Disappointed..?

...Nope. The emotional rollercoaster has finished its prolonged ride. We rode as high as a kite at times, plunged in fear at others and, by the time the coaster's elapsed time had ceased, the majority were satisfied. We had our spine ripped from inside us this summer. Replacing it was key. We signed many great additions to the side, but struggled to bring in that key man in which our play can flow through. A man to take control in midfield and run the show. 

AVB has a system. At both Porto and Chelsea he opted to stick a *que FM quote* "deep-lying playmaker" in front of the back four and carry the ball forward. With Modric turning his nose up at our new under-armour shirt (apparently he liked the colour, just not the badge), AVB chose to stick Sandro & Livermore in CM. He (we) all wanted Moutinho. I estimated about 97.2% of the Twitter guys and gals I follow were on thir knees, crossed fingers and toes praying that he'd be pulled out the bag. I assume the deal collapsed because of either time or a number of factors. I'd even heard it was because of a 15% players rights stake owned by a third party. Levy's not an idiot, he knew the reliance we'd have had on a player such as him. Unfortunately, purchasing players isn't as easy or simple as it is on both FIFA '03 and FM '06. 

But, in the end, it was Dempsey's face who was pulled out. Shock. Yes. Again, another great addition. What we have certainly added -  I hope - are goals from midfield. Easing the reliance on the forwards was a target for this year; well, in my eyes anyway. Although, I do believe Dempsey has been brought in as a forward. The addition of Dembele I think is one we've cried out for, for a while now. Pace, power, technique. He has the attributes to challenge Lennon and the versatility to slot into a number of positions. Like Dempsey, I hope that these two don't end up mirroring Pienaar's short stint at Spurs. A fantastic player, versatile, but just not clicking with us.

What I appreciate is the faith Levy has put into AVB. It was both a shock and an incredible surprise to see this, ahem, "player revolt" not quite take its' due course but for only Rafa to be, arguably, the one player leaving we probably fancied would stay. We've taken a big gamble bringing in AVB, we may as well give him every chance to succeed at Spurs. We've left this transfer window in the green after all and come out of it with a refreshed squad with strength in depth.

We are, in my opinon for what it's worth, a playmaker short. An out-and-out centre midfielder. But, in life (and football) you have to compromise. Only time will tell if we've made the right choices or not. I still see this as a season of transition. On reflection it's been a good window, but times will be tough considering we've lost our best player and one of our most influential. In terms of vdv, my heart speaks of missing him, his passion, his undisputed love for Spurs, but my head tells me it was probably a good deal for both parties. All the best to him.

A club can only get so far without Champions League football and I feel we've adapted well. We've wanted a target man, at a good age with much promise, for years, but we'll struggle to find our perfect fit until we barricade ourselves in and amongst the top 4 positions of the Premier League. 4th may not be a nail on the head, but what is guaranteed is, as ever, we'll be one of the most entertaining sides to watch. The wealth of forward-thinking players we have at our disposal is sublime. 

What we now must focus on is doing what we do best, and support the boys that ARE in lilywhite. I sense there will be a lot of desire in that dressing room to play for the shirt and that's what we want.

Regards,
Ben Alfrey. 

Follow me on Twitter [@InsideN17]

Awful.

Ok, awful's a strong word and I wouldn't use one as extreme as it to describe today's performance; but we were below par and a Fulham equaliser seemed to sit imminently on the horizon. Our passing was sloppy, the shooting wasn't quite there and there seemed to be a distinct lack of spirit running through the side today. Fulham looked pumped and hungry to take something away from us although, thankfully, they had Andy Johnson playing upfront.

It was a tough site to witness another defender in the form of Hutton hobble off early on today and hopefully Vdv's substitution was purely tactical and not a forced one from Redknapp. Lennon got involved a lot more but he seemed to lack the final ball he'd found much better this season and Bale looked average to say the least but still managed to grab us a winner and his 11th goal of the season.

Fulham worked us hard but as they say, even when you don't play well good teams will still grind out a result and that's exactly what we did today. 2 wins and 6 points this season against a side that we failed to beat in the league last year and now the pressure is back on Arsenal and Chelsea to perform.

Thoughts on the game are welcome, oh, and Beckham anyone?

Regards.

Sandro's debut

Although the scoreline suggests a tight game and, yes, despite going one nil down (again) I felt we looked comfortable for the large majority of the 90 in Fulham. The difference in confidence and ability over the last few years is clearly adamant as it's now not such a shock when we string a pass or two together. Who would've thought a team with Bale and Hutton on either flank would be playing the Champions League eh?

For Sandro his Premier League debut was a successful one. For a South American of 20 he looked relaxed on the ball and didn't stick a foot wrong. Nothing got passed him. His link play between the midfield and attack was also noticeable and he posses the raw talent to be one of our brighter assets in the future. Hopefully Sir Alex won't come sniffing.

It was a shame to see the lad's game end at half time but I'm sure there will be much more of him to come this season.

A good win in Fulham this afternoon now for Milan. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if we went a goal down?

Regards.

Manager of the season: The REAL contenders

Once again we come to May with the end of the season very much amongst us. Yet still, surprisingly, the bottom three and Premier League winner are still to be decided, and now Tottenham have safely survived the threat of being in the fizzy pop, I think it's fair to say it'll be an exciting end to it all. so we come to the end of the season and the awards that come with it; we've already seen glimpses that the FA have already engraved 'Sir Alex Ferguson' into one award, but, in the unlikely event that the manager of the season isn't fixed for this season and staying in Manchester, let's have a look at some real contenders for it.

To start, despite their poor run of late, Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill is in top contention; as, for much of the season, gluing themselves to that 4th spot ahead of familiar faces at Arsenal. O'Neill's worked wonders with a small, young and talented bunch of players and early results illustrated the fantastic man-management that he is renowned for. O'Neill's built a Villa team that are punching way above their weight- on a limited transfer budget- by making small improvements and small change every summer to the squad.

The benefits were clear in early season results, beating teams such as Arsenal at the Emirates was once personal highlight for me. O'Neill has developed and worked with young English players such as Ashley Young, who was signed for £8m a few seasons back, and mentioned that he was going to be one of England's greatest players. Ashley has quite obviously proved that this season after already picking up the PFA Young Player Of The Year award and deservedly so.
I truly believe that the lack of depth in the Villa team was the reason behind their recent slump. A young team cannot expect to defy the odds and keep hold of 4th sport for such a long period of time and I now believe that they are severely suffering a hangover much worse than a lot of us have had over the past year or so. I am sure, though, that the stamina will, in a few seasons, be present in this current Villa squad and one day will break into the top four of the Premier League. and that is why Martin O'Neill is a candidate for this award.

We move to East London for our next contender; West Ham's Gianfranco Zola. It is safe to say that when Zola took over from the manager less club, to my delight, West Ham really were in free-fall. Results went against them every week and, despite not even half the season had passed, West Ham were favourites for the drop. Zola, similarly to O'Neill came in, and, due to the financial crisis that was clear at West Ham, had no money to spend and so was left with the same squad to work with for the whole season. Zola has done a magnificent job despite injuries to key players such as top scorer Carlton Cole, Mark Noble and Dean Ashton and has managed to drag the Hammers not just from safety but within 3 points of a European place in the league.

Zola has only been at the club for 7-8 months or so but in that short period of time has clawed credibility back to East London and now their fans can start to believe in their team again. A key asset Zola has brought in was, notably, Steve Clark of Chelsea who's winning mentality and brilliant coaching skills have worked wonders with West Ham.
With injuries hitting the club, no transfer budget and the club in financial melt down, Zola has managed to turn West Ham into a force worth reckoning and look a real contender for that 7th spot and that is why West Ham's Gianfranco Zola is a contender for the award.

Our next contender may come as a shock to some, and not one that would immediately be thought of as a candidate for the award is Fulham's Roy Hodgson. Before Roy took over, Fulham's Premier League survival for the last 4 years looked uncertain and, at times, they looked down and out but jumped back at the death and grabbed survival from the claws of relegation. Roy's exceptional management of Fulham was present at the end of last season where Fulham managed to clinch 5 wins from their last 9 games to survive including one game where they came from 2-0 down to beat Man. City 3-2 at Eastlands to help them clinch survival. Roy has turned Fulham from a team that were just there to make up the numbers in the league to one that visiting teams fear.

Fulham are now in a position where one win could clinch them European football and achieve their highest ever finish in the Premier League and this is all fallen down to the man management of Roy Hodgson, he has invested a small sum over the previous transfer markets with the biggest being £10m spent on former Everton striker Andy Johnson. Hodgson has ensured that every week his players are fighting for their places and has made the club one in which players want to play for; one notable player is Brede Hangeland that looks a much more of an assured defender than he did last year and has been vital for Fulham's remarkable season.
With Fulham sitting 7th and looking hot favourites for a place in next season's Europa league, Roy has turned Fulham from relegation battlers to a safe and established Premier League side and that is why he is a contender for the award.

Our penultimate contender is in the shape of Everton's David Moyes. Now, there's a lot to say why Moyes should be in contention for this award a lot more than he is. After coming to Everton a fair few seasons back he has spent little and has only had a small squad to work with, but, each season Everton are challenging for the top 7 and more often than not achieve European football. Moyes continues to invest very little in the squad but keeps faith in the young English academy players that continue to impress in the first team. Players such as Dan Gosling have come on leaps and bounds and looking more and more comfortable playing against some of the best players in the world, the risk and faith Moyes has kept in this young English talent has clearly paid off and helping the national team out is always nice as well.

Everton are guaranteed a European spot this season, as they have been for the last few seasons, they knocked out Manchester United to reach the final of the FA Cup and Moyes has done this with a squad of tender age and with little depth in it as well. Moyes has spent little cash at every opportunity handed to him and continues to make small changes as he focuses on the building of the young team he has at his disposal. His faith in young English players is also very encouraging that we might actually have some decent players in the years to come for the national team and Everton are helping this cause. Because of this, Moyes is an obvious candidate for the award.

Our final contender comes to Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Redknapp. For much of this season, Tottenham had been fighting what looked liked a lost battle to stay in the league. The Ramos 'revolution' wasn't really meeting minimum expectations, by a long way and so Harry was drafted in to keep us in the league. Ever since, Harry has worked wonders with the club; his man management and the confidence he unleashed on the players was a breath of fresh air and ever since we have looked like a top side. Under Redknapp, Spurs have only conceded 9 goals at home all season, a current record, have only lost once at home since November and have only lost once to a side in the 'top four', a controversial loss at that as well. Spurs have also defeated the likes of Liverpool and Chealsea at the Lane and have held Arsenal on two accounts. Players such as Heurelho Gomes has come on massively after a horrid start to the season and is now one of the top keepers in the league. Players such as Modric and Ekotto are playing above expectation and looking different players to what they were at the start of the season.

When Redknapp took over, Spurs looked dead after taking just 2 points from the opening 8 games of the season. Since then, Redknapp's work with the defence have resulted in less goals being conceded and a real push for 7th spot is currently at hand. spurs are once again a real force in the league and wins against teams such as Chelsea and Liverpool at home and Man. City and Villa away mean that they can upset anyone. After saving Tottenham's season around, Harry is a contender for Manager of the season.

So there you have, it's been a long read but those are the managers that I believe should be in contention for manager of the season. I have no doubts though that the award will go to Sir Alex despite them almost bottling the league and guiding the current best team in Europe to, almost, another Premier League trophy.

Regards, Ben