Philip Oliver, who blogs about football betting at Betfair, has sent us this item:- (The views are those of the author, but not necessarily the webmaster)
Looking ahead to next season
There are five games to go this season and with Premier League status safely secured, Spurs fans can start thinking ahead to next season. Tottenham supporters are often accused of false optimism, but what should the expectations be for 2009/10 – will it be different next year?
The club’s hierarchy has surely learned from publicly setting targets, but they will nonetheless expect a far more productive campaign than the one coming to a close now.
By August, Harry Redknapp will have had more than nine months in charge, encompassing two transfer windows, and it is not unreasonable to expect the boss to have the squad he wants when we kick off next season.
The manager will point to the perilous league position of the team when he took over and it is hard to disagree that his New Year transfer dealings were done with the short rather than long term in mind.
Although the threat of relegation has been greater this season than last, Spurs are actually better off than at the same stage last season and the 2007/08 points haul of 46 should be comfortably beaten.
Tottenham started this season in characteristically optimistic mood, with Carling Cup glory fresh in the memory – if anyone was to challenge the top four it appeared likely to be us. Similarly lofty expectations this summer are not misplaced.
Only a penalty shootout denied us more silverware and the club is more settled. The new stadium plans are properly in place and there is much less dressing room disharmony – Darren Bent’s potential agitation for a summer move is nothing compared to the sulk Dimitar Berbatov sunk into last year.
Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe are back and hungry to succeed, but the forward line could be the area that has the biggest overhaul. Redknapp is seemingly in the market for another striker suggesting Bent and perhaps Roman Pavlyuchenko’s futures lie elsewhere.
David Bentley has struggled and it's my football prediction that he may move on but there will be few other big-name departures. Spurs could line up for next season’s curtain-raiser a relatively unchanged team.
This reveals the degree of under-achievement we have witnessed at the Lane and a period of continuity rather than drastic overhaul might be the best tonic. A top six finish and another cup final is a reasonable target, but unfortunately many other top flight teams hold the same aspirations. No worry, it will be Spurs’ year next year for sure…
Premier League Results - 18-22.04.09
A. Villa 1-1 West Ham
M'brough 0-0 Fulham
P'tsmouth 1-0 Bolton
Stoke 1-0 Blackburn
S'derland 1-0 Hull
Man City 4-2 West Brom
Spurs 1-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal
Chelsea 0-0 Everton
Man Utd 2-0 P'tsmouth
Barclays Premier League
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Man Utd 32 23 5 4 56 21 35 74
2 Liverpool 33 20 11 2 63 25 38 71
3 Chelsea 33 20 8 5 55 20 35 68
4 Arsenal 33 17 11 5 58 32 26 62
5 A. Villa 33 15 9 9 49 43 6 54
6 Everton 33 14 11 8 47 34 13 53
7 West Ham 33 12 9 12 38 37 1 45
8 Fulham 33 11 11 11 33 28 5 44
9 Spurs 33 12 8 13 39 36 3 44
10 Man City 33 12 5 16 51 44 7 41
11 Wigan 32 11 8 13 31 36 -5 41
12 Stoke 33 10 9 14 33 48 -15 39
13 Bolton 33 11 4 18 39 50 -11 37
14 P'tsmouth 33 9 10 14 35 50 -15 37
15 S'derland 33 9 8 16 31 43 -12 35
16 Hull 33 8 10 15 36 56 -20 34
17 Blackburn 33 8 10 15 35 55 -20 34
18 M'brough 33 7 10 16 25 47 -22 31
19 Newcastle 33 6 12 15 37 53 -16 30
20 West Brom 33 6 7 20 30 63 -33 25
