btw - Spurs have not finished below 6th since the 08/09 season...
Spurs are not a top-4 squad. They are a top-6 squad
Liverpool used to be a top-4 squad, then ManCity spent like a drunken sailor, then FFP started, and now Liverpool are in the same boat as Spurs - on the outside looking in - big enough to see the top-4, but not big enough to bust through for good.
I don't fully understand how they have eased the FFP rules this year, but of the top-4, I'd say Chelsea look vulnerable as they have gotten old quickly, and may not be able to spend the money to fix the problem. I'd guess that the Liverpool board sees this same window of opportunity and hence the managerial change. Teh problem is that there are several "good" squads so that the top-4 is in reach for Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea, Everton, and even squads like Palace, West Ham, Soton and Swansea can go on a run - particularly with no European matches to distract.
I know that the "top four" squads have been at the top for the past 4-5 years, but it hasn't always been that way. I don't think it's inevitable that Liverpool and Tottenham are outside of the top four. Liverpool is upgrading their stadium, Tottenham is building a new one, and both stand to benefit from the massive TV contract.
There are only so many stud players to go around. The teams at the top of the EPL may have a lot of money, but they still aren't getting the best of the best, imo.
When I look at things (albeit with the perspective of someone in his second year of following this great game), I see Barcelona, Real and Bayern scooping up all the elite talent.
Even Man City's "spending spree" was really just a purchase of young and mostly unproven players. KDB had one great year in the Bundesliga, and Sterling is not and has never been a proven stud. So Man City spent big, but they didn't get superstars.
I think the TV contract has brought a lot of really good players to the EPL, but not necessarily to the top four. Payet, Ayew, Mahrez,Shaqiri, etc. This makes the mid to bottom of the league better, which puts pressure on the top four.
The top four, on the other hand, aren't really all that better than they were last year. They may be the four best teams in England, over the past half decade, but they aren't out grabbing the best studs in the world. This is evidenced by a pretty pathetic European record in recent years.
So while we joke about the differences in Liverpool and Tottenham, I think the truth is that more and more parity is coming to the EPL, and teams like Liverpool and Tottenham have a legit shot to make the CL each and every year.
Great coaching will be a major factor, and Liverpool fans will be pumped out of their minds when Klopp signs.
See you in a week and a half!
That was my favorite match in two plus seasons of watching Saints. Recall that they had dominated a decent Swansea team the week before, so they're on a little roll. Virgil has really solidified the defense and let the middies attack with abandon. Midway through the second half Saturday, Oscar, Hazard and Cesc had clearly wearied of it all.
