If Tottenham Keep Gareth Bale, Could They Win Premier League?

The Gareth Bale transfer saga rumbles on – will he or won’t he be at White Hart Lane next season? If Tottenham don’t sell him to Real Madrid, could Spurs actually win the Premier League next season?

Champions

Paulinho to strengthen Tottenham [Photo: Alan Hill]Tottenham have only been champions twice – in 1951 and 1961. Since the ‘Double’ team there have only been a few rare occasions when Spurs have come close to winning the title but fell short for various reasons. If Tottenham resist all offers laid before them for Bale this summer would Tottenham be in with a shout of winning the Premier League? Spurs have already strengthened the team with the signing of Paulinho and Nacer Chadli, providing options for Andre Villas-Boas and are reported to be close to completing the signing of a striker in Roberto Soldado from Valencia.

To win the Premier League they would need:

• a full season of Bale at his supreme best
•  to complete the signing of Soldado and probably a couple more players to strengthen the team
• their top players to avoid any serious injuries
• other players to step up to lift the burden of responsibility off Bale’s shoulders

Challengers

Manchester City and Chelsea will be very strong contenders for the title this year but both are under new managers. United are an unknown quantity without Sir Alex Ferguson in control and the uncertainty of how David Moyes will cope with the added expectation at Old Trafford. At present Arsenal appear to be much as they were last year so a stronger Tottenham team could be in a position to get in among those teams this season. The new signings will take time to settle in to the demands of the Premier League so it is too much to expect Spurs to be involved in the title race this season.

Champions League

The best Tottenham can hope for, even with Bale, is a top-4 finish to guarantee a Champions League place in 2014-15 so that they have a stronger hand when trying to attract top class players should Bale make his move next summer. With the stronger squad they should be able to maintain a greater consistency, something that let them down on occasions last season against weaker teams when they dropped vital points.

Same Again – On the Outside Looking In

There will be greater competition for a top 4 finish this year with Liverpool strengthening their team to put in a strong challenge to regain a place in the top 4. It will be difficult for Bale to maintain the level of performance he produced in the second half of last season when on so many occasions he dragged us to victory from the jaws of defeat. Spurs will continue to drop points against the top teams and will again find themselves in a fight for 4th or 5th and to date have only succeeded in getting over that line in 2010.

I’ve presented the differing options and with Bale, and other important signings, I could see them making a serious challenge but probably not be strong enough come the final run in. For Tottenham to finish the season as Premier League Champions is the dream for all Spurs fans but this season, even with Bale, it will probably remain a pipe-dream.

****[Hi Folks,

I’ve removed the HotspurHQ Poll from this article as the site has been down for maintenance at times throughout the day and many of you who would regularly vote to express your view have been unable to do so today. I intend to rerun the poll in tomorrow morning’s blog so I hope you’ll look out for it and vote then.

Many thanks and apologies for today’s difficulties and the site should be up and running tomorrow.

Logan]***