Fanos one Football FanCasts most popular writers looks at Tottenhams prospects next season and tell Spurs fans to to SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE at WHL, will it be that easy?

Once again a new season is almost upon us and once again the White hart Lane air is filled with optimism of what the next nine months will bring “fourth place is gonna be ours” they cry and “we’ll definitely finish above Arsenal” they decree.

Well having been through so many false dawns at Tottenham and after the stick we got after claiming the same last summer I will refrain from making any bold predictions for this campaign as quite frankly no one really knows how good we are going to be this season.

Let’s get all the annoying transfer activity out of the way first because I’m quite frankly bored of the whole thing and I dare say that the majority of fans from all clubs feel the same. I have given my thoughts on the situation of a certain Bulgarian striker many times before and I did vow not to talk about it again after my last article on him so I will stick to that while again reiterating that, I would hate to see him leave the club, which seems inevitability now.

Robbie Keane leaving for Liverpool was a bit of a shock but strangely I wasn’t actually too upset. Now don’t get me wrong I was a big fan of Keane but he only really became a prolific goal scorer while playing alongside Berbatov. I also think that while he clearly wanted to go to Liverpool it seems as though Juande Ramos didn’t exactly put up too much of a fight to keep him and it all happened rather quickly, which suggests to me that Keane didn’t really fit in to the way the boss wants the team to play.

Of the other outgoing players I was genuinely upset to see Paul Robinson leave the club, I know it was the best thing for both parties that they parted ways but Robbo clearly had a great affection for the club and loved playing for Spurs and we know that if it was up to him he would have probably stayed at the club for the rest of his career.

The players that have come in really are of the highest order. I am tremendously excited about Luka Modric as a Spurs player as I honestly think in the little Croatian we have finally signed the type of player we have long been crying out for. In David Bentley and Giovanni Dos Santos we have two potentially very exciting players who will no doubt wow us with their abilities and have us crowing about their skills, while Heurelho Gomes looks an imposing figure between the sticks.

It isn’t only the latest summer signings that I am excited about, especially when we have Gareth Bale back, a player who was outstanding before injury last season. With all the comings and goings this summer it seems that Bale has been somewhat overlooked as a player who will be very important to us this season. He could also be the reason why Ramos has not signed an out and out left winger as I really do see the young Welshman occupying that left midfield slot.

Another player already on our books who may well make me along with many other Spurs fans eat our words is Darren Bent who has had an outstanding pre-season and might just be the player who benefits the most out of our new acquisitions in midfield. In terms of how the season will go, it seems that some Spurs fans have learnt their lesson and are not making statements such as we WILL finish top four and above Arsenal, there are, however, still those who insist, once again, that this season is the season we finally crack a Champions League place and those fans are the ones that frequently forget that the current top four are so for a reason.

Last season we finished 30 points off of third place and 37 points behind Arsenal (who incidentally finished just five points behind champions Manchester United). Just those figures alone should show those fans making big predictions just what a tall order it is for us to finish in the top four.

Yes it is true that Arsenal haven’t added to their squad significantly but they are still an excellent side who I fully expect to be challenging for the title while Liverpool have added quality to their playing staff. We also shouldn’t forget sides like Aston Villa, Everton and Portsmouth who will all genuinely believe they are in as good a position as us to challenge the top four and rightly so.

Now I don’t want to come across all negative because I genuinely believe we have an excellent squad of players, perhaps better than we have had in several years which should, if nothing else help us achieve a higher league placing. One thing is for sure, wherever we finish I can pretty much guarantee that we are in for one hell of an entertaining season, perhaps even eclipsing the thrills and spills of the last campaign.

That is why I am looking forward to the new season, not because of where we may end up in the league or what piece of silver wear we might pick up, but to see Juande Ramos’ Tottenham Hotspur side play the type of football that will have me tearing my hair out in despair one minute while jumping up and down in footballing ecstasy the next.

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