Are Tottenham really title challengers?

Tottenham fans, management and players seem to be getting a bit carried away with last weekend’s 3-2 victory at bitter-rivals Arsenal.

They did well to come back from two goals down and do have quality but are they really good enough to challenge for the title?

Confident

Everybody at Spurs seems to believe they are. We had boss Harry Redknapp come out in the press last week saying his side were good enough to win the Premier League title and now striker Jermain Defoe has came out saying the same thing.

The England star told Sky Sports: “The manager (Redknapp) has said there’s no reason why we can’t win the league. If it’s not this year, then the year after,”

“The way the league has been going, I suppose it’s there for a lot of teams. It’s different at Spurs now, especially after last season. Every game we think ‘Do you know what? We can win this’.

“It is not a case of going somewhere and thinking ‘Well, we could get a draw. That would be good enough’.

Fear

They may be confident at the moment but Tottenham still don’t have that fear factor that comes when Manchester United, Chelsea or even Arsenal come to town. These teams have built their reputations on constantly challenging for and winning trophies.

Tottenham are a good side and they building a strong young team. However they haven’t quite got the air of confidence that the aforementioned trio carry. To be at that level they need to challenge for trophies consistently.

Strong

Since Harry Redknapp took over at Tottenham they have just been getting stronger and stronger. It says a lot about how far the club have came in recent weeks by the fact that they can attract players of the calibre of Rafael Van Der Vaart. The Dutchman is an outstanding player and I have sung his praises in recent articles.

Tottenham haven’t just got Van Der Vaart but the superb Croatian playmaker Luka Modric in their midfield. Not many sides have two players capable of creating from midfield in their side.

That’s without even talking about Welsh wing wizard Gareth Bale. These are the quality of players top teams need to achieve success.

Consistency

This season no one team have been outstanding in the Premier League, so if Tottenham can put a consistent run together then they may challenge the established order, although Tottenham need to find that consistency first.

Last season Spurs were relatively consistent to grab a deserved Champions League spot. I just can’t see them finding a consistent enough run of results to challenge the likes of United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Champions League

Earlier this month I voiced my doubts over whether Tottenham could even qualify for the Champions League and not even their performance against Arsenal could change my thinking. The problem Tottenham have is that they seem to suffer from a Champions League hang over.

I wonder whether after playing in the Champions League in midweek they can come back to domestic action with a victory over Liverpool later today.

If they are to become a leading light in the Premier League then these are the sorts of games they simply have to win. Tottenham player’s it’s over to you!

Are Tottenham really title challengers?