Newcastle Shoeing Makes Spurs Shoe In For Top Four Finish

The 5-0 demolition of Newcastle United in front of the ESPN television cameras on Saturday night means Spurs are stonewall favourites to finish in the Premier League top four this season.

Spurs were always favourites to beat Newcastle at White Hart Lane but I don’t think anyone expected the rampant, start-to-finish domination against one of their genuine “top four” rivals.

With nine victories, two draws and just one home before a ball was kicked on Saturday, Spurs were a short-priced favourite with the bookmakers and likely to be a target for free bet site goers looking to make some easy money.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto gave Spurs the lead after four minutes and the floodgates opened.

Transfer window signing Louis Saha looks a great piece of business with two goals after six and 20 minutes, ironically achieving in as many minutes as Chelsea’s £50 million signing Fernando Torres has been unable to in 20 matches for the fifth-placed Blues.

Saha’s arrival on deadline day was met with much derision online, claiming he was not a signing that would “excite” Spurs fans. But, after a thumping volley for his first and a cool finish for his second I suspect there were a few supporters out of their seats and writers choosing a sauce to help them eat their words.

With Spurs 4-0 at the break there was only going to be one winner and the home side finished the match with 63% possession and 18 shots on goal compared to Newcastle’s seven.

Even with all the speculation surrounding Harry Redknapp and his managerial future – Spurs look very strong and are now almost unbackable in the market to finish in the top four. If you want an idea of the odds available – it’s a case of betting £100 to make a £9 profit. Strictly for the big hitters only!

Spurs are now 10 points clear of their nearest rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, with the latter losing ground after a shock 2-0 defeat at improving Everton. Ruthlessness in front of goal on Saturday saw their goal difference increase to +24 while Arsenal and Chelsea are all square on +13.

As the old saying goes, a superior goal difference is like an additional point should matters come down to that.

The players can take a well-earned rest before tackling League One side Stevenage Borough in the FA Cup next weekend. Tottenham are also favourites with the bookies to win that, too…

Then, there’s a run of fixtures which will determine their credentials not only as a top three side in the Premier League, but whether they can make up the seven points that separate them from Manchester City.

A local derby at Arsenal, Manchester United at White Hart Lane followed by a trip to Everton are three tough fixtures. Some respite may follow with a home fixture against a Stoke City team on a downward spiral but then it’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

If Redknapp’s team get through that run of matches relatively unscathed, April is where they can really chalk up the points. Swansea visit White Hart Lane on April Fool’s Day and then it’s Sunderland (a), Norwich (h) followed by three sides caught up in the battle against relegation: Bolton (a), QPR (a) and Blackburn (h).

A trip to Aston Villa and a home fixture against Fulham are the two league fixtures in May and hopefully the team will have a trip to Wembley for the FA Cup final to round off a very successful season for Spurs.