Season Summaries--14. Tottenham

14. Tottenham (My preseason prediction: 4th)

Tottenham supporters can take solace in the fact that even though their team is currently sitting in 14th place in the Premiership table, things will only go up from here under new manager Juande Ramos. Former boss Martin Jol brought the North London club to new heights with back-to-back 5th place finishes and the roster he left behind isn't too shabby.

Spurs' problem, and it's been the same one for a couple years now, is the fact that they give up way too many goals, and even though they have some talented strikers in Keane, Berbatov, Bent, and Defoe, it's always tougher to outscore the other team in a 4-3 game then it is to win games 2-1 or 1-0. Paul Robinson is probably the second most overrated goalie in the Premiership (next to Jens Lehmann) and with center backs Ledley King and Michael Dawson seemingly almost always injured, it's no wonder Spurs have given up 24 goals in just 13 games.

However, you can expect Ramos to bring in some of his former Sevilla players during the January transfer window, possibly including striker Fredi Kanouté, defenders Daniel Alves and Ivica Dragutinović, and goalkeeper Andrés Palop. Combined with the return of Ledley King and Gareth Bale from injury and the continued good form of Aaron Lennon and Robbie Keane (6 goals in 12 Premiership games), Tottenham will make a run into the top half of the table and could end up in a UEFA Cup spot at the end of the year. To do that, though, they need to make White Hart Lane a fortress again (just 2 wins in 6 home games) and start winning on the road (0 wins in 7 games).