by Simon Harding

Created on: May 02, 2009   Last Updated: May 03, 2011

With the 2008/2009 Premier League season coming to a close and Tottenham Hotspur at best possibly claiming seventh position and a place in the following seasons newly formed Europa League, this being a modernized and modified replacement for the UEFA Cup, Tottenham Hotspur have once again failed to reach the holy grail of the top four and a place in the Champions League.

Every season for the past few years Tottenham Hotspur have been put forward as the team most likely to break the top four monopoly of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, and every season they fall short in this attempt, with two fifth place finishes in a row the best they have been able to muster recently. Tottenham Hotspur are showing every sign of being a team unable to cope with the burden placed on them of breaking into the top four.

Tottenham Hotspur are not the only team who are struggling to break into the top four with perennial nearly men and the only team to break into the top four in recent years, albeit once, Everton and also a revitalised Aston Villa joining Tottenham Hotspur in the "not quite up to the task club". In manager Happy Harry "Houdini" Redknapp Tottenham Hotspur have perhaps the knight in shining armour to lead them finally into the top four, after all this is the manager who has taken them from rock bottom and almost certain relagation to the championship certainties to still being in the hunt for a Europa Cup place, as well as taking them all the way to the Lague Cup final which they lost only on penalties to Manchester United.

So if Harry Redknapp can make this much improvement in a team that he inherited with only a few players that he has bought in himself, all in the space of less than a whole season while ironing out any issues leftover from the previous managerial regime. Then this begs the question how much will Harry Redknapp be able to a achieve with a preseason to get things right, the opportunity to bring in the players he wants, and get rid of the one's he considers not to be up to the task and all this while being in charge right from the start of the season?

Harry Redknapp seems to consider that he only needs to add a couple of players to his squad to be able to challenge the top four in the Premier League. Indeed presuming that these top four do not poach the best players that Tottenham Hotspur already have then Tottenham Hotspur do have a decent squad at present. With two quality goalkeepers in Heurelho Gomes (his wonder saves just about

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