Go fourth into the land of mediocrity

For Gerrard and Torres, read Aaron Lennon. Much as Spurs fans may be loathed to admit it, they are simply not the same team without the flying winger and Wednesday night was ample evidence of that. Harry Redknapp's team lacked creativity and width and Liverpool found it easy to push them infield and strangle their game. Jamie Carragher's legs may be going but even he could deal with balls lumped over the top to Jermain Defoe.

Yet this isn't just about Tottenham's current malaise. Liverpool were the better team against them, but that doesn't mean the Reds fightback was on. Benitez's team was efficient rather than swashbuckling, organised rather than thrusting. The team had the feel of a side set up not to lose, and while they were good value for the win, you suspect their limitations may have been surprised against the likes of Chelsea or Arsenal or, on current form, Everton and Birmingham.

And yet both sides are still very much in the hunt for the final Champions League slot. Tottenham may sit fourth going into this FA Cup weekend, but more performances like the one at Anfield and they're unlikely to be there for much longer. And Liverpool, for all their woes, are still just a point off Spurs.

Just as the top three were falling over themselves in December not to make a play for the top spot, so the pretenders to fourth are also doing their damnedest to pass the buck for fourth. As well as Tottenham and Liverpool, there's Villa and Manchester City. The former is a strong, well-organised side but one with fairly obvious limitations and perhaps two or three players short of a Champions League challenging side.

Manchester City still remain an enigma. On paper, they should be good enough to land that top four spot. On the pitch, their loss to Everton suggests those frustrating inconsistencies that bugged Mark Hughes' reign are still present. It would not be a surprise to see them drop points to surprising teams in the second half of this season.

Birmingham, Fulham and Everton are, realistically, too far behind for fourth place but it's still not inconceivable that any one of these three could end the season above Spurs.

For all the talk of the Premier League opening up, things still remain the same. What pundits now mean is that there's no one, or two, teams running away with the title this year, while fourth place is genuinely up for grabs. That isn't much of a change.

On current performances, there's nothing to suggest that Spurs, Villa or Liverpool wouldn't be dumped out of the Champions League at the group stages, assuming they manage to qualify for them. Manchester City have shown they can turn in the style over one game and may be best placed, especially if they strengthen over the summer, but they still look a little short of being able to hold their own against European giants.

So what we have here is one of the best four teams in England getting weaker and nobody stepping in to replace them, meaning you have an even narrower closed shop at the top. That isn't exactly progress in my book.

Advocating throwing money at getting into the top four isn't exactly a recipe for success either, as Newcastle and Leeds have shown, while Man City still aren't guaranteed such a finish despite the millions they've spent.

The final Champions League spot definitely matters to supporters of the clubs challenging for this position, and if, say, Villa made it into the Champions League group stages, the finances would make a huge difference. But currently the race for fourth just serves to show the discrepancy between the top three and the rest of the Premier League.

(Pic via This Is London)