Is it Tottenham’s Year?

No. No it’s not.

There is just no way Spurs will last the pace. They have been cut from 200/1 to 30/1 after an impressive start – that’s a huge over-reaction from the bookies. They will be the Villa of last season, a bright start fading away at Christmas as teams get wise to them and fatigue sets in.

They have a decent side, sure – but not a title winning squad.

Their first eleven is impressive – Gomes, Corluka, Assou-Ekotto, King, Woodgate, Modric, Palacios, Lennon, Huddlestone, Defoe, Crouch – but how often will that centre back pairing be fit? How much can Gomes really be trusted? Can any side with the behemoth that is Tom Huddlestone in centre-mid actually last any sort of pace? How long will Defoe’s hot-streak last? How many times will they actually field that eleven anyway? And so on.

There is some back up – Chimbonda, Dawson, Bale, Bentley, Jenas, Keane, Pavyluchenko – but the majority of those seem to be disillusioned and potentially on their way out of the club. That is the problem with teams of Tottenham’s stature – genuinely classy players are happy to be rotated (or back up) at the likes of Man United (Tevez excepted!) but not at the likes of Spurs. Their first eleven can compete, but not their squad. It’s the same story with Villa, with Everton – and would be with Man City, if they didn’t pay all their players twice as much.

Challenging the top four, that should be Tottenham’s aim. No more, no less. Fifth would be an achievement. And 30/1 is just ridiculous!