Football Season Guide

Tottenham liked it a lot in the Champions League last season, going to the last eight and having a lot of fun along the way, but now will have to do with the Europa League and playing second-rate European teams on Thursday nights instead of facing the likes of Real Madrid and the Milan giants. Spurs tried hard to replicate their achievement from an year ago but this time City proved too strong and Harry Redknapp's men finished fifth. This is by no means a disastrous finish but the underwhelming feeling has been noticeable around the club ever since the end of the season. Now Spurs will be launching another assault on the top four but the overwhelming feeling around the camp is that with Liverpool regaining some of their strength and Manchester City pulling further away, the task of making it into the promised land will be harder than ever. Transfer business has been muted at White Hart Lane with only Brad Fridel arriving and Jonathan Woodgate leaving so far. The big talking point has been the future of Luka Modric but the club's strong stance on his availability means that for now the Croatian schemer is staying put, despite strong interest from Chelsea. Redknapp is still looking for a striker after last season proved that none of the current ones is capable of scoring 20+ goals a season - something that is mandatory for a club with Spurs' aspirations. There should be more activity in the remaining three weeks of the season in that aspect but as of now, the squad is no better than last season and with all the rivals improving, Tottenham may have to wait quite a long time for another taste of proper Champions League football.