of days and will be re-evaluated this weekend. Then, the t | Forum

There is no trophy for finishing fourth in the Premier League. Anders Lee Islanders Jersey . Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. Of course, he would say that. The Gunners have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup but have qualified for the Champions League for 16 years in a row. For many years, Arsenal finishing in the top four should not have been considered a success. Last March, however, Wengers men lost 2-1 at White Hart Lane to fourth-placed Tottenham and trailed their North London rivals by seven points with ten games to spare. Spurs would go on to falter, while Arsenal hit top gear, going on to maintain their qualification record for Europes elite club competition. Andre Villas-Boas team finished fifth, one point behind Arsenal for the second straight year. Over 38 matches the margin was as slim as it was painful. Tottenham became the first team in Premier League history to get to 72 points and not finish in the top four. The 1.89 points per game was their most successful season point-wise since 1967. Yet, nobody knew or cared. They had finished outside the top four, missed out on the Champions League and were about to lose their best player in Gareth Bale. Bales brilliance last season made him virtually irreplaceable. In the 17 Premier League games he scored in last season Tottenhams record was 14 wins, two draws and one loss. He was that important. However, under the guidance of new technical director Franco Baldini, Spurs had a fabulous summer in the transfer market, spending over 100 million pounds on Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue, Paulinho, Vlad Chiriches, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen. None of those players were Bale, but Bale was winning Tottenham matches last season which regularly featured players such as Scott Parker, Tom Huddlestone, Clint Dempsey and Benoit Assou-Ekotto. "We are stronger than the previous year, we had problems last year when we had a couple or replaced some key players, now we have quality in depth," said Villas-Boas after a win over Norwich earlier this season. Quality in depth has not led to an improvement so far. The 2013/14 season was supposed to be a season where Spurs fans wouldnt be reminded of the loss of Bale. Sixteen games into the Premier League season and the White Hart Lane faithful are still waiting to move on. If their Premier League campaign took a wrong turn in a recent 6-0 thumping at Man City, it officially went off the rails on Sunday when they were humiliated 5-0 at home to Liverpool. "This is a game all about the brilliance of Liverpool," preached the commentator at the conclusion of the match, and although Brendan Rodgers side performed very well, the harsh reality for Villas-Boas was his side were absolutely pathetic. Sure, Luis Suarez scored at least one goal, of his two, that few players in the game could have scored, Jordan Hendersons runs from deep terrorized Tottenhams makeshift back four and Paulinhos red card at 2-0 didnt help, but anyone who could make a claim that Tottenham didnt deserve to lose by five goals would be missing the point. They were outclassed in all departments by a Liverpool team who last season won just one game from 12 against the top six. It was an alarming defeat that even his admirers struggled to back him after. It was a minority group growing quieter by the week. By Monday morning, when he was sacked, few felt it was the wrong decision. You see, the 36-year-old does not endear himself to others. Publicly, this season he attacked his own fans, his own players and the media. When he said his team needed to be ashamed of themselves following the loss at Manchester City those in his camp could have said the language barrier may have been to blame for a misguided, harsh attack on his players. However, when he took on the teams supporters following a home win against Hull City there was nothing for his backers to hide behind. "This victory belongs to the players, they did it themselves, playing in a very difficult atmosphere, with almost no support coming. We have a wonderful set of fans but I am pretty sure they can do better and they know they can do better." It was the sort of quote, Jose Mourinho wouldnt have even got away with. It was a remarkable statement from a man who has had been at the club for less than 18 months, and achieved nothing as a manager in England. A win in the league cup a few days later, against Hull again, apparently, according to Villas-Boas, saw the fans get back to the level the manager demanded. However, football fans have long memories and the manager had picked on the wrong group. His next target was the media. After drawing 2-2 in the week, following the loss to Man City, he said: "the pressure this week was aggressive and agenda driven, (I am) very fortunate to have a group of players who responded in this manner to show the unity of the group." There is little doubt that some writers, and radio personalities, in England did not believe Villas-Boas is good enough to manage Tottenham. However, targeting certain individuals for things they wrote, online and in the newspaper, showed a touchy, oversensitive side from Villas-Boas at a time when he needed to stay away from the headlines. He is not a man blessed with the charisma of Mourinho - very few are - but in his media interviews, through the directness of his answers, comes confidence and a self-assurance that would point towards not caring what others think. Yet, the current court of public opinion is England, a country, yet to be convinced by a man who Chelsea fired less than a season into the job, and easily influenced by what pundits and writers have to say. It is a battle that Villas-Boas, who was hired, for a reason, to take charge of two huge clubs in England before he turned 35, could only win by proving himself with his team. And that is where he needed to turn, to his players, to find the vindication he so clearly needed. However, the players, bankrolled by Daniel Levy, and trusted by Baldini, to deliver, so far did not perform anywhere close to the level Tottenham require and thats why Villas-Boas has lost his job. The nonsense in the media, making him bigger than the club, certainly contributed to it but ultimately he didnt get the best out of the players and the way they were humiliated at home to Liverpool is sure to send thoughts of doubt into the players mind about their manager. Once that happens, a change is necessary. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was signed to excel behind a high back line but he repeatedly made poor judgements coming off his line and has costed the team a number of goals already this season. The 6-0 loss at the Etihad embarrassed the incredibly high line their defence play with and they were able to take seven points from a possible nine following that when they sat deeper, yet they returned to that style against Liverpool and were badly exposed in that area again. It is clear Capoue and Michael Dawson have no understanding together but the fact the manager decided that approach at the start, and stuck with it throughout the game, leaves many to question his tactical acumen. Surely, Capoue, covering for many injuries at the centre back position, would have been helped by playing closer to his goalkeeper and keeping Suarez in front of him more. Further up the pitch confusion remained. Against Manchester United, Spurs started, and finished with, three central midfielders for the first time, but Paulinhos inclusion, alongside Sandro and Moussa Dembele, was merely to play off the front striker, pushing the wingers slightly deeper in a formation that could be labelled 4-4-1-1. That is how he began the match against Liverpool, but by the time Paulinho was sent off, he had gone from being the most attack-minded central midfielder to the deepest holding midfielder behind Lewis Holtby and Chadli, after Sandro left through injury and the ineffective Dembele was substituted. Paulinho is one of the clubs best players and his manager needed to decide whether he is best suited as an attacking midfielder, like he played at Corinthians, or as a defensive midfielder, sitting deeper and making occasional runs forward, like he does for Brazil. Spurs could have played a midfield three the way Liverpool did - having one holder and two runners in front of him - but that requires their wide players to perform and this season this has not been a strong point for Tottenham. In Soldado, they have signed a player who scored all of his La Liga goals last season in the penalty box. He needs service. He is certainly culpable for the clubs issues in front of goal as well, but Villas-Boas system did not get the best out of his wide players with many cutting in too often, and those staying out wide delivering far too many poor crosses. It is easy to point to the many shots on goal and the brilliant performances of David De Gea and Tim Krul, in particular, to deny them in recent matches but there is a glaring issue with their unity in attack. Too many goals have come from long-range shots, errors by their opponents or penalty kicks and too few have come from moves created by themselves. The Villas-Boas high defensive line has some strengths but the fact is he has just 22 clean sheets in 81 Premier League games as a manager. Games come thick and fast this time of year and we are less than two weeks away from the Premier League season being half over. Villas-Boas ran out of time to find a system and style of play that can get the best out of his players. On Sunday he disagreed, saying: "I do not need to convince anybody, our run in the other competitions have been magnificent, our form in the Premier League is not there but our ambition to win trophies is still the same, the ambition to qualify for the Champions League is still the same." It turned out beating up on the likes of Aston Villa, Hull (on penalties), Anzhi, Tromso and some team called Sheriff meant little at this time. A trophy for the fans would be great but at the moment many of those matches have become an inconvenience where the form simply does not translate to the league. Finishing fifth last season, and not fourth, denied Villas-Boas a real European theatre to perform, allowing him time to get over any issues he has domestically. There is no trophy for finishing fourth in the Premier League. But there is little doubt it offers a manager real security. Just ask Arsene Wenger. Denis Potvin Islanders Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Brock Nelson Jersey . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. http://www.hockeyislandersshop.us/Bryan-Trottier-Jersey/ . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Coco Crisp hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Oakland Athletics lowered their magic number to clinch the AL West to four with a back-and-forth 8-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night. Brian Dozier hit a tying RBI single in the top half of the eighth, then Oakland rallied once more just as this club has done so many times the past two seasons. Crisp connected for his 21st home run on a 2-1 pitch from Shairon Martis (0-1). Jed Lowries three-run homer put the As ahead 6-3 in the sixth after pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo tied it with a solo shot, but the bullpen couldnt hold the lead. Sean Doolittle (5-5) recorded the final four outs for the victory to end the 3-hour, 41-minute game in front of just 11,461 fans. Minnesota third baseman Trevor Plouffe left the game with left wrist soreness. Crisps 21 leadoff homers are tied for most in the majors. Callaspos two-out drive was his second career pinch-hit homer, his eighth clout this season and third since joining Oakland before the trade deadline. Crisp followed with a single to chase Brian Duensing (6-3), then Lowrie followed Josh Donaldsons single with his 13th home run. Stephen Vogt hit a sacrifice fly and Josh Reddick had an RBI double for the As, who remained 6 1-2 games ahead of Texas in the division race after the Rangers won 8-2 at Tampa Bay. Oswaldo Arcia homered in the seventh for the Twins, who lost for the seventh time in nine games that included dropping two of three to the As at home last week. But Minnesota is holding out hope catcher Joe Mauer will recover from his concussion in time to play again before the season ends. Dan Straily had his four-start winning streak snapped but remains unbeaten in six starts since dropping a 7-1 decision to Cleveland on Aug. 17. Straily still received a warm ovation when he exited in the sixth. Minnesota loadded the bases with one out in the fifth but Straily worked out of it. Brock Nelson Islanders Jersey. The Twins took a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the third. Chris Parmelee beat out an infield single leading off the inning but shortstop Lowries wild throw trying to make the play sailed into the dugout as Parmelee advanced. He then beat a throw home on Alex Presleys RBI groundout. In the sixth, Straily threw two wild pitches that allowed Arcia to go from first to second and then to third. Josh Willingham drew a two-out walk and As manager Bob Melvin went to the bullpen. Dan Otero relieved and gave up Yosmil Pintos tying single and walked Parmelee to load the bases. Pedro Floriman followed with a go-ahead single against Brett Anderson. After Wednesday game, As left fielder Yoenis Cespedes received a cortisone injection to help alleviate the pain from tendinitis in his right shoulder. He was out of the lineup Thursday but doing well and Melvin hoped he would play Friday night. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire remains at 997 wins as he tries to become the eighth active manager with 1,000 victories NOTES: The Twins are 19-11 against the AL West, including 8-6 on the road. ... Reddick was caught stealing for the first time in 11 chances spanning 142 games. ... Crisp received the 2013 Jim "Catfish" Hunter Award honouring the courageous nature and spirit of the late Hall of Famer. "That caught me by surprise, but I am grateful for the award," Crisp said. ... Oakland C John Jaso, sidelined from a concussion since July 25, is still hitting on the field for a couple of days and will be re-evaluated this weekend. Then, the tentative plan is to send him to Arizona for some at-bats in instructional league to see if he might be able to return to the As before the season ends. "Itll be cool to be back out on the field and have cleats on again," he said. Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '