January Transfer Window: The Aftermath For Tottenham And The EPL

Well wasn't THAT fun. 31 days of rumors, gossip and cash being splashed everywhere. So where does everything shake out in the EPL? 

Let's start on our end. Steven Pienaar was brought in for £3 million, we loaned out some players (Gio Dos Santos, Jaime O'Hara), and failed to get a striker despite throwing Scrooge McDuck-esque wheelbarrows of cash at a few teams/players. I'm extremely disappointed with how we did and can only hope Spurs print some "I survived Transfer Window 2K11 and all I got was Steven Pienaar and this stupid t-shirt" shirts to compensate.

The biggest threats to a top-four finish for Spurs have unfortunately increased. After a dip in form, Chelsea has been playing better and bolstered their squad with the additions of centerback David Luiz and forward Fernando Torres. Liverpool stocked up as well, picking up forwards Luis Suarez and the definition of "English player premium" Andy Carroll to replace Torres. Aston Villa has made a slew of upgrades (through some loans) that should make a strong push up the table the second half of the season with a proven goal-scorer (Darren Bent), midfield dynamos (Michael Bradley, Jean Makoun), and stability on the backline (Kyle Walker, a Tottenham loanee). Sunderland made moves too, bringing in Sully Muntari to stabilize the midfield on loan from Inter and signing winger Stephane Sessegnon from Paris St. Germain. Aside from Chelsea, who is already six points ahead of us right now, those other three teams definitely have the ammunition to fire past us in the standings. 

My gut feeling right now? We'll finish top seven. Across our starting XI there is enough quality to hover around the fourth spot but there isn't enough team depth, (I know I sound like a broken record here but it must be stated again) ESPECIALLY AT THE FORWARD POSITION, to survive. If there is even one injury to either Crouch, Defoe or Pavs, that could spell the end of the season we were all looking forward to.