Spurs – Celtic
I watched Spurs – Celtic on Sky today. I must admit I wasn’t particularly impressed with this Celtic side. They managed to create some chances towards the end of the game, but the venom in the attacking third was completely absent. Samaras and Vennegor af Hesselink up front never looked a threat, and in a four on three break towards the end, former Wolves back Lee Naylor set up McGeady on the left, but he seemed clueless on how to put the ball in the net. He killed all the pace in the attack and Ledley King did a nice job of cleaning up.
Spurs looked sharper. If Berbatov stays, I would be willing to bet quite a lot of money on Darren Bent scoring more than 10 this season. If he can play a few games and get his confidence, he could be a mild surprise up front. Modric showed some of his class, it will be fun to see him in the Premier League. Getting Gareth Bale back from his injuries last season could also make quite a big difference for Spurs, but they’ll surely find a way to mediocrity. The new goalie Heurelio Gomes’ distribution was terrible at times, twice in the last five minutes he threw the ball right to some green shirts.
What do you think? Can Spurs make the leap to the top 4 this year? Will Celtic be strong enough to steal the title again?
Bring on the season!
Tags: Aidan McGeady, Celtic, Darren Bent, Dimitar Berbatov, Georgios Samaras, Luka Modric, Tottenham
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2. August, 2008 at 22:32
Sure, with David Bentley signed up Spurs will be on track for a historic treble. Sadly (for them), the club has made even Jande Ramos look like a guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing.
4. August, 2008 at 15:45
Spurs can’t make the top 4 this season – indeed, from what I have seen of the transfer movements, the top 4 will remain the top 4.
At least this season, there should be a big battle for 3rd v 4th spot, as 4th place has a much trickier route to the Champions League than either 3rd or 4th do this season.
4. August, 2008 at 16:37
I would argue that Spurs’ signings are stronger than Liverpool’s or Chelsea’s, but you lot will surely have slanted views on that.
1. I think Liverpool has bought one player of note – Robbie Keane, who is an upgrade over Crouch. The others seem to be replacements rather than reinforcements. Gareth Barry does not seem like much of an upgrade over Xabi Alonzo. Lucas is the only youngster I can see improving a lot over last year.
2. Chelsea has bought the world’s worst diver and a promising right back. I know right back was a problem position for them, but as much as it pains me to say it a left or right back will not be deciding who wins trophies this year.
Spurs seem to have bought well and if Bent can maintain his form, he and Geovanni together could be an upgrade over Keane. Good job for Chelsea and Liverpool that they were significantly better than Spurs last season, because in my opinion Spurs have done more than they have to improve their squad. Also, the continued maturation of Huddlestone and Bale could elevate one of them to the upper echelon of PL players at their position.
Arsenal haven’t bought anyone either and the loss of Flamini could be dangerous, but they have Wenger.
4. August, 2008 at 16:41
Interesting point about the incentives to reach 3rd rather than 4th, btw. That will be one to pay attention to. Could Everton, Villa or Spurs get involved? Could this provide another surprise FA cup final as the top teams all prioritise the league?
4. August, 2008 at 17:58
You’re right.
I think Chelsea’s big signing is Big Phil. Sadly, Deco tagged along.
However, Spurs me here, Spurs me there. I think it’ll be a long, long time before they’re a contender for anything else than the League Cup. Possibly, if they take the FA Cup seriously, in an age the rest of the PL couldn’t care less about The Greatest Football Competition in the World, they might be contenders for that.
Spurs could buy all PL refs, and still finish mid-table.
16. August, 2008 at 18:09
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!