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according to Hansen, not sure myself, any other views?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/tottenham/7632670/Alan-Hansen-Tottenhams-talents-mean-fifth-place-can-only-be-seen-as-a-disappointment.html

They do.

So do Chelsea but didnt stop us taking all 6 points off them this year.

Spurs have a better 1st team than Arsenal and possibly the Rags but its a team sport?

More balanced and lacking in prima-donnas, maybe. So that probably goes with what he said. Man-for-man, however, I'd say it's VERY even, but with City having the better overall talent.

I don't go along with that at all.

Player v player we have a better squad in almost every position. They have continuity in defence and that's why they are where they are. Our defence is only settling in the last while.

If we are to finish ahead of them we have to score as many goals as possible because that's what our strenghts are and we're going into two home games. Its a fucking no-brainer really.
So they may have had more time together, but would I swap our squad for their's? No way. Next season, we will finish ahead of them, even if we don't sign one player IMO.

Our squad was always going to take a while to gel because we rebuilt as opposed to tweaked. Dropping points for the first few months of the season was bound to happen and that's why we're not already nailed on for fourth.

That said, we have to win two home games against teams on par with us and a game against a team that narrowly avoided relegation, with a squad that now know each other inside out. We should be favourites.

I would agree with most of that, but my blind hatred of s***s prohibits me from even spelling their name.

sandman wrote:Spurs have a better 1st team than Arsenal and possibly the Rags but its a team sport?

No they don't.

Anyway... if you make an XI plus bench from these two squads it should be a pretty even mix.
The quality Spurs appear to have at the back needs to be weighed against just how injury prone those 2 lads are.

Gomes, Cudicini...
Bale, Assou-Ekotto, Corluka, Kaboul, Bassong, Dawson, King, Woodgate...
Huddlestone, Palacios, Jenas, Bentley, Kranjcar, Modric, Lennon...
Pav, Defoe, Crouch, Eidur Gudj...

Given, Taylor
Bridge, Garrido, Sylv, Zaba, Micah, Ned, Lescott, Toure, Kompany...
de Jong, Barry, Vieira, Ireland, AJ, SWP, Petrov...
RSC, Adebayor, Tevez, Bellamy...

Question:
Why the bloody hell do we line up to defend?

I think they do tbh.

Woodgate and King

Lennon, Modric, Kranjaer

Dunne's Half-Time Pint wrote:

sandman wrote:Spurs have a better 1st team than Arsenal and possibly the Rags but its a team sport?

No they don't.

Anyway... if you make an XI plus bench from these two squads it should be a pretty even mix.
The quality Spurs appear to have at the back needs to be weighed against just how injury prone those 2 lads are.

Gomes, Cudicini...
Bale, Assou-Ekotto, Corluka, Kaboul, Bassong, Dawson, King, Woodgate...
Huddlestone, Palacios, Jenas, Bentley, Kranjcar, Modric, Lennon...
Pav, Defoe, Crouch, Eidur Gudj...

Given, Taylor
Bridge, Garrido, Sylv, Zaba, Micah, Ned, Lescott, Toure, Kompany...
de Jong, Barry, Vieira, Ireland, AJ, SWP, Petrov...
RSC, Adebayor, Tevez, Bellamy...

Question:
Why the bloody hell do we line up to defend?

amen brother.

What a fantastic attacking team we have -we could out-shoot almost anyone in the league. I'm hoping we do that against two teams who IMO should occupy the places below us. We can out shoot both of them and that's all we need to do in these two games.
Enough of this cautious bollox!

Nick wrote:I think they do tbh.

Woodgate and King

Lennon, Modric, Kranjaer

A couple of classy defenders who can't get through a half a season between them.
A pacy headless chicken who's hit a purple patch - still only managed 18 games and 3 goals this season though.
A gifted little footballer - but again, only 18 starts and 2 goals - if he can't control a game he seldom influences it.

I'm staggered that Kranjcar has 12 this season - he's a thoroughly lazy cock - 1 goal every 2 starts speaks for itself though.

By the way, Hansen is seemingly making the classic never-played-abroad mistake of the Little Britisher:

They should also be encouraged that their success this season has been based around a core of players Fabio Capello may choose to call upon for his England squad this summer.

Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch will definitely be selected by the Italian, while you would expect Aaron Lennon to join them. Tom Huddlestone has been mentioned in dispatches, and Michael Dawson has enjoyed a better season than most of his rivals for a centre-back berth.

The most exacting conundrum Capello faces, though, concerns Ledley King... blah blah blah...

Hmmm. So, is Hansen's assumption of Spurs having the better side based on their British/English players? Obviously, with that logic, City's superstars cannot even hope for a mention as our snazziest signings are largely from overseas, with the bread and butter players (Given, Barry, Bridge, Richards, Onuoha - even Bellamy - et al) being mostly homegrown.

I have to hand it to Wideboy 'Arry, though: he knew Robbie Keane was a "wrong 'un" and made sure he walked to the footballing netherworld of the SPL, sharpish. A few years ago, City might have been keen on Robbie Keane - thank fook times have changed!

guv111 wrote:By the way, Hansen is seemingly making the classic never-played-abroad mistake of the Little Britisher:

They should also be encouraged that their success this season has been based around a core of players Fabio Capello may choose to call upon for his England squad this summer.

Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch will definitely be selected by the Italian, while you would expect Aaron Lennon to join them. Tom Huddlestone has been mentioned in dispatches, and Michael Dawson has enjoyed a better season than most of his rivals for a centre-back berth.

The most exacting conundrum Capello faces, though, concerns Ledley King... blah blah blah...

Hmmm. So, is Hansen's assumption of Spurs having the better side based on their British/English players? Obviously, with that logic, City's superstars cannot even hope for a mention as our snazziest signings are largely from overseas, with the bread and butter players (Given, Barry, Bridge, Richards, Onuoha - even Bellamy - et al) being mostly homegrown.

I have to hand it to Wideboy 'Arry, though: he knew Robbie Keane was a "wrong 'un" and made sure he walked to the footballing netherworld of the SPL, sharpish. A few years ago, City might have been keen on Robbie Keane - thank fook times have changed!

Yeah, after he RE-SIGNED him from Liverpool.

Original Dub wrote:
Yeah, after he RE-SIGNED him from Liverpool.

Oops!

Ah well, he got there in the end.

But it's City who waste money - right?

Dunne's Half-Time Pint wrote:

Nick wrote:I think they do tbh.

Woodgate and King

Lennon, Modric, Kranjaer

A couple of classy defenders who can't get through a half a season between them.
A pacy headless chicken who's hit a purple patch - still only managed 18 games and 3 goals this season though.
A gifted little footballer - but again, only 18 starts and 2 goals - if he can't control a game he seldom influences it.

I'm staggered that Kranjcar has 12 this season - he's a thoroughly lazy cock - 1 goal every 2 starts speaks for itself though.

Thats my point though, everytime I hear of spurs they have most of these players out. These are all KEY players to me and if we just had one of those play makers just think how good we'd be at home. We have Ireland and thats it. And FUCK knows whats happened to him this season!!!!I mean you can loose form, but stevei, why the fuck aren't you arsed anymore?!?

Dunne's Half-Time Pint wrote:

sandman wrote:Spurs have a better 1st team than Arsenal and possibly the Rags but its a team sport?

No they don't.

With exception to fabregas Arsenal dont have any brilliant players but have a brilliant team, they have players like Walcott who have a shit hot reputation despite having done jack shit to earn it.

The rags are carrying donkeys like Neville and Ferdinand and only have one striker (as Owen cant really count)

Spurs have a great first team and mediocre bench.

We both have 3 games left.Dont you think its a little late to be botherin with arguments on who has the strongest squad! Our squad will be a hell of alot different next season anyways....

I think if we lined up our best line up XI (minus injurys) we would have them on paper but lining up squads they have us down and thanks to injurys now we are in trouble.

Dazzacity wrote:We both have 3 games left.Dont you think its a little late to be botherin with arguments on who has the strongest squad! Our squad will be a hell of alot different next season anyways....

in truth i hope our squad isn't "a hell of a lot different"...i can see 2-4 outgoing, of which 1-2 may have started significant matches this season and the same amount incoming with the same balance of first team starters.

we need tweaking not rebuilding. Why chuck it out when we've come this far? some fullbacks to press ours for starting places and stronger depth, a creative mid -- one established and one young maybe? -- and a strong CB and i think we're pretty much set. You could argue for another winger on the right i suppose as well.

5 incoming max, and i only see 1-2 of those as "nailed on starting XI" type signings...the rest will compete and provide depth and growth for the sqaud.

Our team is pretty good...damn good in fact imho.

cheers

the_georgian_genius wrote:They do.

They are a better Team - but we have a better Squad.