- May 26, 2004
- 4,768
- 2,099
Good Week
Clint Dempsey
Outside the box Dempsey doesn’t really offer too much. He is quite physical, he is not bad on the ball, he works pretty hard, but he is very much a square peg in a round hole out there on the right wing and one wonders what his future holds next season when Townsend returns.
He is like the anti-Jenas. He doesn’t have that much ability but he uses every single drop of it to the maximum and seems to pop up when most needed.
The Two Tommys
Both Tom Carroll and Tom Huddlestone have impressed in the last fortnight. Carroll came on and fought hard in central midfield, showing that despite his slender frame he can compete and certainly was not exposed when we went down to ten men.
Huddlestone came off the back of an impressive cameo against Everton to fill in at centre half after Vertonghen’s sending off and did well. Have they done enough to warrant more game time?
Lewis Holtby
It has taken AVB a little time to fully work out what Holtby really is, but playing in a central midfield position the little German is starting to blossom. Still not completely convinced that he is the playmaker we need but he has the technical ability as well as the fight to play in central midfield.
Bad Week
Emmanuel Adebayor
Until we went down to ten men, I thought Adebayor was doing okay. Run into the defenders a couple of times but at least looked like he was trying.
However, in extra time he was an absolute disgrace. Showed absolute no interest to help his team mates defend, didn't get back behind the ball, didn't chase the opposition's defenders to relieve the pressure on the rest of the team, couldn't win a corner, throw in or look to win a free kick. If we had conceded in Extra time Adebayor would have been a big culprit because he was not interested in helping his team mates at all.
One time he got the ball and had the chance to lead a CA, he ran into the defenders when Sigurdsson was free to his left.
The penalty miss is another issue – not hitting the target is criminal – but is more a sign of his poor form this season.
Scott Parker
Yet again we have conceded two goals, the defence has been exposed, and we have needed saves or blocks from defenders or poor finishing to prevent us conceding more.
That doesn’t reflect well on the midfielder who is meant to protect the defence. We know Parker is not the greatest on the ball, so he needs his defensive work to be top notch and if it is not then questions need to be asked about his worth to the team right now.
Both Huddlestone and Carroll have made appearances from the bench and our passing has looked a lot more penetrative. If the midfield cannot protect the defence with Parker in it, would it not be better to put a natural playmaker in there so we are better on the ball? Theoretically, we will gain a lot more than we will lose.
Parker is struggling to match his form of last season. He really misses having a Modric next to him, and that long injury and age have taken a bit of energy out of his game. This could be the turning point of his Spurs career – another poor defensive display against City on Sunday may convince AVB that the only way we can win is to outscore the opposition.
Clint Dempsey
Outside the box Dempsey doesn’t really offer too much. He is quite physical, he is not bad on the ball, he works pretty hard, but he is very much a square peg in a round hole out there on the right wing and one wonders what his future holds next season when Townsend returns.
He is like the anti-Jenas. He doesn’t have that much ability but he uses every single drop of it to the maximum and seems to pop up when most needed.
The Two Tommys
Both Tom Carroll and Tom Huddlestone have impressed in the last fortnight. Carroll came on and fought hard in central midfield, showing that despite his slender frame he can compete and certainly was not exposed when we went down to ten men.
Huddlestone came off the back of an impressive cameo against Everton to fill in at centre half after Vertonghen’s sending off and did well. Have they done enough to warrant more game time?
Lewis Holtby
It has taken AVB a little time to fully work out what Holtby really is, but playing in a central midfield position the little German is starting to blossom. Still not completely convinced that he is the playmaker we need but he has the technical ability as well as the fight to play in central midfield.
Bad Week
Emmanuel Adebayor
Until we went down to ten men, I thought Adebayor was doing okay. Run into the defenders a couple of times but at least looked like he was trying.
However, in extra time he was an absolute disgrace. Showed absolute no interest to help his team mates defend, didn't get back behind the ball, didn't chase the opposition's defenders to relieve the pressure on the rest of the team, couldn't win a corner, throw in or look to win a free kick. If we had conceded in Extra time Adebayor would have been a big culprit because he was not interested in helping his team mates at all.
One time he got the ball and had the chance to lead a CA, he ran into the defenders when Sigurdsson was free to his left.
The penalty miss is another issue – not hitting the target is criminal – but is more a sign of his poor form this season.
Scott Parker
Yet again we have conceded two goals, the defence has been exposed, and we have needed saves or blocks from defenders or poor finishing to prevent us conceding more.
That doesn’t reflect well on the midfielder who is meant to protect the defence. We know Parker is not the greatest on the ball, so he needs his defensive work to be top notch and if it is not then questions need to be asked about his worth to the team right now.
Both Huddlestone and Carroll have made appearances from the bench and our passing has looked a lot more penetrative. If the midfield cannot protect the defence with Parker in it, would it not be better to put a natural playmaker in there so we are better on the ball? Theoretically, we will gain a lot more than we will lose.
Parker is struggling to match his form of last season. He really misses having a Modric next to him, and that long injury and age have taken a bit of energy out of his game. This could be the turning point of his Spurs career – another poor defensive display against City on Sunday may convince AVB that the only way we can win is to outscore the opposition.