Man City’s spending power is phenomenal and they have added some serious talent to their squad this summer with the likes of Boateng, Toure and Silva joining an already excellent group of players. The problem for them is I don’t see Mancini as the man to get these players to gel or control their egos and settle the unrest when their start to the campaign isn’t as phenomenal as everyone is expecting. I think they could well end up in a similar position to last season.

Are Liverpool suddenly going to be a successful side under Roy Hodgson? They looked awful at times last season and it’s going to take them time to rebuild. Torres appears to be in a very bad way if the world cup is anything to go by. Carragher isn’t half the player he was a few years ago and Gerrard turns it on when he’s in the mood. This is assuming Torres and Gerrard are staying.

Now onto the 40/1 outsiders! Admittedly, one good season does not a great club make, but there is just as much reason to believe we can continue our progression under Harry Redknapp as there is we will resume the battle for 7th and 8th place. I don’t feel like last season was a fluke. Our home form has been solid for a number of years now and we have finally mastered the art of picking up points on the road. The possibility of a Champions League campaign will test the squad, but we have the strength in depth now to be able to change the personnel from game to game and still be a force in the Premiership.

The betting for the top 4 sees us 6th best behind Chelsea, Utd, City, Arsenal and Liverpool. I seem to remember us being given a similar chance at the start of last season. History has a habit of repeating itself…

A few weeks ago I said Harry’s tax issues could have an adverse affect on our season. Thus far, you couldn’t say this ongoing issue has been bothering the players at all. It does however put the club in the press for all the wrong reasons. Personally, I don’t really care what he did elsewhere but it’s obviously not a positive thing having his boat on the front page of the tabloids every other day for non football reasons.

I don’t know what the process is from here, if it’s just a case of paying back what he owes or if there is a possible prison term but we can well do without any of it now Man City have a new manager who has managed to teach them how to defend a bit in a matter of weeks. Our top four push is looking a lot tougher now so we need the manager to be able to focus fully on doing some decent business in the transfer window, not stuck in meetings with his brief.

As for our old friend Sol, it’s so nice to see him back at Arsenal. I’m very much keeping my fingers crossed for the lad in the hope he doesn’t have a nervous breakdown during a match this time around. It’s sad that we are no longer treated to pictures of Sol in the tabloids with various females and I find it disgusting that anyone would suggest this has anything to do with the fact he could no longer afford to weigh out Max Clifford. All the best for the season Sol.

As difficult as it must have been for Wigan fans to swallow, I hope they give Martinez time to finish the good job he’s started. I know they have been on the end of a few hidings but they play attractive football. The Premier League would be very boring if all the lesser sides played like Stoke. He’s a good young manager and comes across very well.

As for Tottenham, maybe we still have a mental block when it comes to the big teams. We cannot continue to put on scintillating performances against the majority of opponents at the Lane and then give limp displays like we did against Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea. I know two of those games were away from home and injuries played a part but the contrast is too great.

Harry has done wonders since his arrival but his previous sides have always been able to turn over the likes of Utd and Arsenal, sides that had no where near the strength in depth the current Spurs squad has. Maybe things will look different come the end of the season.

With Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Villa all dropping points this past weekend, our top 4 push is still going along nicely and the 9-1 win will have done wonders for both confidence and morale. It couldn’t have come at a better time with 3 away games on the trot coming up, all against tough sides. I’d take 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat if I’m honest, as long as the win is against Utd!

It’s another one of those games that on paper, you’d fully expect Tottenham to win. Wigan are a good side who try and play the right way, but I’d imagine that will play into our hands. The home games where Spurs have struggled have generally been against teams that keep it tight. Allow our players space and time at the Lane and they will deliver.

The League table makes for interesting reading at the moment. I feel like we have been on a bad run of results of late but we still sit in 4th. If you’d have told me that after 12 games we would be just 3pts behind Man Utd, I would have been more than happy. Just as long as you hadn’t told me how well Arsenal would be playing!

Admittedly, Villa, Man City and Liverpool are all snapping at our heels but there is 5pts between us and the side that lie in 8th place, Sunderland. With Liverpool and Man City facing each other and Villa having to go to the fortress at Burnley, a win against Wigan will likely give us a bit of breathing space.

I’m going for an exciting encounter with lots of goals. I’ll plump for 4-2 Spurs with a Titus Bramble brace, one goal for each side.

The defeat against Stoke doesn’t worry me. We played well, it was just unfortunate. Even more unfortunate it came before a big game but I think we would have lost at Arsenal in those circumstances 99 times out of 100.

A number of Spurs fans have a theory that we can still make the top 4 by winning the majority of our game against the lesser opposition even if we always get thumped by the current top 3.

While I can kind of see where they are coming from, constantly being shown up against the big clubs won’t do our confidence any good. Fortunately, our rivals for 4th place are all dropping points as well.

If we are going to be up there come the end of the season, Sunderland at home is a must win game, especially Sunderland at home coming on the back of two defeats.

Sunderland are without Kenwyne Jones and Lorik Cana due to suspensions, as well as long term injury Lee Cattermole. Spurs have better news with the return of Jermain Defoe and possibly Aaron Lennon. I just hope Defoe has his mind on the game and not going out afterwards for some laffy taffy now he’s binned Imogen.

I fancy a 2-1 Spurs victory with Darren Bent getting a consolation for the visitors.

Check out Salut Sunderland for an interview I did about the match.

While we may have been missing some key men through injury and suspension, our squad is meant to be one of the best in the league. Robbie Keane certainly thinks so and I was inclined to agree until I saw the poor level the stand ins played to on Saturday.

If we’d have gone there and played well but got beat I wouldn’t have a problem but it was a no contest. Arsenal were different class and we had no answers.

In his post match interview when asked if our next game now carries extra significance Harry said ‘no’ and ‘we’d still be up there come the end of the season’ or words to that effect. I’d have to disagree, at least with the no part. Any side harbouring top four aspirations having suffered two defeats on the trot in the league needs to bounce back. Add that to the fact Harry obviously didn’t rate Darren Bent and you have the potential for an especially significant game.

I do still fancy us to beat Sunderland, just a little less than I did a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t think you can criticise Harry’s tactics or the Tottenham performance as a whole. We had 66% of the possession and 12 shots on target to Stokes 2 and did everything but score. On another day, we could have easily been 2 or 3 up by half time.

Stoke’s goalkeeper Steve Simonsen had the game of his life and when Lennon couldn’t continue, they took full advantage of their extra man. The extent of the injuries to Lennon and particularly Woodgate aren’t yet known. Lennon is likely nothing serious but seeing Woodgate have to come off during his first game of the season is bitterly disappointing.

It would have been nice to go into the Arsenal game with a few points cushion over them and off the back of another win but it wasn’t to be. I’m still looking forward to Saturday with eager anticipation and it promises to be a cracking game. Arsenal have looked great at times this season but they have also looked very beatable as yesterday’s match against West Ham demonstrated. Let’s go to the Emirates and get a result.

While Stoke are renowned for their home form, they have also been a lot more solid on the road this season than they were last. Other than the 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool in their first away outing of the season, Stoke have managed to three draws and a win from their four away fixtures since.

It seems like Pulis has decided to take a negative approach to away games and who can blame him? With the winning habit they have at home, just a few points on the road will ensure Stoke’s Premier League survival sooner rather than later.

The problem with taking this approach at the Lane is Spurs ability to score freely. We always come out the blocks with all guns blazing at home and an early goal completely ruins a lock down game plan for the opposition. The longer the game goes without a Tottenham goal, the better for Stoke. They are always dangerous of nicking something from set pieces and we will need to be solid defensively.

This is a key game for Spurs prior to the Arsenal next weekend and for me it’s the sort of game that suits us. I’d fancy a 3-0 or 3-1 score line that can keep us up with the pace at the top of the table and ensure that confidence is high before going to the Emirates.

It isn’t a term I like to use because it annoys me when pundits keeping banging on about it, but the fact is I don’t think we can break into the top four this season or any season in the foreseeable future for that matter. It’s probably too early to be making judgements like that especially when we are playing so well but if you look at the teams that are likely to fill the places this season, they just have too much about them.

Man City are nowhere near the finished article, but are already playing as well as anyone in the Premiership. They are only going to get better and I’ll be shocked if they don’t break into the top five this season, third or forth place would not surprise me either. Obviously, Man Utd and Chelsea aren’t going to finish outside the first three positions so our only chance is to displace two of Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City.

While Spurs don’t have the distraction of European football and can concentration on the Premier League, we will still fall just short. The defeats against Chelsea and Man Utd have shown our players don’t quite yet have the mental toughness I thought they did. To concede three goals in both games is a sign of a slight lack of belief rather than ability. I know we have been brushing lesser teams aside with ease but I worry we won’t pick up enough points against teams like Everton, Villa and even Sunderland.

Sixth spot and a cup semi final would be a good season as far as I’m concerned and that is more or less what I think we will end up with. Whether Harry can unearth enough in the transfer market to improve Tottenham past these achievements in future seasons is unlikely. Man City, Man Utd and Chelsea are untouchable and while I’d like to think Arsenal and Liverpool are on the downgrade, form so far this season suggests they aren’t.

Chelsea are playing like a well oiled machine at the moment. They have looked comfortable in most of their games thus far and still have a couple of gears to go. It just seems like they are able to find a goal when required.

The positive thing for us Spurs fans is our recent record against the blues. We’ve not lost to Chelsea in our last four meetings with them and we are also the last team to have beaten them in the Premier League, although that was at the Lane.

Harry’s been quoted as saying he doesn’t plan on sitting back;

“We can’t go there and nullify them for 90 minutes – we haven’t got the players to do that. I have attacking players who like to play and express themselves.”

Chelsea’s record at Stamford Bridge is quite simply awesome. Even when they play badly at home, they still normally win. The fact we are going there with an attacking approach is a positive for me. Like Harry says, I don’t think we have the personnel to go there and try and lock down for a point. Our best opportunity of getting something out the game is to score a goal. More than one would be nice!

Like I said earlier, I’ll be pleased to get anything from this game but if we do lose I won’t lose any sleep over it. We have a nice looking run of games coming up against Burnley, Bolton, Pompey and Stoke before Arsenal away at the end of October. If we are still sitting in the top 6 come the Arsenal game, I’ll be more than happy.