Middlesbrough vs Spurs 
Are the 2008 Spurs Contenders or Pretenders?
Every Spurs fan knows the feeling. We go through a summer punctuated with transfer activity and every Tom, Dick, and Harry (or in this case, Villa, Capel, and insert your favorite football player name) linked with the Lilywhites. This is usually followed by a superb pre-season peppered with thumping wins and confidence becomes sky high. Spurs can contend for the Top 4!
But come opening day, we sputter out of the gate and before long, all the wheels fall out from under us. Last year, Sunderland's last minute goal took the wind out of our season in the opening game and in 2006, Bolton beat us 2-0 to start the season. Spurs are just pretenders as the legion of EPL fans would say....but has it changed now?...
Saturday's opening game at the Riverside will herald the beginning of Juande Ramos' first full season as manager. After inherting Martin Jol's team last year, this season's team has been overhauled and the new signings are supposed to bring the pace and sting that Ramos is famous for. But the departure of Keane and imminent departure of Berbatov do bring our striking options into question.
The match is by no means a walk in the park. Gareth Southgate has new players like Didier Digard and Marvin Emnes signed, with Justin Hoyte (Arsenal) probably on the way.
But perhaps the loss of stalwarts like Luke Young, George Boateng, Fabio Rochemback and Mark Schwarzer are enough to leave a few gaping holes for Spurs to exploit and get their first winning start to the season in 2 years.
COYS!!!
1 comment:
We have lost the first game of the season. And the team, it seems, did not gel well enough, or perhaps Boro had played a better game in containing us.
Hope that the team would play well next week. If it continues to be like this, then I guess we may have to shelf the "potential top 4" title.
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