Are United and City leaving the door wide open for Tottenham’s title challenge?

When the 2011/12 Premier League season got under way, many wouldn’t have thought of Spurs to be genuine title contenders, Champions League candidates yes, but domestic champions probably not. However, with all the recent slip-ups of the teams at the top, Tottenham seem to be the ones showing the most consistency at this stage of the season. But after their initial dominance, should the two Manchester clubs really be in a three-horse race as it stands?

There’s no doubt that the Christmas period is a tough time for Premier League clubs with a congested fixture list, but Spurs appear to have been the main beneficiaries. The two Manchester clubs have looked somewhat lethargic in their performances and don’t show the same momentum that they built up at the start of the campaign. Spurs however have achieved the opposite. They now go into the new year in great form and look revitalised with energy and a genuine confidence in the way they play. Other teams around them have the continued involvement in European football, which may not seem a huge worry on the face of it, but the travelling involved and squad rotation can become a factor.

The fixtures at the start of the season back in August were always going to mean that Harry Redknapp’s team would be thrown in at the deep end by having to play Man United, Liverpool and Man City all in the first four weeks. You can say that everyone has to play everyone twice, but when you go into a run of games like this with little match fitness and preparation under your belt, its always going to be tough. However, after convincingly beating Liverpool and then later beating Arsenal, they not only got their season under way with points on the board, but proved they can more than match the big teams. I think this is the one major factor that Tottenham now have on their side – they have the confidence that they can go into any match against any of the top six knowing that if they play to their capabilities, they can get all three points.

Tottenham have never really had any weaknesses in their side this season, whilst everyone was raving over the strength of Roberto Mancini’s side, Spurs seem to have filled every hole in their team with quality. Scott Parker has come in and done a fantastic job in midfield and Kyle Walker has managed to establish himself as a first team regular after some fantastic work as a right-back. These improvements from last season have evidently taken them up a notch and the one, perhaps most visible, improvement is in their defence which has become ever-more solid, only conceding 8 goals at home and 12 away, with 8 clean sheets.

City and United will now be looking to turn their Premiership form around after their recent inconsistent results, and that’s where the hard work begins for Spurs in terms of keeping up the pace. United in particular have done them a favour recently by taking their foot off the gas, and their recent introduction of Paul Scholes and apparent lack of activity in the transfer market may indicate that Tottenham have a chance to pounce if they retain their momentum and belief. The biggest game so far will be Tottenham’s trip to the Etihad Stadium in just over a week, where if they win it will not only potentially put them joint-top of the table, but deal a huge psychological blow to City and send out a message to other teams that they mean business. After suffering a 5-1 defeat early in the season at the hands of Manchester City at White Hart Lane, Harry will be out for revenge. Mancini will be without both Toures and Vincent Kompany through his ban, so Spurs have a great opportunity to get a result then and affirm themselves as contenders

I think that the next few weeks are crucial for Spurs, after closing the gap on the top two almost under the radar over the Christmas period, now they need to match United and City blow for blow. The pressure is on the Manchester clubs to pick up the pace and Harry Redknapp’s men are in the perfect position where they can capitalise on other’s mistakes, without the responsibility and label of being league leaders.

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