Jonathan Northcroft has some interesting thoughts on the top four fight at Time Today. He believes Manchester United are too well positioned to be out of the top four, and therefore there are in reality four teams fighting for the final top four spot.

“Newcastle is in the best position, Tottenham have the best game programme, Liverpool have the best squad and manager and Brighton are in the best form”, emphasized Northcroft.

Tottenham is one big mess

He believes that Tottenham is a big mess at the moment.

“Spurs just squandered a good chance in the FA Cup, knocked out of the Champions League against moderate opponents and went down 3-1 against Southampton. Manager Antonio Conte has sought to blame chairman Daniel Levy and his own players, despite his friend being the club’s sporting director and being paid one of the highest managerial salaries in the world, having spent more than £200 million on nine players. in less than a year, to renovate the squad,” he wrote.

Northcroft believes Conte’s performance in the post-match Southampton press conference will lead to his sacking and he believes it is starting to look like a soap opera where everyone is blaming each other and the divisions are too big for Spurs to pull together, refocus and walk away from the lead. from a relatively simple glossary.

Liverpool have too little confidence and away form

He pointed out that Liverpool’s biggest problem is their away form, and important players like Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been underperforming. This, he argues, means Liverpool lack the confidence a team needs to muster enough results.

“Their next three matches, against City and Chelsea away and Arsenal at home in eight days’ time, could put them in a position ahead of the schedule which is a bit friendlier,” Northcroft wrote.

The Times journalists report that those close to Jürgen Klopp say the Liverpool manager has recharged his batteries and is ready to fight. Klopp seems optimistic about solving the problem.

“But the biggest problem, the midfield he has and the age composition of the squad, he won’t be able to do anything until the summer”, he explained.

Shirtless Happy Geordies

After eliminating Tottenham and Liverpool, Northcroft was thus left with Brighton and Newcastle.

“Brighton couldn’t have done that, could he? Well, I wouldn’t rule anything out when they have the excellent Roberto De Zerbi leading an impressive team week after week, controlling their game thanks to incredible talents like Kaoru Mitoma and Alexis MacAllister. But Brighton’s schedule is tough and Newcastle are five points ahead of them, which will be invaluable.”

“Eddie Howe’s men are so hard to beat, pressing hard, defending brilliantly and Bruno Guimaraes, they have one of the best players in the league. Alexander Isak also turned things around, after he returned from injury. He has contributed the pace and finishing quality that Newcastle lacked at the top. Isak’s talent has never been doubted, but can he stay away from the treatment bench? If he stays injury free there will be happy shirtless Newcastle fans in Champions League stadiums across Europe next season.”