Ten reason why we won't make 4th place

[africanspurs]

Re: Ten reasons why we won't make 4th place/finish above Arsenal

Ten reasons why we've blown 4th/finishing above Arsenal yet again

1. Being heavily reliant on one striker who is carrying an injury that potentially could keep him out for large chunks of the remainder of he season, another who has been hopelessly off-form (and is perhaps missing the link-up play with some others from last season) and another that cannot play as a lone forward (and is best coming from deep or the wing)

2. Our finishing is not the most ruthless; a fresh striker injection can give tyhe club a lift and perhaps also get existing strikers to up their game and perhaps new skills can rub off from the incoming striker

3. A big assumption is being made that Holtby canb help us craete more clear-cut chances; based on what exactly? Has he a large number of assists traditionally and is it fair to expect such a young player to have such a big impact at this crucial time (even he is talking about his best being seen NEXT season)

4. Arsenal always have a method that creates more clear-cut goal scoring chances and relatively more regularly. A consistent and reliable goalscorer could have allowed us to compete with this over the coming months; goals often mean wins even with their suspect defence. They have the ability to score buckets in certain games whilst we still don't

5. Most of the teams we play now will definately park the bus; do you feel more confident that we can overcome this compared to the last half of the least two seasons? I don't think so...

6. Mentally Arsenal will be bouyed by the fact we haven't capitalised on our position right now; They always feel they can catch and overtake us (see last season); They'll feel that even more, especially with their strikers staring to hit form AND score regularly. That will give them their mental strength to think they can beat us again (and confidence is sometimes the main thing that keeps them going)

7. Andre Santos doesn't need to play much now

8. We will be playing most of our top 3/4 challengers at home. Playing with a limited strike-force (or one uo top) is more condusive to playing away from home. At home when we will have to attack confidently and not get sucker-punched. This sucker-punch will be more likely now imo at home against the likes of Arsenal, Everton, Emirates Marketing Project etc. Even Saudi Sportswashing Machine...

9. Our defence is looking more vulnerble without Sandro in front of them; not getting another big strong CM (like Diame) would have been mitigated imo with another striker to relieve the pressure in terms of teams worring about our goal threat and being wary of over-pressurising us (which we seem more vulnerable to now, especially as our attack is not holding the ball up as we need them to, even with Ade who is our best person to do this)

10. We are starting to look a bit weary; again a new striker could have added some energy/rejuvination to the squad both physically and mentally.

A big missed opportunity AGAIN;feels like January 2011 all over again just without the CL games in Feb to look forward to. Maybe Levy has been the reason we haven't bought a good/consistent striker since GHod knows when...

Please tell me politely how i'm wrong (GHod i'd hope to be....)

are you the guy that said the whole world would come to an end after we lost 5-2 to arsenal? something about every result before that being nothing and everything we had done in catching up to them meant nothing because of that one result?

 

[DubaiSpur]

No point getting angry about anything, all we can do is get behind the players and hope they give their best.

It's still in our own hands. The NLD derby will be crucial.

Arsenal

H Stoke City - 3
A Sunderland - 1
H Aston Villa - 3
A Tottenham Hotspur - 0
H Everton - 1
A Swansea - 0
H Reading - 3
A W.B.A - 3
H Norwich - 3
A Fulham - 3
H Manchester United - 0
A QPR - 1
H Wigan Athletic - 3
A Saudi Sportswashing Machine - 3

65 points

Tottenham

A West Bromwich Albion - 3
H Saudi Sportswashing Machine - 3
A West Ham United -1
H Arsenal - 3
A Liverpool - 0
H Fulham - 3
A Swansea City - 1
H Everton - 3
A Chelsea - 0
H Emirates Marketing Project - 0
A Wigan - 3
H Southampton - 3
A Stoke City - 1
H Sunderland - 3

69 points

Assuming we'll get ten points from our next four games is a bit much, given our three draws on the trot, no?

 

[glorygloryeze]

Re: Ten reasons why we won't make 4th place/finish above Arsenal

are you the guy that said the whole world would come to an end after we lost 5-2 to arsenal? something about every result before that being nothing and everything we had done in catching up to them meant nothing because of that one result?

No that wasn't me but I have called things like this correct before; example I said we'd not finish 4th after our loss against Blackpool just after the Milan win away two years ago. Again after a wasted Jan transfer window when we were in the CL and challenging for 3rd/4th. I got slated that time and I was proved right.

Sometimes these things are so easy to predict sadly; I'll be glad to be proved wrong of course

 

[billyiddo]

mate, no offense but calling a tight thing such as who will finish 4th correctly doesn't exactly make you Mystic Meg

 

[Spursalot]

mate, no offense but calling a tight thing such as who will finish 4th correctly doesn't exactly make you Mystic Meg

Especially when there are 3-4 clubs in it.



far more impressive if you pick the one that will.

 

[chicken_badge]

Last year wasn't actually a failure in that we set out to finish top four and we did that. It was a freak event that meant our achievement became worthless. But for a club like us competing against Emirates Marketing Project, Chelsea, Liverpool and their resources for that fourth place over the last three seasons, we have done damn well to beat them.

I do feel the collapse of last season was in itself a disgrace though, and although there were key defeats at City and the goons, we still should have beaten the goons on points by doing better at Villa, QPR, or at home to Norwich in the run-in.

Season before, we never really had the confidence in the end game that we pip Emirates Marketing Project, even though we actually had a golden chance three games from the end of the season when we were at home to Blackpool. And it's games like that, in the last ten matches or so which have cost us. Aston Villa, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool.

In 2009/10, the reason we DID finish fourth because of big wins, against the odds really, at home to the goons and Chelski. We took confidence from those games, where as the disappointments of the last two years were down to poor performances against weaker teams costing us our self belief.

Three games in April this year, Everton, Chelsea and City, could have a big say and the fact that all are in London could influence us being able to be settled and get 7 or 9 points. Maybe even 4 out of those games could be considered a big haul? But it's the other matches, that run in against Stoke, Wigan, Southampton, Sunderland..... that should be where we get momentum and kill off the competition.

Liverpool has a blossoming striking partnership and have rising form, but their squad is far from balanced. Arsenal are erratic. Everton have been lucky with injuries, they are two players away from being Fulham. We are in good, good shape. The fight for fourth will be tight, and that's not a bad thing....and I fail to see how we can be written off at this stage, it's laughable really. And with Chelsea far from settled third could be dragged back by the chasing pack.

 

[Spur of the moment]

OP missed the biggest reason of all

11. Our annual collapse that usually starts this time of the year. We've not won any of our last four games, all competitions, so maybe it's already under way.

Of course I'm only saying this in the hope it turns out I'm talking out of my arse.

 

[glorygloryeze]

Not claiming to be mystic meg, but just trying to show that some things are clear; like our team/squad weaknesses and the fact that our key weakness in the striker department has still not been addressed adequately in gthe fight for 4th. Weaknesses that the at least 2 of the clubs we're challenging have addressed better than we have (again!)

 

[chicken_badge]

No point getting angry about anything, all we can do is get behind the players and hope they give their best.

It's still in our own hands. The NLD derby will be crucial.

Arsenal

H Stoke City - 3
A Sunderland - 1
H Aston Villa - 3
A Tottenham Hotspur - 0
H Everton - 1
A Swansea - 0
H Reading - 3
A W.B.A - 3
H Norwich - 3
A Fulham - 3
H Manchester United - 0
A QPR - 1
H Wigan Athletic - 3
A Saudi Sportswashing Machine - 3

65 points

Tottenham

A West Bromwich Albion - 3
H Saudi Sportswashing Machine - 3
A West Ham United -1
H Arsenal - 3
A Liverpool - 0
H Fulham - 3
A Swansea City - 1
H Everton - 3
A Chelsea - 0
H Emirates Marketing Project - 0
A Wigan - 3
H Southampton - 3
A Stoke City - 1
H Sunderland - 3

69 points

=D> agree totally with what you say at the start and would predict our results exactly the same, bar WBA away (I think that might be a real toughie now and can see us getting a point only) and Chelsea/City (I fancy us getting something out of one of those games). I had us down for just over 70 points, but wasn't sure what Arsenals would look like. NLD at home has been a good fixture for us in recent years though.

 

[thfcsteff]

Let's re-visit this thread in May.

 

[Rorschach]

This thread is a bit depressing but for me it all boils down to whether our strikers find a bit of form and fast. We look rather toothless at the moment. It is something that could and should have been addressed in this transfer window but rather disappointingly it wasn't.

I see our next match as pivotal to the rest of the season. We haven't won a PL match in a month so a draw is not good enough. We need Defoe to score, badly.

 

[stinkfoot]

We've played really well the first half of the season and we've got in another player who looks the biz in Holtby. There's no reason to believe we won't play equally as well the second half.

Yes, Sandro's injured and we'll miss him but we've still got a great squad.

Ade will be back soon and will produce some form.

Good times.

 

[DHSF]

woops :lol:

in fairness have you seen the teams Everton have to play away? they'll slip away sure enough.

us or Arsenal for 4th imv

So Everton are this years Arsenal.

May I just point out that last season most of the board on here were, after each game that Arse were winning, saying how they will falter when RVP gets injured. That was the biggest load of bollox I heard.

Sorry but you cant just say that they have to play x team or y team away. We need to go to the likes of Liverscum away or Chelscum away etc.

The way I see it in all honest is I dont really give a brick about the other teams anymore I really dont, maybe thats cos im bored from football, but in all reality it is in our hands for top four. We win all our games no one can catch us. SIMPLES.

 

[glorygloryeze]

So Everton are this years Arsenal.

May I just point out that last season most of the board on here were, after each game that Arse were winning, saying how they will falter when RVP gets injured. That was the biggest load of bollox I heard.

Sorry but you cant just say that they have to play x team or y team away. We need to go to the likes of Liverscum away or Chelscum away etc.

The way I see it in all honest is I dont really give a brick about the other teams anymore I really dont, maybe thats cos im bored from football, but in all reality it is in our hands for top four. We win all our games no one can catch us. SIMPLES.

Yes if it was that simple it would be a doddle. We haven't won in 4 games and the old attacking limitations are starting to show; Good attitude overall though

 

[DHSF]

Yes if it was that simple it would be a doddle. We haven't won in 4 games and the old attacking limitations are starting to show; Good attitude overall though

My point is we shouldnt worry about the others. Like I say maybe its because I couldnt care less ecept for Spurs in all honesty. All teams will lose and win games this season what I will say is enjoy the ride.

 

[The beautiful game]

This thread is simply an angry reaction to not acquiring a striker, of which I can understand.

I Have to admit that an hour ago I was literally fuming, was angry that for the second year in a row we went into a Jan window doing well on the pitch but still needing one or two reinforcements with a striker of very good/world class ability being the top priority only to sign Saha or on this occasion no one. Its the first time that I actually lost it over the lack of activity or near of during a window, which is saying something considering the crap we've had to put up with over the years, with fists clenched I lost it and thought we might as well pack it all in and forget about Top four.

Having managed to finally calm down I took a deep breath before looking at the over all picture in simplistic fashion by looking at our 1st and 2nd choice teams on paper.

starting XI (4-5-1)

___________Lloris____________

Walker_Dawson_Vertonghen_BAE

______Dembele___Parker______

__Lennon____Holtby_____Bale__

____________Defoe___________

Second choice XI

___________Freidel__________

Naughton_Gallas_Caulker_Fryers

____Huddlestone_Livermore____

__Sigurdsson_Carrol_Dempsey__

__________Adebayor_________

On the face of it's actually not bad and in my honest opinion still good enough for a top four finish but will say that having only two recognised strikers could be a very big problem if both are injured or out (like now for example) although we said the same at the start of the season. I am gutted that Sandro is out for the rest of the season, he was by far our best player but we still have Kaboul to comeback who could possibly play CDM as well CB but either way will be a very welcome addition when he comes back from injury.

My view overall is that it is astonishing that the club didn't buy a striker, not just because we only have two but because we're exactly banging them with +12 GD but having said that we have improved in creativity and goal threat with Holtby so at least there has been some improvement to the first team.

All doom and gloom?

Not really, Everton signed no one, we added to our 1st team and so did Arsenal, so I actually don't think much if anything has changed.

 

[Spurs7891]

If we do qualify for CL this season, it will be all down to the managerial capabilities of AVB.
If we fail to qualify, it will be all down to the money-minded Levy !

AVB faces an uphill task as our squad strength is very limited now. If any more of our players get long term injury, we will be badly affected. Apart from our first 11 players, there is really no one who can come in and win the game for us single handedly. In fact, we badly lack goal scorers among the squad players.

Our squad strength was the main reason we made it to CL in 2010. That time the fringe players like Bale, Bentley and Pavly made a significant contribution to our race for top 4 finish. They made the difference when our first 11 team began to struggle during the last few months of the season. But this time, we cannot call upon such players to win the match for us.

 

[metalgear]

on the subject of money, we don't rid of our deadwood fast enough. its one thing asking for "fair value" its another waiting for contracts to run down and get nothing in the end. where did that money to buy moutinho go?

 

[Spurs7891]

on the subject of money, we don't rid of our deadwood fast enough. its one thing asking for "fair value" its another waiting for contracts to run down and get nothing in the end. where did that money to buy moutinho go?

There was none. It was just a gimmick by Levy. Don't think we will ever spend more than 15/16m for any players as long as Levy is the chairman. Looking back, I think the "effort" to sign players like Arshavin, Moutinho and now Damiao is just an attempt to pacify fans. We would have signed them if we really wanted to instead of giving up due to a difference of a mere 4/5m.

If the players of such quality wants to join us, their clubs need to lower their price demand below 15m. That is Levy's formula to buy world class players.

 

[DubaiSpur]

There was none. It was just a gimmick by Levy. Don't think we will ever spend more than 15/16m for any players as long as Levy is the chairman. Looking back, I think the "effort" to sign players like Arshavin, Moutinho and now Damiao is just an attempt to pacify fans. We would have signed them if we really wanted to instead of giving up due to a difference of a mere 4/5m.

If the players of such quality wants to join us, their clubs need to lower their price demand below 15m. That is Levy's formula to buy world class players.

Two things;

1) The number of people that would have to keep quiet about a supposed 'fake' bid is quite a few, yet no one on the Porto side came out after deadline day and rubbished the 'technical difficulties' that AVB admitted were all that stopped the transfer. Surely Porto have an interest in appearing reluctant to part with Moutinho at any price?

2)Assuming Levy's 'fake bid' policy turns out to be true, surely he can't expect it to work every time? The 'novelty value' of hearing about big bids on deadline day is rapidly decreasing. I'm already jaded about the possibilities whenever Sky announce 'Tottenham in last-ditch bid for x player', so this deception policy is clearing rapidly losing its effect.

So I'm inclined to think his bids for these players are true (Moutinho and Leandro, I mean; that palaver with Aguero and Falcao back in 2011 is truly suspicious), but that Levy just cannot bring himself to take the miniscule leap of faith to bring these transfers to a succesful conclusion. So he either negotiates all window and leaves himself with no time to actually complete a deal, or he makes a bid on deadline day hoping to panic a club into selling, which most clubs in the football world are probably aware of right now, lessening its impact value.

Either way the players and coaching staff will both have to hope that they can make the best out of what's left, despite our obvious, glaring weaknesses.

Last season, Modric, VdV, and an on-fire Ade were around to bail us out of situations.

This season, we aren't nearly as lucky, and AVB's managerial abilities will be strained to the utmost.

4th is still possible, but it will be a whole lot harder to get there, and if we falter at any point during this half of the season, the clubs behind us will pounce. We no longer have the 10-point cushion to fall back on, and considering how much that helped us last season (hint; not much), the fact we have to make do without it entirely, and without either a good striker or a DM at Sandro's level (unless Parker shakes off his malaise and returns to last year's form), is deeply, deeply worrying, and it is inevitable that the rest of the season will be tinged with dread rather than hope.

Once again, Daniel, it didn't have to be this way.