Football365.com: Spurs for Fourth?

I'm a Huddersfield Town fan who spends the majority of the season watching Championship football (for work), but if you offered me a free season ticket, I would ask for a seat in the stands at White Hart Lane.


Top four? Unlikely. The 7/1 odds on that happening are probably - if anything - a little short. You can't overhaul half a team and expect to get instant results. I remember predicting ahead of Roman Abramovich's first season at Chelsea that the title would not come that campaign but the following one. In the same manner, Spurs will come a great deal closer in Juande Ramos' second full season.


Most realistic Spurs fans would tell you that they don't expect to crash the Champions League places this season, but what they can expect is to be entertained. Like a 21st Century (and better) version of Ossie's five-man attack, Juande Ramos is putting together a team that could feature Giovanni Dos Santos, Luka Modric, Andrei Arshavin and David Bentley - probably behind a single out-and-out striker.


That's four new, young-ish attack-minded players (and possibly five if Roman Pavlyuchenko joins the revolution) and that is a concept that must appeal to neutrals who have got bored with the Premier League and the thou-shalt-not-pass tactics of even the supposed chasing pack.


Even the first-choice full-backs - Alan Hutton and Gareth Bale - are in the foraging almost-winger mode rather than the converted centre-back style of Joleon Lescott, Hermann Hreidarsson or Wilfred Bouma. It is a line-up designed to score goals. Of course that means that goals will inevitably be conceded in numbers too - especially if Ramos failed to sign back-up for fragile pairing Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King. But that's half the fun.


They've even signed a comedy keeper who spent much of their last friendly swinging off his own crossbar to entertain the crowds. He might end up infuriating half the Spurs faithful but for those of us who just want a little fun in our football, it's a boon.


There's a fair chance that this will all backfire and that Ramos will go the way of Martin Jol after seven too many 4-4 draws, but there's an equally good chance that Spurs at least scare the Big Four and walk off with a trophy to boot.


They may not have the discipline to get near Everton, Pompey or Villa or they could develop the momentum to roll over everything in their path.


Will they actually play any defensive midfielders? Will Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Jenas be restricted to the bench? Will Darren Bent have a resurgence with the formation he revelled in at Charlton? Who knows? And the fact that nobody does know is the reason why they're a draw for anyone without Big Four allegiances.


If you're a neutral, would you take a ticket for Goodison Park or even Anfield over White Hart Lane?


Sarah Winterburn