Everton over achieved last season. I may be wrong, it is just an opinion and time will tell. In reference to the points being made about me writing anti-spurs articles or anything of that kind, I'm afraid you have the wrong person. The article is meant as a brief preview to the season and to open a discussion on how the top 6 may