In praise of...

[MarkyP]

Willem Korsten - couple of crackers against Utd... then had to retire very young.

 

[SpunkyBackpack]

Michael Brown, played like he gave a shit in a team that most of the time looked like they didn't and was actually quite good (note- i cant remember if this bit is true). I wrote my one and only letter to teletext defending him because apparently im a thousand years old.

The it turns out everyone hates him and he just kicked people for a living.

 

[archiewasking]

I always really liked both Justin Edinburgh and Dean Austin. Never understood the flak they got. Also a big fan of big John Lacy, first CB since Mike England who actually could win stuff in the air. And I absolutely loved Adebayor until he got the permanent deal and mentally clocked off. Finally a mention for Darren Bent. Ridiculous the criticism on here about him. Rubbish link play, doesn't contribute much etc etc...........he was our top scorer. He scored goals! A striker's main job, surely!!

 

[ClonedFromSandrosBeard]

Do current players count? Because Ben Davies is in for a shout if so.

Huddlestone was looking really good before his injury then seemed to just lose everything but weight after that.

Corluka was a regular in one of our best teams but never got the praise for tying up that right side with Lennon.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Michael Brown, played like he gave a shit in a team that most of the time looked like they didn't and was actually quite good (note- i cant remember if this bit is true). I wrote my one and only letter to teletext defending him because apparently im a thousand years old.

The it turns out everyone hates him and he just kicked people for a living.

Had a mate from the red side of Sheffield tell me that we'd bought a proper player and fan favourite when he signed for us. Him and Carrick made a solid CM pairing. Exactly the sort of heart on his sleeve, dirty bastard you want on your team.

 

[Gassin's finest]

I always really liked both Justin Edinburgh and Dean Austin. Never understood the flak they got. Also a big fan of big John Lacy, first CB since Mike England who actually could win stuff in the air. And I absolutely loved Adebayor until he got the permanent deal and mentally clocked off. Finally a mention for Darren Bent. Ridiculous the criticism on here about him. Rubbish link play, doesn't contribute much etc etc...........he was our top scorer. He scored goals! A striker's main job, surely!!

Dean Austin was proper shite mate.

 

[SUIYHA]

 

[Disconosebleed]

Michael Brown wasn't bad, just a bit disappointing because he joined us having scored about 20 goals from centre mid for Sheffield United in the Championship the year before, then when he arrived he quickly realised he wasn't capable of doing that at the highest level and dedicated himself to shithousing the opposition instead. It was laudable in a way, that he recognised his limitations and so adapted to being effective in a reduced role, but he's definitely an example of how far we've come as a club since those days.

Anthony Gardner would be my pick - he wasn't great by any means, but he wasn't the bomb scare some people would have you believe he was. He didn't help himself in that regard by looking at all times like he might suddenly fall over, something Bassong inherited from him.

 

[SpursDave88]

I always really liked both Justin Edinburgh and Dean Austin. Never understood the flak they got. Also a big fan of big John Lacy, first CB since Mike England who actually could win stuff in the air. And I absolutely loved Adebayor until he got the permanent deal and mentally clocked off. Finally a mention for Darren Bent. Ridiculous the criticism on here about him. Rubbish link play, doesn't contribute much etc etc...........he was our top scorer. He scored goals! A striker's main job, surely!!

Not only was Bent an awful footballer as was proved by his path since leaving us, he scored relatively few goals with us and has behaved like a prick at most of the clubs he's been at.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

I always really liked both Justin Edinburgh and Dean Austin. Never understood the flak they got. Also a big fan of big John Lacy, first CB since Mike England who actually could win stuff in the air. And I absolutely loved Adebayor until he got the permanent deal and mentally clocked off. Finally a mention for Darren Bent. Ridiculous the criticism on here about him. Rubbish link play, doesn't contribute much etc etc...........he was our top scorer. He scored goals! A striker's main job, surely!!

You are the only person I have ever heard describe Lacy as anything other than a donkey. Growing up I knew his son through my best mate, even he said he’s a donkey. Gary Mabbut’s his god father (Jon’s son, not Jon).

He often comes up in discussion between my dad and the guy next to me at Spurs when talking about players they truly wish they could forget.

Ergo.. good post, in the true spirit of the thread (I did say Vega after all).

 

[DiamondLites]

Corluka was vastly under appreciated, people focused too much on his lack of pace rather than the nuances that made up for that - positioning, timing and reading of the game. Lost his place to Walker on the basis that he was better going forward, yet I always felt that Charlie contributed more to our attacking play in general - him and Lennon had a great symbiosis down that right hand side, Charlie could spot and play a pass where as I often felt Lennon and Walker got in each other’s way

Plus he was cooler than the other side of the pillow, which lead to the perception he would make mistakes that would cost us goals but I struggle to recall many times that ever actually happened

 

[Monkey boy]

I loved Corluka. Pure quality and was Luka’s best mate.

 

[Typical Spurs]

As a few have said already... Michael Brown for me.
Limited technically but made up for it in effort and being filthy.
I really like players who look like they care when they play for us. He played like he cared.

 

[fortworthspur]

It's standard practice these days to look back a few years to when we weren't that good and call out ex-players for their deficiencies, whether real or perceived, but I'd like to redress the balance.

So this thread is basically an opportunity for any of you to find something positive to say about any player from the past who generally gets a bit of a slagging and tell us why you love them.

And I'm going to kick off in praise of Didier Zokora.

Zokora got a lot of stick for not being Carrick, but that wasn't his fault. Nor was it his fault that he played under three different managers in three years and was played in CM, at CB, at RB because the squad was so unbalanced. He never complained and generally gave his all. And I also love Didier Zokora because

1) He used to stand on the half-way line looking away when we had a penalty and his smile as the crowd roared the goal was one of the most beautiful things in football.

2) He got sent off for protecting a 19-year-old Aaron Lennon in a fight when we played Middlesbrough (and somehow managed to get the Boro' player sent off too).

3) He was renowned for not being able to score for us in a game, yet still had the balls to take a (successful) penalty in a shoot-out against PSV.

And I know he took that dive against Portsmouth but, for me, it was such a blatantly rubbish attempt at a dive that, at one level, you sensed that he'd never tried to do it before and probably wouldn't again. A footballing Cameron Bancroft, if you will. And if you somehow doubt that Zokora genuinely lacked subtlety when it came to cheating, then here's the 'disguised foul' he inflicted on Emre in response to a previous racist comment by the latter. Subtle it's not and it's another reason why I love Didier.




Anyway. Enough Zokora. Who else do you think deserves to have their reputation salvaged and why? It doesn't have to be war and peace. It might just be one great bit of play you remember by Gilberto or that Paolo Tramezzani once gave his seat up on the bus for your aged auntie but, whatever, let's hear some good things about otherwise maligned players.

how the feck did he get away with a yellow for that?

 

[southlondonyiddo]

Sweet Jesus I only read page 1 and saw

Zokora
Edinburgh
Vega

I need a lie down again.
My therapist was just getting somewhere as well

 

[ERO]

 

[TTID2002]

Gotta say what up to Scotty Parker in here!

 

[GMI]

Pedro Mendes was a tidy little player. The one I had high hopes for was Mousa Saib.

 

[Insomnia]

He’d of been brilliant under Poch such a shame he left without giving it a chance

 

[Setzthree]

Edman.