Cronky

Levy is one stubborn SOB and I think his instinct would be to let Kane's contract run down, in the hope (unlikely, but not entirely unrealistic) that Spurs have a good season and the player will decide to stay. It sounds like Levy is under pressure from above to sell and replace, but how do you replace Kane? Levy doesn't own the club, but he has always been de facto in charge. For the first time, his position is under attack, and that bodes ill for Spurs.

We're all Eddie fans on here, but even now I think there's a slight tendency to underestimate the scale of what he's achieved in the short time he's been here. Given where he started from and the players at his disposal, it's just incredible. Emery is a top class manager, and as a clever tactician there's probably nothing to chose between him and Eddie. But our guy has a way of getting something extra out of each individual and out of the team as a whole that marks him out as exceptional. I don't think it's something that can be taught. Watching that clip of him preparing the players for the Man U game was quite moving. If I had been one of those players, I would have gone out there not just with the mentality of a plucky underdog, but actually believing that I as an individual, and my team mates as a whole, were better than the opposition. All I needed to do was show it. And considering who we were up against, that's quite something.

They've got a better squad but we've got a better manager. Home advantage should tip things our way, but it'll be close. We've risen to the occasion so many times over the last year and a half. It's still scary but I've given up betting against us.

Premier League Winners: Man City Runners Up: LIverpool 3rd-6th: Man Utd, Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea Relegation: Everton, Sheff Utd, Luton Overachievers: Us again Underperformers: Arsenal Top Goal Scorer: Haaland Break Out Year: Miley Season to Forget: Rice PFA Player of the Year: Haaland PFA Young Player of the Year: Curtis Jones First manager to quit/be sacked: Moyes Championship Winners: Southampton Runners Up: Middlesbrough Newcastle United Where will we finish?: 4th Top Goalscorer?: Isak Season to forget: Miggy Howe will we fare in Europe?: Last 16 FA Cup: Man Utd League Cup: Man City I think we'll have another good season, assuming at least one new defender comes in. I think Arsenal will have difficulty in getting over the trauma of last season's collapse. I don't think the players they're bringing in are better than the ones they're replacing.

With Tonali, what I have a concern about is what you could broadly call the social side of it, not the football. He seems quite a shy lad, still young, and having to get used to a different way of life, culture and climate and without having any command of the language, it seems. Unfortunately, he's the only Italian in the squad. However, if he can get through that, then there's some parallels between the football craziness of Milan and Newcastle which may be appealing to him. It's a reasonable point that Italians in the Premiership don't have a good track record, but I think the problem is usually the pace and physicality of our football. I don't think Tonali will have a difficulty there. In fact, he might thrive.

Nothing new there. None of the 'big six' have dealt with us so far. Don't hold your breath. They were part of a breakaway cabal not long ago.

Must admit, the only one of the three that I knew anything about was Barnes. However, I do have faith that our signings are well researched over a period of time, and that the manager is in full agreement. The opposite end of the spectrum is a club forking out for a player who happens to be hitting the headlines at the time, and the manager having little to no say. (ie the Chelsea / Potter model)

The problem with Miggy is that his right leg is only there to stop him falling over. Defenders have sussed him out, and he's becoming less effective.

I wouldn't want to sit behind Dan Burn.

Unlikely, but I'd listen to what Spurs had to offer, and check on possible replacements. Wilson's a good all-round striker, but not indispensable.

I can't imagine ever getting interested in whether Al Nassr or Al Hilal wins the Saudi league, no matter who they've got playing for them. If the Saudis were to stage Usyk v Fury, that's something else, but a team sport is different. Interest is generated by an identification with a club for all sorts of historical or personal reasons. Throwing money around isn't going to create that.

Dan Burn looked more and more shaky as last season went on, and contributed less and less to the attack. A replacement would bring about a big improvement. I hope you're right about us doing this before September. As others have said, we can anticipate that Chelsea and Liverpool will be back on track. We can still make top four, but this is a weak area that needs addressing.

Looks like it's going to happen. Trippier switching to the left isn't ideal but he has experience there, and it's the best solution at the mo. Reinforcements to the defence will make a big difference. I don't know how we managed to concede so few goals last season, but the opposition will have figured us out a bit now, and I don't think we'll get away with as much unless we bring in reinforcements. Another CB and a better LB option than Burn and I fancy us for top four again.

I think his best role will be more central - he doesn't have the pace that one would like for a wide player. The difficulty is that he really needs more experience before taking on the responsibilities of central midfield in the Premiership. So I think it's tricky. Ideally, I'd loan him out to the Championship for a season, but our squad isn't big enough to enable us to do that.

That last minute goal against Wolves will live in the memory.

LB and CB would be my priorities too. Come on, Allan, sign those papers.

Must say, I loved that trailer. Eddie's by-word is intensity, but that's not how he presents himself to Joe Public. Quite the opposite. But I saw it there. No ranting and raving, but a lot of power and confidence behind his words. Not a leader that you want to let down.

Hard to say. Willock is one of a number of players who Eddie has got playing consistently at their peak. Whether he'd flourish as much elsewhere, I doubt, and I think there's some wider recognition of that. Unlike Gallagher, Willock doesn't feature in the international set up, and doesn't get linked with other clubs in transfer gossip.

I do wonder what the overall Saudi plan is, or whether there actually is one. The original NASL was, I think, hoping that buying big-name players at the end of their careers would build up domestic interest in the game, and lead to football competing within America with their four major sports. The game has developed slowly and steadily over time, but the 'big four' still seem secure. The Saudis may be seeking to go one step further, and build a league that is akin in quality to the major European Leagues, or perhaps even surpass them. However, their current spending, big though it is, would be a fraction of what it would cost to do that, and it would still take a large amount of time. There's also the issue that such a league would be somewhat isolated from international competition, as the clubs would need to adhere to UEFA spending rules. The idea that independent businesses would want to join in with the PIF seems unlikely, in that businesses seek profit. If they were able to compel those businesses, then they would become loss-making. It's one thing to pick off top players in individual sports like golf or boxing, but taking on the biggest team sport in the world is another matter.

This would explain the change in the ITK messages - one minute a done deal, the next a mile apart. As I've said before, the ownership structure at Southampton is a bit unclear. They guy with the money is running things indirectly through an Investment firm. Not great for decision-making. Things have gone a bit Pete Tong for them since he took over.

I don't think Southampton have sold anyone yet - Redmond was out of contract. They seem to be hoping for large fees, at this stage, at any rate. The ownership is a bit complicated, so maybe the decision-making process is a bit unclear.

He may actually be better suited to English football than Italian, and we're a team that particularly relies on work-rate and athleticism. Horses for courses, and all that.

Perhaps not as much. What seems to happen is the buying club comes to an agreement with the player and his agent behind the scenes, before an agreement is made with the selling club. Competitors aren't keen to join in an auction for a player whose heart is already elsewhere.

I think he's actually a very good player. He's just the chief casualty of the chaos at Chelsea.

A good question. Maybe Eddie's vision is to have Isak, Barnes and Gordon interchanging positions in the front three. All three can play wide or down the middle (I think that's the case with Barnes) Unless you have a specialist winger who is very, very good, I'd question their value against the top teams. They can be snuffed out too easily, and so it's dangerous to rely on them as the main option. We're not going to be able to compete for the very top players just yet, so maybe Eddie is hoping to compensate by clever tactics, with players with a range of general skills interchanging positions to confuse defences.