For over a year now I have been following a soccer club in the English Premier League (formally known as the Barclay's Premier League) called Tottenham Hotspur. I'm not exactly sure what started me on this prolonged soccer binge (the World Cup is the likely culprit), but I'm rather enjoying it. I watch a lot of soccer now, at various levels. I'm not quite a fan of MLS, but if a game is on and there's nothing else to watch, I'll tolerate it for a while. I mostly follow EPL games and games from Spain's La Liga. Serie A in Italy is also pretty good. I'm not so sure about South American leagues, though Brazilians play some crazy games. I even found myself watching a lot of the Toulon Tournament, which featured a lot of young talent.
The Premier League's season begins next Saturday, August 16th, and my club is looking pretty good. We've brought in some big names, which might help the fact that we lost my favorite player on the team, Irish National Team Captain Robbie Keane, who very recently signed for Liverpool. Spurs is a team that really struggled last year in its defense, despite having a good defensive structure on paper. I think what Spurs management did this off-season was to try to strengthen the midfield, which helps the defense out by slowing the pace of opposing players. Grabbing David Bentley from Blackburn was a great move. I think he'll really help.
As far as offense goes, Spurs was far from lacking last year. Though star striker Dimitar Berbatov could very well end up leaving the team, there's still Darren Bent at the front. He's had a great pre-season, and I hope he can continue his run of form when the season begins. Spurs lost to Middlesbrough at the start of last season, so a win to start off the campaign would be nice. (Can you tell how authentic I am trying to make all this with the language I'm using?)
Some say Spurs should improve upon last year's mid-table finish and might crack the top five, but I really hope we can get into the top four. The "Big Four" (Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal) are tough to beat, but if Spurs can get some momentum going and try to cut down on goals allowed, I really think they can do well this year. They're in Europe again (that means they'll be competing for a UEFA cup title) with their successful run at the Carling Cup last season, so a good showing there would be nice.
If you're looking for a more in-depth analysis of the team, I highly recommend the "Cock on Ball" podcast (the name is derived from the Tottenham Hotspur logo, which is a soccer ball with a rooster standing on top). Those guys are hilarious.
Come on you Spurs!
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