Is it possible for seven inches to be the difference between a glorious campaign or one built around...if only...I wish...it was harder than it looked...and failure?

I guess we'll find out the answer to this loaded innuendo question by May but in the mean time we'll make do with Tottenham Hotspur star, Jermain Jenas and his probable thoughts as he drifted off to sleep on Saturday night. If he is smart though, in future years he'll more than likely turn his improbable miss against Liverpool into a lengthy 'fishermans tale' for the grandkids.

At Anfield on Saturday, a venue that Spurs hadn't won at in over 10 years, Jenas had an opportunity to put his club on the road to victory with a chance that must go down in the books as an 'absolute sitter'. Even the phrase 'my mother would've scored that one' was being whispered in certain corners and the pain on Martin Jol's face was there for all to see - and just to prove how cruel football really is, Craig Bellamy immediately missed a far simpler chance at the other end only for Mark Gonzales to save his blushes.

The blow to the Londoners was the equivalent of a Mike Tyson body shot in his heyday. Their remaining supply of air was violently expelled and with the Reds rampant, defeat number four was all but assured.

Now I'm certainly not advocating that we give up on Spurs just yet, especially since I predicted that they would finish 3rd in my pre-season preview, however there is reason for alarm and if I were Martin Jol, I'd be sorely tempted to scan the situations vacant page on a more regualr basis.

The reason for Jol's apparent lack of job security can be easily identified and unforunately for the Dutchman it's been the downfall of almost every manager who's ever had the misfortune to coach this most 'beautiful' of games...goals!

Tottenham are firing more blanks than Tom Cruise in his latest 'Mission Impossible'.

Two goals in six league matches is pitiful and the scary thing for Jol is that they're not playing that badly when compared to some of the awful Spurs sides that have sat in mid table obscurity since the Premier League began in 1992 (ironically the EPL was the 'brain' child of former Tottenham Chairman, Alan Sugar).

Yet it was all meant to be different this season in the attacking department.

The addition of Bulgarian hitman Dimitar Barbatov for close to $20 million was clearly a sign of their and new sponsors, Mansion's intent. The return of Eygptian hot head, Mido was another indicator of how desperate the North Londoners were on wresting supremacy away from their near neighbors Arsenal. The fact that they'd kept hold of Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe, scorers of 83 EPL goals for Spurs despite other suitors sniffing around seemed to say we're serious...'about what'...I'm now forced to ask.

Tottenham and more specifically Jol are in trouble regardless of whether they beat Slavia Prague in the 2nd leg of their UEFA Cup clash this week (they hold a 1-0 advantage from the 1st leg) and their next five EPL mtches holds the key to their season.

Firstly they'll host high flying Portsmouth at the Lane before travelling to a resurgent, Aston Villa. Then it's three local encounters with West Ham, Watford and Chelsea. I believe that if they have only 7-10 points by the time they take on the Blues at home this will be the make or break game for Jol.

Consider this fact - Chelsea have 32 game unbeaten streak over Spurs in the top flight and if my estimated point tally is anywhere in this ballpark, Spurs will be desperately close to the relegation zone, making this the turning point of their season. Mark down November 11th if you're a fan because this has 'twitchy bum time' written all over it.

And to think...but for seven inches I wouldn't even be having this conversation and Jermain Jenas would be strolling around White Hart Lane with a smile on his face.

Until then, get the beers in.