Can Tottenham make it into the Champions League spots next season?

The last few seasons have saw Tottenham establish themselves as a real threat to the big boys at the top of the Premier League.

Spurs have finished in the top five for the past three seasons under Harry Redknapp and finished fourth last season.

Unfortunate

Tottenham were slightly unfortunate to miss out on the Champions League spots for next season.

Chelsea finished in sixth place in the English top flight, yet gained a place in next seasons competition courtesy of winning the trophy in May, at Tottenham’s expense.

In truth though Tottenham looked like a shoe in for the top three for most of the season, until the final few months of campaign when they seemed to collapse.

Ironic

Ironically the collapse was put down to the players being distracted by speculation over Redknapp getting the England job. In the end the only thing that Redknapp received this summer was his P45, as Spurs decided to part company their boss.

New

Tottenham have turned to former-Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas to replace Redknapp and try to help the club to the next level. The 34 year-old Portuguese coaching rookie is still considered a highly-rated coach, despite a miserable spell at Chelsea.

Villas-Boas showed that he had superb coaching skills in his homeland with Porto, were he lead the club to an unprecedented treble of league title, Portuguese cup and Europa League. A manager doesn’t win all three of those trophies by just being lucky.

Jose Mourinho rates Villas-Boas very highly and took him everywhere he went, as part of his backroom staff. Andre Villas-Boas must now feel he has a point to prove and I don’t think he could have chosen a better club to be at to prove that point.

Talented

Tottenham have a talented group of players and that’s why they have been relatively successful in recent years. Redknapp had assembled a group of players capable of challenging at the top end of the table.

Unfortunately for Spurs and Villas-Boas, arguably their most talented player Luka Modric is being tracked by some of Europe’s top teams. Spanish giants Real Madrid are being heavily linked with a move for the Croatian playmaker and expected to make an offer in the next couple of weeks.

The Croatian international is Tottenham’s midfield brains and would be difficult to replace. There aren’t not many players with Modric’s attributes in the European game at the moment and his sale could ruin the balance of the Spurs midfield.

Strengthening

Even if Tottenham manage to keep hold of Modric then the squad will need strengthening and I’m sure that Villas-Boas is busy working on bringing in new players to the squad. Tottenham have already parted with Modric’s compatriots Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar this summer

Tottenham are expected to offload some other fringe players but they need to make additions to their squad if they are to have any chance of clinching a top in the top four of the Premier League next season.

Transitional

I think Tottenham could be in for a bit of a transitional season ahead. Villas-Boas will need time to settle in at the club and get his ideas across. He struggled to do that Chelsea but I think Spurs have a different sort of player in their squad.

The Tottenham players may have slightly more respect for Villas-Boas than the Chelsea players did. Maybe could lead to him being a success at White Hart Lane.  The Portuguese certainly showed potential at Porto. I hope he has learned from the mistakes he made at Stamford Bridge though.

Competition

Tottenham will face stiff competition for those Champions League spots next season. Manchester City and Manchester United will be obvious favourites for the title next season. Then there is Chelsea and Spurs bitter-rivals Arsenal hoping to be in the top four.

That’s not to mention the likes of Newcastle, Liverpool and Everton, who all have the potential to gatecrash the top four next season. Tottenham will be in for a major fight to stay in the top four next season.

Hard

I believe its going to be very hard for Tottenham to maintain their place in the top four of the Premier League next season. If Spurs do finish in the Champions League place in the new campaign then Andre Villas-Boas can consider his second season in English football as a success.

Can Tottenham make it into the Champions League spots next season?