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Take a look at their first five games in the premiership. Need I say more?

Have they proven themselves to be worthy title challengers? Apart from the injury-plagued Manchester United that has stuttered, the other three of the "Big Four" are showing why they were in the top four last season. In terms of experience and quality, I think the Hotspurs have no match to the "Big Four" of English Football.

No matter how brilliant Berbatov may be, the team doesn't have enough players for him to feed off. Defensively, they are weak once King and Dawson get injured. Look at the amount of goals leaked in. Liverpool loses Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia had to play with a broken nose, yet they tear apart Derby County and Toulouse with ease, conceding none in the process. Didier Zokora hasn't been living up to his billing, and Paul Robinson has been making far too many mistakes.

Indeed, Martin Jol has done a fantastic job, buying the best of British young talents. But his team lacks experience established players that can lead the team to the next level. Arsenal had Patrick Vieira; Man U had the great Roy Keane. Liverpool still has Stevie G, while Chelsea can always depend on John Terry. These are players whom have proven themselves game after game and they know the Premiership inside out. Tottenham lacks one they can look to in times of trouble.

The Board of Directors aren't helping by putting Martin Jol under pressure barely a third into the season. Losing a handful of games doesn't jeopardise the entire season. It's a pity that after all the manager has achieved for the past two seasons, the directors fail to appreciate any of it. In Italy, they usually keep the same managers for years. This is how the team become stronger and more united. Changing manager after manager makes life hard for the players, having to adapt to style after style.

Failing to have good backup is one of the main problems. Hands up if you know Radek Cerny. You'll surely no Radek who? But, no offense to him, does he actually have the quality to keep clean sheet after clean sheet? If he does, why doesn't Jol play him instead of the calamitous Robinson?

It'll take a while before the Spurs actually gel together and break into the monopoly of the "Big Four". Meanwhile, it's a safe bet to say that barring any upsets, the top quarter of the league standings will look quite similar.

Learn more about this author, James Choong.
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