I am trying as hard as I can not to say I told you so to all those Spurs fans who had delusions of breaking into the top four - at the expense of Arsenal no less!

With Martin Jol at the helm and with money to waste, it seems, but still no matter, Spurs will again finish behind Arsenal. Even the most ardent Tottenham fan will have to concede this now, just as Paul Robinson did the last two times his poor defence made way for an oncoming attacker.

Summer is always a good time to take stock and consider where your side will figure in the new season and I have many friends who call themselves fans of the lesser side in North London (that's Spurs in case your wondering). These friends spent literally hours talking up their teams hopes for a renewed assault on the top four. The last two seasons they did well, got pretty close, and I don't mind telling you, at times this summer I thought that the Gunners would be in trouble. It seems I needn't have worried.

"Spurs may have quality players, indeed even a few that could get into any of the top four sides, but they also have quite a few damn right appalling players as well"


Daniel Levy may have given the Dutchman money to back the clubs ambitions, but it seems that things at White Hart Lane are now going backwards rather than forwards. They have injuries, sure they do, so do many other teams, (we lost our legend TH14) but I still think we are moving forward (could do with losing Jens though). I don't mean to gloat when I say "I told you so", it's just that I want it on record to all those who I have spoken to on various websites, pubs and, indeed, people I consider friends, who just happen to support the enemy, that I was right.

Spurs may have quality players, indeed even a few that could get into any of the top four sides, but they also have quite a few damn right appalling players as well. More specifically I refer to the likes of Ricardo Rocha, Anthony Gardner, Paul Staltieri, and Didier Zokora, just four that spring to mind. Arsenal have had their fair share of dross over the years, but no one currently at the Emirates is anywhere near as inept as Gardner, who doesn't even look good enough for the Premier League at all, let alone in a side with top four ambitions.

However, even as an Arsenal fan I wouldn't be so quick to condemn Martin Jol to the managerial scrapheap. He needs some more time. I am sure they will turn it around and indeed they could yet still finish in the UEFA Cup places, but they will have no chance whatsoever of creeping into the top four and therefore even less chance of catching their North London rivals.

Arsenal are in a period of transition, and before any fans point out that this is a phrase regularly used to cover up a multitude of sins, I would point out that a squad with as much young talent as ours has needs time to grow. I feel that this season the Gunners will do well to finish in the top two, but we won't be far behind. In two or three years time, who knows? We could be the next team to dominate the Premier League era, whereas Spurs may want to re-think their hopes and dreams.