Van Der Vaart v Tevez. The Battle for Fourth.

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Last season it was the battle for fourth – Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur - now the battle has extended further.

Rafael van der Vaart and Carlos Tevez have, at times, single handily carried their teams through tricky ties and scored crucial goals in the process.

I take a look at who will break into the top four, and who’s influence will have a greater effect on their overall season.

Ok, van der Vaart has only been in England's top flight for the last 4 months, but he has made enough of an impression at the north London side to suggest he will be a big player in their Champions League and Premier League campaigns.

The number 11 signed for a minimal £8million on transfer deadline day, after an unsuccessful spell with Real Madrid, despite being an huge influence in the Netherlands' run to the final of the World Cup.

Now, the 27 year old play-maker has 10 goals for his new club, eight in the league, and has added that extra dimension to Harry Redknapp's midfield which, with Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric and the rejuvenated Gareth Bale, is now one of the strongest in the league.

Two more goals against Aston Villa this weekend ensured a second brace of the season against Gerard Houllier's side and the second was a beautiful counter-attacking goal which shows how potent Spurs are in possession.

Not too different to Craig Bellamy's goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season.

The beautiful game at its best.

David Bentley and Jamie O'Hara have become peripheral figures in Spurs world class midfield.


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It is because of their strength in depth that Spurs have all of a sudden been named title challengers. I doubt that will happen over the next few seasons with Redknapp still debating who his best striker is and centre backs, namely Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate, taking forever to recover from injuries.

Harry Redknapp has already said that this season could be a great one for the side, who currently sit fifth, five points behind Manchester City in the league, despite having a game in hand.

If his Dutch genius can produce throughout the rest of the season and avoid a repeat of the hamstring injury which has kept him out for the last month, maybe they can pull off something special.

Van Der Vaart's hamstring injury meant he missed 1-1 draws with Birmingham City and Chelsea, and their final Champions League group game, a 3-3 draw with FC Twente.





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They are real contenders to cement a position in the top 4, which they did last season by beating Manchester City 1-0 at Eastlands thanks to a Peter Crouch goal, shown below.

Arguably, both sides are stronger now than they were then although City's inspiration still lies with a striker, and captain, they bought last summer.

Carlos Tevez has 12 goals this season in the league, including doubles in match-winning performances against Liverpool, Blackpool, Newcastle and Fulham.

In fact, when Tevez scores, City don't lose, as has proved the case in further games against Wigan, Chelsea, Newcastle (again) and Bolton this season.

City have only scored 28 goals in the season and have been criticised for their defensive approach, despite signing talent like Mario Balotelli to bolster an attack which already features Emmanuel Adebayor, Jo and Adam Johnson.

Roberto Mancini has chosen to play three holding midfielders - Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong - in most games this season, with the emphasis on a packed 5 man midfield, even at home and that is what has brought criticism. You can't rely on clean sheets to win trophies and sometimes a risk is worth taking.

Manchester City's defence has been bolstered by an increase in holding midfielders, but there is rarely a place for title winner Patrick Vieira.


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The goals are left to the likes of David Silva, Carlos Tevez and James Milner, who is yet to score for his new club, but it's usually a thankless task for Tevez in Roberto Mancini's preferred lone striker role.

Numerous pundits questioned Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to let the 26 year old Argentinian leave in the summer of 2009, but the number 32 has shown his ability, despite recently admitting he wants to return to his homeland.

The striker scored 23 goals in the league last season, including 2 against his former club West Ham but could not help City reach the League Cup final at United's expense, despite scoring all of City's 3 goals in the two legs.

Tevez sparked the snood craze in the UK, and has been on fire in the Premier League too.







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One thing is near certain, if Tevez wasn't on City's books, they would not be in the position they are now; only two points off the top, despite playing two games more.

Any City fan would have taken that in the summer.

The important thing for City, is to keep all of the players happy. If that happens, they'll get the promised spot in the Champions League, be it this season or the next.

Spurs aside, there are no other threats at this time, with Liverpool, Villa and Everton each having started disastrously.

The quality is there, now might be the time for their quality to show and winning their away games is a good start.

It's slightly strange that City have won two more away from home than they have at Eastlands and that is something which needs addressing, especially with Chelsea, Arsenal and the unbeaten United usually dropping precious few home points.

United have only lost four home games in the league since the start of the 2007/08 season. City have lost 15 in the same time, including 5 in the last 18 months. It's something that needs addressing before they become title challengers.

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The real question in this is who can take their side further, Tevez or van der Vaart?

There's not much between them as players but you wonder how much Spurs' Champions League run might distract them from pursuing a repeat performance.

It's definitely brought the best out of Gareth Bale, but Roberto Mancini is under a huge amount of pressure to deliver and he's done ever so slightly better than Mark Hughes.

If it doesn't happen, he'll be gone, like Hughes, come May, although I expect this season will be closer than the last at the top end. There might be more room for error, and who knows that might suit.



















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Arsenal, United and Chelsea are near guaranteed a top 4 finish, and I think that Carlos Tevez might want to finish off what his signing started at City, a bid to ensure European football of the greatest standard, and his side might just beat Redknapp's to it this season.

It's sure to be an exciting watch and hopefully we will see some of the best football which makes the Premier League the best league in the world.