All series he's been a weak candidate, but the last three weeks he's done well. Do you think this was his planned strategy?

Perhaps it's not that he was weaker before but that the teams are smaller now. His voice is heard better, especially when working with a manager who likes to stay in touch with the whole of the process.

I think it's more to do with LS telling him to up his game rather than planned strategy.I've liked Tom from the start so i'm pretty pleased he's made it through to the final.

I think he's really grown in confidence, plus with the much smaller teams he's not constantly being drowned out by louder voices. He was making very good calls from early on, but was often ignored.

I think this week was probably the lucky circumstance of being in the two person team - meaning he could do what ever he wanted to get the creative process flowing. So he meandered around and until he had a 'eureka!' moment. Which is very different to the normal brainstorming sessions with big teams.

I still don't understand why there is the perception that Tom can't sell - he was selling fine all the way back in week 1! So being able to perform in week 10 was to be expected.

I don't think that someone who is drowned out by louder voices, and who needs Lord Sugar to tell him to up his game deserves to win. He should have made his voice heard as the others did, and he should have put his whole effort in from the beginning instead of waiting to be told.

While I agree he has been to passive and really needed a kick up the backside a few weeks ago, it's important to remember that the louder voices are Apprentice candidates i.e. as a massive generalisation, tending to shout down any idea that isn't their own and be unwilling to listen to reason. It doesn't reflect day-to-day business at all (not that I have much personal experience of that, but if it does, I definitely don't want to go into it. /irrelevant ramble). The only way not to be drowned out seems to be to be the one shouting even louder. I think it will depend on Tom's (potentially very good and well thought-out) business plan whether he deserves to win or not, but in terms of being LS's business partner out in the real world, I think he stands a good chance. He doesn't seem suited to the format of The Apprentice tasks though.

I'd say every task Tom has done he has put his all into it.That of course doesn't mean he is always going to come up smelling of roses as we have seen.

His downfall was the Paris task.He should have stuck to his guns regarding the booster seat (i think that's what it is called)

But then it's not just about voice being heard, the smaller team issue is also to do with having the space to be creative, to go wrong, to go crazy, to get the one or two good ideas... The dynamic of the process hasn't really allowed that in many of the tasks. (As Glorfindel says much better above.)

I too think the size of the group is a major factor. And he's saddled with Helen who doesn't have original ideas so, he has to up his game.

Exactly.

There's an Irish term, 'mé féiner' which can be used to describe TA candidates - people out for themselves, basically. Tom isn't like that - he's tried to do each task as a member of the team rather than concentrating on making himself stand out.

Makes him very unusual in terms of TA and is probably why some people here don't see him as a viable candidate. But it actually makes him a better prospect than most of the others.

I highly doubt it, because no way would he take such a risk, going three times in a row in the boardroom. And I think even if he did plan this it would be a stupid plan, because Helen shined before and is miles better than Tom.

I think he's still weak.

Tom actually spoke a lot of sense earlier in the process. Remember the spa treatments task, he was the only one that was working out the margins. In fact, he's one of the few that considers the detail. I don't think he has been weak at all, I think he's not been vocal or forceful enough, but more often than not he gets it right.
In recent weeks he's actually tried to step his game up and address the things he knows he's not so good at, and he's been told enough.

He's also got more exposure simply because the numbers have been thinned.
Besides, its hardly the first series where one of the quieter ones makes a late run. Normally this is because earlier episodes see more time devoted to the muppets who make the blinding mistakes.
He's a real contender because we can actually see he would offer something. Susan also offers something clear as a business proposition. Its hard to know what Jim or Helen bring because there is nothing at this stage to base any thoughts on what their business plans might be.

I don't really think that he has upped his game, necessarily, but just that as the numbers become less and less, he becomes more visible. I think he's had some decent imput that has stayed pretty much on the same level from start to finish. Just my opinion.

you wouldn't class him making a concerted effort to prove he could sell last week as upping his game?

Or that he hit a lot of nails on the head (ok, the columbas thing accepted) in the branding of the restaurant?

I'm not saying he's head and shoulders better, but of all of them he is trying to address his weaker points. I'd call that stepping up.

I don't think he has