We 'll settle this on pitch, Watsay mate???

They had a strange sort of season in 2008-09 which came to a subdued end at Liverpool. After the first eight games of the campaign, they were headed only one way i.e. to Coca Cola Championship. The arrival of Harry Redknapp, his reinvigoration of the team, and his signings in the January transfer window ensured that that scenario did not come to pass. Yes, it’s Tottenham, our bitter North London rival we are talking about..

They finished 8th last season and missed Europa by a whisker but their season was not all that rosy. Juande Ramos had taken care of that. In spite of all this they had their most memorable game against Arsenal when they came back to score 2 goals in last four minutes to salvage  a 4-4 draw. It was a game Arsenal should have easily won and it is games like these which left us at fourth position by the end of the season. The away game was a goal less draw and we eventually dropped four points against them.

But Tottenham is still a very good team and Harry Redknapp is one of the wiliest, specializing in resuscitating fallen giants. His contacts are virtually unparalleled. Players like Luka Modric can give them the X factor they need. Players like Aaron Lennon, Robby Keane, Roman Pavluchenko & Jermain Jenas need no introduction to Premiership. Their exploits are well documented. This team is good enough to gatecrash the “BIG 4″, as is evident from their fairytale comeback from brink of relegation to brink of Europa league last season.

Tottenham Hotspur have bolstered their defence with the signing of centre-back Sebastien Bao song from Newcastle United for a fee believed to be upwards of £8m.He becomes the fourth summer signing for Redknapp following the acquisitions of Peter Crouch from Portsmouth and Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker from Sheffield United. They offloaded Darrent Bent to Sunderland for £10 million. With a team like this they can’t go anywhere but upwards.

If we manage to get 6 points from them, we may actually win the title. In my opinion games against opponents like Spurs, Everton, Blackburn, etc. is the difference between the title and a fourth finish; rather than games against heavyweights like Man Utd., Liverpool, Chelsea, etc. These grandslams are over hyped as every win in Premiership gets you three points, be it against Sunderland or Chelsea.

So, we must win games against teams like Tottenham, Everton, etc. Fingers crossed. X

They have been knocking at the door for a long time. In fact, they even gate crashed it a few seasons ago by displacing Liverpool out of the citadel called “The Big 4″ of English Football. They have come fifth in each of the last two seasons. In spite of all this they have been  forgotten by the Pundits as a serious threat to the Big Four and maybe rightly so, given the signings by clubs like Man City. Yes, it’s the Toffees we are talking about..

But we all know that Everton is a formidable outfit and a team we did well to draw against last season at Goodison Park. Even without Mikel Arteta, Yakubu and Phil Jagielka, they have the players capable of writing off smile from our faces. Louis Saha is a good player, provided he remains injury free. Tim Cahill is a particularly tricky opponent. David Moyes has done well with them and it is evident from the rumours that he is the one to succeed SAF at Old Trafford.

The Citizens are due to make a final bid for Lescott and if it does materialize, it will surely weaken them on the pitch. But they will gain a lot on the financial side, if the bid happens to be anywhere between 30m pounds they have asked for. They are already in negotiations with Arsenal for Senderos to cover for Lescott, when and if he does make an exit. Everton swooped to sign Peterlin from Ventura County Fusion of the USL Premier Development League in the summer of 2009. They have already added Jô to their ranks who is on loan from Man City. He is a big striker and was bought by City for a fee which was reported to be in the region of £19m. He did not justify that price tag but this this might well be his season.

In a nut shell, perhaps they are more of a threat than Man City to break into “The Big 4″ of English Football. If we manage to win at the Merseyside this weekend, it may well herald our revival of sorts.