To Spend Or Not To Spend? EPL 5th to 8th

Now that the football season is over and we have our full line-up for the 2011/12 Premier League season, I thought it would be a good idea to take a quick look at all the teams who will be fighting for EPL glory come August and see where, if anywhere, they need to improve. 

We continue with the teams that finished fifth to eighth.

Tottenham

Spurs have been linked with Joe Cole which I don't understand because Tottenham need to improve their team not add an over-the-hill player who will no doubt demand high wages and get virtually no playing time. They would be better off going for the likes of Charlie Adam who will not stay at Blackpool now they have been relegated. Much like Liverpool, Tottenham need to get rid of some of their anonymous players like Pavlyuchenko and spend some money fixing their defence (literally because they are always injured).

Liverpool

It should be a fairly busy Summer for King Kenny and his Reds. Defence and midfield are the two areas of the field where they need to improve the most. Long term target Charlie Adam is still on the radar and the Merseyside club are best placed to take him away from Blackpool. Ashley Young is also on Kenny's wishlist because of his crossing ability and threat going forward down the wing. For the back, Liverpool should be looking at Gary Cahill who has impressed at Bolton. If they could get Brede Hangeland from Fulham too I would consider that a successful Summer.

Everton

Everton always perform consistently well every year and David Moyes is easily one of the top five managers in the Premier League but they never seem to be able to break into the top four. If they are going to do this they need to address their offensive frailties. Dimitar Berbatov would be a great signing to help out there, as would Daniel Sturridge. Scott Parker would be a clever signing too. Everton don`t need to do a lot, but a few tweaks here and there would help them out as they have a very small squad that looks frail when injuries strike.

Fulham

Fulham won't be doing a whole lot this Summer except look for a new manager now that Mark Hughes is off to Aston Villa. They will want to keep a hold of Brede Hangeland who has stated many times that he is happy at Fulham. However, should a big offer come in for him, I can see him leaving. I like Fulham but I think they will be hovering around the mid-table area of the Premier League for a few years to come. If they were to buy then Scott Parker might be a good option to add some strength and grit to the middle of the park. Fulham is a long-term project for sure. 

Keep checking back for the next set of teams!

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Blackpool Showing Their True Colours.

The boys in orange took the first half of this Premiership season by storm and at one point they were sitting in the top half of the League table looking at possible European qualification. Their attacking style of play took plenty of the Premier League's ever-presents, and pundits, by surprise, allowing The Seasiders to record victories over Liverpool (twice), Tottenham, Sunderland and Stoke. However, these big wins have been too few and far between in the second half of the season. The element of surprise has been lost and the honeymoon period is well and truly over.

The same Blackpool side that were looking to get into Europe are now staring at possible relegation as they sit just one place and one point above the relegation zone with games against Arsenal, Stoke, Tottenham, Bolton and Manchester United to come. A massive six point, must-win game against Wigan Athletic is coming up on the 16^th of this month and you have to say that if they fail to win that, things will look very bleak indeed for Ian Holloway's side.

Why have Blackpool suffered so much recently? I think it's simple. Blackpool play a very attacking but very risky game. To highlight this, Blackpool have scored more goals than any club in the bottom half of the table with 45. However, they have the second worst GD (Goal Difference) in the Premier League with -18. Only bottom placed Wigan are worse. They have also conceded the most goals out of every club, letting in 59 goals in just 31 games. That is nearly 2 per game.

There is a reason why many clubs who get promoted to the Premier League play a conservative style of football in their first year at least. They are looking to win games by one goal or play for draws against the powerhouse teams by packing men behind the ball or flooding the midfield with bodies. In contrast, Blackpool have attacked in every game and, while that is admirable, it has not helped the club in the long run as they look to secure their Premier League status.

Holloway: Too inflexible?

I am loathe to blame managers for the player's performances but in this case, most of the blame has to lie with Ian Holloway. It is his system that the team is playing and it is his lack of flexibility that has cost the team greatly. When things started to go wrong for Blackpool, Holloway should have changed to a more conservative style of football. Instead, he continues to pile men forward, leaving gaps at the back which have been exploited on too many occasions this year.

I worry for Blackpool and I think they are favourites, along with Wolves and Wigan to go down. You have to admit that for the first half of the season The Seasiders were playing well beyond themselves and things were bound to get worse.

What do you think?

Comments below!