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Huddlestone: I must toughen up

Discussion in 'Spurscommunity Front Page News' started by mawspurs, Dec 14, 2006.

  • by mawspurs, Dec 14, 2006 at 8:20 AM
  • mawspurs Moderator

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    SPURS NEWS:

    Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone is ready to add steel to his game to earn a senior England call-up.

    Source: TribalFooball

    Huddlestone, 19, claims that his size was a hindrance to him rather than a help when it came to developing the physical side of his game.

    He said: "I have always been told to be more aggressive but it was difficult because I was so much taller than everybody else as a kid - if I even went near anyone, the referee would give a free-kick against me.

    "So for the first four or five years I was playing football I just never tackled. That is something I have really developed in my game this season and it's one of the reasons the manager has played me more often.

    "Some of the smaller kids I came through with at Derby tended to be more aggressive and I was never like that - but I know I have got to do that if I want to stay in the team every week."

    Huddlestone has already seen his Under-21 team-mates Lennon, Theo Walcott and Micah Richards make the full England squad and has his eyes on a similar breakthrough.

    He said: "It shows that the England manager has faith in young players whereas other international managers might stick to a set squad of 23 players and won't change it even if others are playing very well.

    "Steve McClaren is willing to give the young players a chance and that is very encouraging.

    "Aaron and me have been mates since we were 15. We've played together for England Under-16s upwards and arrived at Tottenham at the same time.

    "We spend most of the time together. We live close by each other and see each other a lot socially - although I'm near enough twice as big as him.

    "We play PlayStation Pro-Evolution Soccer all the time. We both feature on the game but I'm never Tottenham, I'm usually Barcelona.

    "In the last few weeks I've upped my game and I've been beating Aaron.

    "I was delighted for him when he made the World Cup squad. He was on fire for Tottenham from Christmas time onwards last season and he has thoroughly deserved his England chance.

    "It's every boy's dream to play for their country at the World Cup and to do it at the age he did was tremendous.

    "I know Theo well, too. He is a quiet lad but very down to earth. To go the World Cup at 17 and go to Arsenal for a lot of money is a lot to deal with but he's still not fazed by any of that.

    "Micah's had his chance, too. He is very quick and strong. He got his full England debut against Holland last month and I don't see there's any reason why he shouldn't stay in the squad."
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Comments

Discussion in 'Spurscommunity Front Page News' started by mawspurs, Dec 14, 2006.

  1. RBlanch
    This guy is such a legend....perhaps the criticism of his game could be that he's a bit too nice....imagine how good he'll be if he starts 'throwing his weight around'!
  2. chrizzah
    You cant help but love him. The best thing about him is his cofidence and that he seems to be a true leader, i say he will one day captain England and ofc spurs.
  3. spursintheblood
    How many rumours about him being a target for Barcelona are we going to have to sift through now.....
  4. bigspurs
    I think that we have a big, bad destroyer in the making here! With his build and presence in midfield, he might mature into something quite frightening!

    Just think, he probably hasn't even filled out yet!!!
  5. xmastreeformation
    It's always refreshing seeing a player who has been in excellent form admitting to areas of his game that need improvement. I especially liked the way that for the first goal against Charlton he gave it to Lennon and went. His movement may not have been crucial to the goal but it helped sow confusion. He was the first to congratulate Berbatov.
  6. infamousyiddo
    Hudd "THE MAN OF" stone, as I like to call is going to be a class act, and to think he is only 19 he will surely only get better.

    I'd like to challenge him (or any other footballer for that matter) to a game of pro evo, i would how good they REALLY are
  7. vietnam1973
    How good is it to be a spurs fan at the mo, look at the club now to what weve had in the last 10-15 years, even as short as 3 years ago, look at the youth we have compaired to then (The Youth) we now have the likes of lennon, huddlestone and dawson compared to ricketts, doherty and blondel, (experience) now we have davids, king, keane compaired to bunjevcevic, redknapp, anderton, not to mention world cup calibre players like berbatov, zakora, robinson, not to mention jenas, chimbonda, malbranque etc etc our squads fantastic long gone are the days when we would shell out stupid money on players who were well into there 30s (ferdinand, ziege, sherwood) i hope spurs carry on buying fantastic young talent i say invest in future starts like bale, richards, baines, alnwick. We do however have to start winning stuff so we can keep hold of them once they become established premiership players, at the end of the day who wanted to see carrick go even for 18.6m
  8. Laudrup
    It was ok with me...:oops:
  9. spurs2dn
    The Boy Giant is going to be King!!!!
  10. keepthefaith
    Two days ago Hossam Ghaly said "I hope my suspension does not affect my performance and I can get in the team again and play like I was before," Huddlestone is talking about Improving his game not just repeating previous form. I have nothing against Hossam (my fellow countryman) but this is the difference between a player who will be great and one that will "do a job" every so often.
  11. mattspur1
    I watched him play a few times at Derby. He played like a 28 year old even THEN.

    A definate future England regular.
  12. mattspur1
    I might add, with the emergence of The Hudd, who misses out when Zokora & Jenas are fit, not to mention Murphy, Ghaly, Zeigler etc!!
  13. sugarman
    the Hudd is a top quality player already, but the great players always strive to improve. I read today that Giggs is looking to improve over his recent performances and he's been one of the best players to grace the Prem. It's good to see Hudd seeing where he can improve

    I'd also like to see a couple of H-Bombs this season. He's had a few attempts and I can't wait to see him get a 30 yard screamer
  14. psturdy
    THUDD scoring a 30 yarder will announce him on the scene like Beckham's halfway line goal.

    Although, the media are picking up on him now, consistently playing well in the holding MF role is not going to raise his profile all that.

    Future England captain for sure.

    I would also like to see if he has genuine pace (eg bursting runs like Zokora)

    I'm sure Jol will look after him.
  15. AJ
    He doesn't. And if he isn't fast at 19, he's not going to be fast at 25 either. But that's not a problem, many top class players aren't fast and at his preferred position it's more about positioning than it is about pace. What's a lot more important is that he has excellent passing and kicking technique, especially for a man of his size. He also seems quite level-headed and has already shown intelligent moves on the pitch (for example that quick little freekick to Keane, from which Robbie scored).
  16. happydays
    The boy is class and he should be picked every game if possible.
    Cannot see how dropping him is an option at the minute. We are a different team when he plays.
    Hope BMJ has the balls to keep him in the side when Jenas is fit again.
  17. paulspursman
    its good to hear that he is ambitious, seemingly settled and wants to up his game even more.

    the hudd is class and its only a matter of time before he gets in the national squad
  18. BillyWhizz
    He can't have a lot of pace, Andy Reid knocked it past him on Saturday to get the cross in that Daws stuck past Robbo! In the long run however I think his positioning will ensure he doesn't get caught for pace too often, he'll be a fantastic player.
  19. brakefluid
    no pace but a heck of alot of grace :D

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