How Far Can Tottenham Go this Season?

A top-four finish isn’t inconceivable near the midway point of the 2015-16 Premier League season. But can Tottenham Hotspur go even higher than a fourth place finish?

Winning the Premier League title won’t be easy — it’s not supposed to be — but with the way this season has turned out anything can happen. So far, Manchester City, who started the season off very well, has seen their big lead at the top of the table become rivaled by Arsenal’s good run-of-form as of late. The only difference between both clubs is a plus-four goal differential that Manchester City has over Arsenal.

Now while Harry Redknapp wrote on the The Telegraph that Tottenham are constantly improving but won’t be able to challenge for the title, as it will be Arsenal instead, there’s nothing wrong with that assessment. It’s a fair one to make. But former Tottenham midfielder, Jermaine Jenas, has the right mindset instead.

He feels that Spurs should aim higher than a top-four finish and he has one interesting point to make. (quotes provided by The Sport Review)

(Words have been made bold to express more emphasis on particular subject matter)

"Jenas told Yahoo Sport: “They’re only five points off the top. Man City are looking strong, but it’s not like Chelsea last season, or Manchester United in years gone by, where you think they can’t be caught.You’re almost better off targeting the league title rather than fourth place because even if you fall just short, you’ll be up there in the top four anyway.Chelsea and Liverpool are going through tricky periods, while there’s no way in a million years that the Spurs players will be scared of Man United.We all know the Christmas period is a crucial part of the season, and Spurs look so strong and well-prepared going into it. So I think internally the Spurs players will be thinking, why not go for the title?”"

Aiming for a league title isn’t outrageous, because that’s the number one domestic goal for every club. Obviously finishing inside the top four is a major win as well, but it doesn’t come with a trophy which every club aspires to have — or should want to win.

See the thing is, there are four clubs who generally will compete for the Premier League title yearly (in alphabetical order): Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. Liverpool, who is one of the Big Four clubs, is also in the picture as well — meaning that’s five clubs who will challenge for the title.

When Tottenham are factored in, where do they stand? Top six, sure, but Spurs can be included into the title picture too. Why? Because they’re a good club who can cause problems for teams and become a threat. It’s even more prevalent this season. Mauricio Pochettino has helped turn around Spurs in relatively short fashion — 18 months isn’t short, but it is when managers are constantly getting sacked.

Now while both Chelsea and Liverpool are going through a rough period right now before January, which won’t last long because it’s an anomaly once this season is over, this becomes Tottenham’s best chance to secure a top-four finish. If they can aim a bit higher than that, it’ll be even better for the club like Jermaine Jenas said.

Even Spurs’ 23-year-old Argentine winger, Érik Lamela, can vouch for Tottenham getting a Champions League spot but he also knows that Chelsea won’t be down for the rest of the year. (quotes provided by Enfield Independent)

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Érik Lamela told the London Evening Standard: “This is our best chance. The team has improved and also Chelsea are not so well placed in the league, and they were one of the teams expected to be fighting for the top positions.

I’ve had a great desire to play in the Champions League ever since I got here. This year we are closer than in other years. At certain times you can see we are a team who can get into the top four but we need to carry on working. We are getting better and that is important.

This team is young and we have a lot of desire to improve. If you have ambition you can achieve great things. But we have to keep winning, because Chelsea are a team who can get better in any moment.”

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It’s unlikely that Tottenham will be able to maintain their recent form, let alone their 11-game unbeaten streak, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mauricio Pochettino’s squad continue to grind out positive results. The next few months will be interesting to watch and see where Tottenham will sit in the Premier League but right now, just four points from fourth, Spurs could close the gap relatively quickly by January.

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