This week, Tottenham Hotspur was given a gift when Arsenal dropped points following their loss to Crystal Palace. As a result, it allowed its north London rivals to hold onto their fourth-place spot. Both teams are tied with 54 points, but Spurs hold the tiebreaker.
When it comes to this new twist in the race for the top four, many English football pundits give their thoughts on who will win the race. In his Sky Sports column, Arsenal great Paul Merson has declared Tottenham Hotspur favorites in the battle for the fourth Champions League spot.
“There are ways of getting beat, and Monday night at Palace wasn’t a good way of getting beat. It was worrying. I expected one of those performances from Tottenham before the end of the season; I didn’t expect it from Arsenal,” Merson wrote.
“Spurs are the favorites for top four now. When Harry Kane’s playing like he is, I don’t think too many teams are going to beat them. But you take Kane out of the team; top four ain’t happening for Spurs. It’s as simple as that. When he doesn’t turn up at Burnley away, they get beaten. Tottenham are a one-man team, and that’s not being disrespectful.”
Arsenal will be facing off against Brighton & Hove Albion FC this weekend; meanwhile, Tottenham will face against Aston Villa. Both teams are getting opponents below them in the table, so they’re the favorites.
However, as both clubs have learned, that doesn’t mean anything considering both teams suffered losses to teams that they were favored to beat. Whichever side can avoid this could end up claiming that fourth-place finish.
Trouble is, they are only interested in a smash and grab job. Which if you’re a fan, must be quite exiting, if a little light on soul
We should have got him, rather than the ‘raw potential’ of the Cheese Royal…
“He’s Spurs through and through I actually have love for the man.”
Really? But insist on calling him Botch? Wtf is that all about?
I’m glad I’m not married to you mate.
You know so much about PSG’s inner workings and even their transfer targets, or did you read it on the interwebs?
AFC have missed the Japanese lad
Double nope…
Regardless of the billions, PSG are an utter mess. The only way they put it right is by sticking with a manager and allow them to build something with players that respect them, rather than a team of players with little more than a mercenary mindset. Whoever it is…
I’ve got a hatefest on ENIC, and I’m proud of it.
Could be a club plant, much like Alistair Gold…
It’s hardly unreasonable for other fans to praise him for maintaining our consistently highest league positions over four seasons in the modern era. No other manager has done that at Spurs, nobody.
That record is not exactly a ‘Botch’ is it? Especially when he was working with the 7th highest wage bill and 16th highest net spend. Yet you never even touch on these indisputable facts, just make stuff up about things he had no control over, things that are repeatedly debunked by fact over fiction.
You might not ‘hate ‘Botch’. Yet you manage to shoehorn a dig at him into 90% of your posts. So if other people think you’ve got some strange obsession with him, when in fact you haven’t. All you need to do is change the record…
Yeah, same old doo doo..
Ha ha…
Levy is 1 or 2 trophies short of 23 years of abject failure on the pitch, more like!
Quiet day in the club’s PR office is it?
Bit bizzarre…
“Blame on the moonlight, blame it on the good times… blame it on the Botchy…” etc.
Correct, bums on seats is the box ticked. As a result, slam goes the desk draw with the chequebook securely inside…
We need to play someone decent to show that this recent upturn isn’t just against lower sides. However, I do feel that Benty and Kulusevski have given the midfield a slightly better balance than we had before they had a chance to settle in a bit. Otherwise I agree, we are way, way behind being a side that can compete in the Champion’s League and maintain decent league form. Miles off it…
BigStew as the optimists on here bang on about Conte and how well we are playing and he only been playing under him for a few months ..they fail to realise that Utd will do better in a few months once they appoint the right coach..THFC do no operate in isolation…despite what Daniel Levy may think.
Nope
Same sh#t different decade ..
If the ground is full ..why would Levy spend …Villa is a very good test ..they are decent not brilliant and are in need of a result…Gerrard will fancy his chances..
I always think that once you start making personal attacks on a forum like this that you have already lost the argument. Just to make a few observations, I am not Spanish and sadly am no longer a lad. I have supported Spurs since 1962 which doesn’t make me any more knowledgeable than any other contributor on this blog but I have watched a lot of football over the years and although I don’t pretend to be an expert on football tactics, I do know what sort of football I like watching, so my preference has always been for left footed wingers to play on the left and vice versa. It’s a simple game, isn’t it? I certainly have never compared Poch to Fergie but only stated that qualifying for the CL on four occasions was not a bad effort. On the subject of Levy, in common with many others, he has absolutely no interest in winning titles at the club but is only interested in enriching himself and his master at the expense of the club’s on field success.
As for being called an old fool, old I might be but am not generally thought of as a fool.
I have never really understood what a bell end is, so you will have to excuse my ignorance at what I assume to be a derogatory term but keep putting emojis of horse manure on your posts if it cheers you up.
Perhaps that’s why they want him? I did read that the owners had decided to veer away from their semi galactico approach as it clearly wasn’t getting them the Holy Grail of winning the CL. As I did state, it’s only a rumour!
Araenal’s greatest ever cokehead, closely followed by Jack Wilsh*te…
Sure didn’t back in the day when he was snorting the ‘devils dandruff’ up his hooter.
Antonio offered/in talks for the PSG job, as is doing the rounds?
Half a team of prima uomo’s that can’t work/run/press, won’t work/run/press in hallmark Antonio style?
Mmmm, maybe not?
Bell end Spurs fans who bang on about Botch as if he’s Sir Alex.. You embarrass yourselves.. And if you find that funny Spanish lad then this explains alot…… The facts are your hero won nothing… All you two old fools do is moan about Levy and Praise Botchjob… Amongst all the 💩you waffle, when it comes to actual football you talk rubbish like your ‘inverted winger’ nonsense.
Complete horse💩
For a start I certainly don’t hate Botch so no debate there. He’s Spurs through and through I actually have love for the man. But yours and other posters here have extremely unbalanced adulation over him. Easty is obsessed… Yes Botch is on record ONCE saying he should be renamed to coach. This was soon after we lost the CL final after 18 months of no signings. He was mentally beat at this point. He’d lost two finals and the league and it was 6 long years. He was done but refused to walk. Oh but he would have walked if he had won the CL, straight from the horses mouth. He was then given club record signings that have been crucial to our struggles and his final downful. Botchy then refused to walk… You fail to recognise the previous 5 and a half years when he built his team and told us repeatedly that all players that came in and left was his call.. From Alderweireld to Sissoko. Plus he was always berry appy, regardless of your opinion.. I think with the squad that Botch inherited, plus the signings he made, he should have won a lot more than ‘top 4’.. Silly decisions and indecisiveness in matches cost him.. Like dropping Moussa Dembele in key games and finals to stick with Bentaleb and Mason.. Late and ineffective subs. Tactics were very one dimensional. Leicester won the league while Brum, Stoke and Portsmouth won cups.. Botch won nothing.. He’s proving right now he’s no elite manager.. He even tried to sign Ndombele for PSG in the last window which was typically baffling… Conte to PSG is just nonsense of course they’re not in talks.
1st sentence is spot on!
Well said to you too.
Yup.
Agreed.
It’s only consistency & winning mentality that THFC have been lacking & you can sure see signs both are improving under Antonio.
Manchester United, (biggest club in world football, arguably), can’t now compete in Europe, Manchester City fail annually, Barcelona this year were complete y-fronts, PSG with their ‘Who’s Who’ squad seriously underachieve, there are no givens & THFC, like most top/good clubs can beat anyone on their day, even with the squad they have, or an improved one next season.
Yes, what is it 23 years of being only 1 or 2 short of being a serious threat to all…
😂😂
I’m afraid h’s not interested in the facts Marbella, just twisting the narrative to suit his bizarre hatred of Poch. I’m sure he’s marked Poch down for being guilty of the invasion of Ukraine as well!
Ever thought of becoming a diplomat? I seem to recall you saying all of this drivel after we beat City – then look what happened.
Where did I say we haven’t been playing well exactly in recent games? But against lower sides as H quite rightly said in one of his blogs. I notice you didn’t jump on him!
All of your sweeping statements just don’t add up – like;
“Of course when we get CL then we look to buy CL grade players.”
Really? Like the 4 years when Poch was in charge and which CL players did Levy buy him exactly?
As for having Conte to attract top players, you mean like he attracted Traore and Diaz do you?
I don’t get all this black and white nonsense of yours – Poch bad and Conte good, It’s just too simplistic. Truth is Levy pulls the strings at the end of the day as in case you hadn’t noticed players cost money and Levy controls that.
Remind me when you open your mouth not to stand downwind.
I see your hatefest on Poch continues. First of all, he did not employ Hichen, Levy did. If I remember correctly, Levy hired Mitchell on the advice of Poch. As per the norm, Levy didn’t listen to any of Mitchell’s recommendations and then put him on gardening leave. Incidentally, he has enjoyed success with RB Leipzig and is doing well at Monaco since being fired by Levy.
Poch was on record as saying that he was only a coach not a manager and that he had little or nothing to do with recruitment. He also managed to get us qualification for the CL on four occasions, no mean feat when you work for a shyster like Levy. I think it would be a mistake to rehire him because I have never believed it is right to go back to any job for a second time, but it has been reported on several websites than Conte has been offered the PSG job. We shall see but that would put the cat amongst the pigeons.
well said sir , too much drivel written about us – by our own fans ! Yes , the wheels come off now and again , thats what makes us what we are . But at our best , we are only one or two short of a serious , serious threat to all , C O Y S !!!
Nonsense. Everyone can see we’ve been playing well. We now look like we have a plan. We are attacking and defending well. Already looking like a Conte unit, much more solid at the back, though Romero being back has been crucial…. Anyone can beat anyone in our league.. Only a few days ago Brentford smashed the Champions league holders Chelsea….. Since the turn of the year only Man City have scored more goals than us…. Now when we get top four then we will fully deserve it.. Of course when we get CL then we look to buy CL grade players.. All the top players want to play in the CL and many more will want to play for Antonio… It’s not really make or break for Daniel either.. Put up or shut up what?…. You do realise we have a much better chance of signing top players at Spurs with our current manager… Botch and Hitchen were not able and we are still suffering now from their poor scouting and transfers.
Put up or p*** off, more like. He’s happy to shut up and spend nothing.
I think we’ve been bamboozled by some recent good results against lowly teams (or an exhausted spam), it wasn’t that long ago when we were losing to the likes of Middlesborough, Burnley, Wolves and S-hampton, plus of course the recent loss to a poor Man U. I think we are way off the top 3, and more on a par with the teams just below. Throw in an injury or two to key players and we’d really struggle.
If we are to avoid getting embarrassed by CL qualification we need several more quality signings or we’re going to be the whipping boys in the group.
There is also a massive gulf in class between the EL and the CL.
This summer will certainly be vital, it’s make of break for Daniel. Put up or shut up.
Dexter
while agreeing in principle , if Spurs are unable to compete in Europe , who else in this division can ?
We are behind Chelsea , Liverpool and City , but honestly NOT by the chasms people claim , and we are far in front of the Leicester’s , Villa and Wolves . Our problem has always been consistency – hence the ‘Spursy’ tag that we detest yet understand.
Conte appears to revel in a disciplinarian style that demands effort , endeavour and passion linked with technical ability – does this not scream consistency in the making ?
We are definitely on the knife edge and its beautifully set – I love it and want more and more , sport at its most enthralling – C O Y S !!
Assuming we don’t banana-skin on the other games, our tests are Liverpool and Leicester, theirs are Chelsea and United. Then it boils down to the NLD which is a home game. Knife edge stuff indeed, but even ending up in this position was a virtual fantasy just a couple of months ago.
The only small issue is, can we seriously compete with the best in europe? As it stands? I agree with HH – me thinks not.
Will Levy invest heavily enough to make us competitive enough? Ditto.
But we live in hope, or die in despair.
Merson’s predictions are invariably wrong, so this one fills me with dread.
Surely even Arsenal fans must be totally bored with the so-called ‘punditry’ of Paul Merson . He seems to change his mind at the drop of a hat , and his latest desperate opinion is its now “Tottenham’s to lose” [ 4th place ] Paul , please shut up , your reverse psychology attempts are childish and are absolutely your M O .
Spurs [ with or without Harry ] are actually better than your mob and if thats good enough for 4th , in what is undoubtedly the strongest league in the world [ statistically undeniable now ] then thats fantastic , a wonderful achievement . But neither side deserves your inane running commentary or ‘observations’.
Please , please stop and let us all enjoy the drama that is about to unfold . My opinion is very straightforward , I firmly believe Spurs to be the 4th best team in this country and amongst the top 20 sides in the world , Arsenal are not ……………….get over it !!
Hey soccer yey!! Merson an Arsenal great yeah hahahaha drop me out Eddie Rizla
‘Great ‘ drunk and not good to be with I’m sure.
Merson does not know if he is coming or going .