C-oops
Well-Known Member
- Jul 27, 2008
- 4,038
- 3,376
I really think he has what it takes to be our 1st choice CM for a long time to come. He is only going to get better. Am glad Harry has stuck with him instead of buying new. The way we play has changed to fit around him and we miss him when he's not in the team. His lack of mobility is a worry but he can improve other areas to compensate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/30/tom-huddlestone-tottenham-hotspur-england-interview
Saturday interview
Tom Huddlestone the quiet achiever who became a big noise
Tottenham's pass master believes he is finally fulfilling his potential at White Hart Lane
Tom Huddlestone has established himself in the Tottenham side five years after joining the club. Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA
A door opens on to a corridor in a school in north London and in a flash the place is filled with the soprano squealing that only a gaggle of teenage girls can produce. In the midst of it all is a man who retains a calm gait and a straight face, yet gives the impression that the centre of attention remains a place from which he would be quite keen to extricate himself.
Tom Huddlestone is not someone who readily blows his own trumpet. Fortunately, others are willing to do that for him, and the chorus has amplified throughout a season which promises to be his most fulfilling yet.
Tottenham have been waiting for this towering yet thoughtful player to flourish, to express himself consistently at the top level, ever since they bought him from Derby County five years ago. Now that patience is being rewarded. Huddlestone has been an integral part of the team all season, lending poise and presence to a rebalanced midfield. "He's the best passer here by miles," says the Spurs manager Harry Redknapp. This slow burner has warmed up nicely.
"I don't know if it's because I was so young, or down to the quality of players around me, that I didn't progress as quickly as I should have," Huddlestone says. "But I have played virtually every game this season and that breeds confidence. You are not on edge if you know you are in the manager's plans. You feel you can try things you might not otherwise. It's the best I have been playing." He almost allows himself a half smile.
As the 23-year-old talks, little faces push up against the windows behind him, trying to snatch a closer look at the real-life footballer who has dropped into their school to hand over a large cheque to benefit local kids who take part in sport. The Premier League has donated £20,000 to each club to award to a charity of their choice and Tottenham are helping participants in the 2010 London Youth Games who are in need of coaching and kit.
Huddlestone even tries his hand against some of them. He has a few badminton rallies with a girl whose face turns scarlet and then lines up next to some schoolboy basketball players who, ridiculously, are just as vast as the 6ft 3in midfielder.
Huddlestone was not one of those footballers who gave up on education the moment it was apparent the playground was where they shone. "My mum kept on my case and I did fairly well at school," he says. His mother, Maxine, who raised him on her own, has been a great influence on his career. She ensured her son would make the best of his opportunities. When he signed for Derby's academy after Nottingham Forest released him, she took him to Derby on the train twice a week for training and to games at the weekend. That she did not drive was no barrier.
"She is straight talking, keeps my feet on the ground, and always wants me to strive to do better," Huddlestone says. When he won his first England cap, last November, he got all his team-mates to sign his shirt to make a memorable Christmas present for her. She had travelled all the way to Qatar for the friendly against Brazil and when her boy entered the pitch she could hardly bear to look. "She said when I came on she got so sick with nerves she couldn't watch," Huddlestone says, grinning. "She's pleased and proud of me, that's the main thing."
It was a terrific milestone for a player who has not had it all easy since making his debut at 15, while working towards a haul of nine GCSEs. He remembers clearly the moment John Gregory, then Derby's manager, promoted him into the first team. "He put me on the bench three times when I was still at school," Huddlestone says. "It was a bit surreal, really."
The first of those was away at Millwall. Huddlestone was one of three academy lads who travelled with the squad, and they all expected to watch the game as spectators. To Huddlestone's astonishment, Gregory chose him as a substitute and shoved Fabrizio Ravanelli – a former Italy international and Champions League winner – into the stands. "I felt a bit embarrassed," Huddlestone admits. "I almost felt like telling the manager he ought to put him on the bench and me in the stands. For me it was a massive thing."
It was Gregory's successor at Derby, George Burley, who first made the comparison with Glenn Hoddle, one that obviously set pulses racing at White Hart Lane. "It may be a big thing to say, but there is nobody else in the Premier League with the type of passing that Tom has in his locker," Burley noted after Huddlestone's call-up by Fabio Capello. "He can play the ball with his left and his right foot, he can send over a 70-yard pass or put through a short ball to send a striker away on goal."
The "new Hoddle" tag is a heavy but appreciated load. "It's a massive compliment for myself, and the fact he was one of my idols makes it even better," Huddlestone says. "I grew up supporting Chelsea when Glenn Hoddle was the manager and I was lucky enough to work with him when I was on loan at Wolves. He joined in training every day and was probably the best player there to be honest. Working with him for three months I am still not sure which was his favourite foot. His left and right was equally good.
"When I left he told me he thought the players there were no better than myself – it was just a case of going back to Tottenham and showing it. That stuck in my mind. If someone like that, probably one of England's best managers in the last 40 years, says that then you listen."
Huddlestone has now seized possession of a regular jersey and intends to keep it. His partnership with Wilson Palacios has given Tottenham better ballast then they have had in years. It is a factor Huddlestone believes is crucial to helping his club to hang on to that precious position in the top four. They travel to Birmingham today, a fixture he is wary of.
"It's not a nice place to go," he says. "Their crowd are right behind them, their team have being going well, and their pitch isn't the best.
"We have dropped a lot of points ourselves but we are still in fourth. Realistically we should have maybe eight or nine more points than we do have, but ­everybody seems to be dropping silly points that in previous seasons they wouldn't. Fourth place is wide open for anyone. Even Birmingham."
Manchester City are Huddlestone's biggest concern. "A lot will depend on how they react to going out of the Carling Cup. It was a massive local derby, they missed out on the final. You can't count out Liverpool and Aston Villa either."There is, of course, another motivation for a strong finish to the season and that is the chance to make a firmer impression on Capello. "It would mean everything to make the World Cup squad," he says. "If I keep playing and we finish fourth I am giving myself a decent chance. But the four central midfielders in most of the squads are Lampard, Gerrard, Carrick and Barry, they are all playing week in week out at massive clubs so I can't be too confident, as nice as it would be."
Time for a curve ball. Would he choose a top-four finish or a trip to South Africa if one could be guaranteed? Huddlestone reacts as you would expect him to on the pitch – no panic, no hurry, no need to sweat. He simply smiles, sidestepping trouble with his usual tidy deliberation.
Tom Huddlestone presented a cheque for £20,000 on behalf of Tottenham Hotspur to the Haringey Sports Development Trust as part of the Premier League's Creating Chances 'Places for Players' scheme. The money will be used to fund Team Haringey at this summer's London Youth Games.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/30/tom-huddlestone-tottenham-hotspur-england-interview
Saturday interview
Tom Huddlestone the quiet achiever who became a big noise
Tottenham's pass master believes he is finally fulfilling his potential at White Hart Lane
- Amy Lawrence
- guardian.co.uk, Saturday 30 January 2010
- Article history
A door opens on to a corridor in a school in north London and in a flash the place is filled with the soprano squealing that only a gaggle of teenage girls can produce. In the midst of it all is a man who retains a calm gait and a straight face, yet gives the impression that the centre of attention remains a place from which he would be quite keen to extricate himself.
Tom Huddlestone is not someone who readily blows his own trumpet. Fortunately, others are willing to do that for him, and the chorus has amplified throughout a season which promises to be his most fulfilling yet.
Tottenham have been waiting for this towering yet thoughtful player to flourish, to express himself consistently at the top level, ever since they bought him from Derby County five years ago. Now that patience is being rewarded. Huddlestone has been an integral part of the team all season, lending poise and presence to a rebalanced midfield. "He's the best passer here by miles," says the Spurs manager Harry Redknapp. This slow burner has warmed up nicely.
"I don't know if it's because I was so young, or down to the quality of players around me, that I didn't progress as quickly as I should have," Huddlestone says. "But I have played virtually every game this season and that breeds confidence. You are not on edge if you know you are in the manager's plans. You feel you can try things you might not otherwise. It's the best I have been playing." He almost allows himself a half smile.
As the 23-year-old talks, little faces push up against the windows behind him, trying to snatch a closer look at the real-life footballer who has dropped into their school to hand over a large cheque to benefit local kids who take part in sport. The Premier League has donated £20,000 to each club to award to a charity of their choice and Tottenham are helping participants in the 2010 London Youth Games who are in need of coaching and kit.
Huddlestone even tries his hand against some of them. He has a few badminton rallies with a girl whose face turns scarlet and then lines up next to some schoolboy basketball players who, ridiculously, are just as vast as the 6ft 3in midfielder.
Huddlestone was not one of those footballers who gave up on education the moment it was apparent the playground was where they shone. "My mum kept on my case and I did fairly well at school," he says. His mother, Maxine, who raised him on her own, has been a great influence on his career. She ensured her son would make the best of his opportunities. When he signed for Derby's academy after Nottingham Forest released him, she took him to Derby on the train twice a week for training and to games at the weekend. That she did not drive was no barrier.
"She is straight talking, keeps my feet on the ground, and always wants me to strive to do better," Huddlestone says. When he won his first England cap, last November, he got all his team-mates to sign his shirt to make a memorable Christmas present for her. She had travelled all the way to Qatar for the friendly against Brazil and when her boy entered the pitch she could hardly bear to look. "She said when I came on she got so sick with nerves she couldn't watch," Huddlestone says, grinning. "She's pleased and proud of me, that's the main thing."
It was a terrific milestone for a player who has not had it all easy since making his debut at 15, while working towards a haul of nine GCSEs. He remembers clearly the moment John Gregory, then Derby's manager, promoted him into the first team. "He put me on the bench three times when I was still at school," Huddlestone says. "It was a bit surreal, really."
The first of those was away at Millwall. Huddlestone was one of three academy lads who travelled with the squad, and they all expected to watch the game as spectators. To Huddlestone's astonishment, Gregory chose him as a substitute and shoved Fabrizio Ravanelli – a former Italy international and Champions League winner – into the stands. "I felt a bit embarrassed," Huddlestone admits. "I almost felt like telling the manager he ought to put him on the bench and me in the stands. For me it was a massive thing."
It was Gregory's successor at Derby, George Burley, who first made the comparison with Glenn Hoddle, one that obviously set pulses racing at White Hart Lane. "It may be a big thing to say, but there is nobody else in the Premier League with the type of passing that Tom has in his locker," Burley noted after Huddlestone's call-up by Fabio Capello. "He can play the ball with his left and his right foot, he can send over a 70-yard pass or put through a short ball to send a striker away on goal."
The "new Hoddle" tag is a heavy but appreciated load. "It's a massive compliment for myself, and the fact he was one of my idols makes it even better," Huddlestone says. "I grew up supporting Chelsea when Glenn Hoddle was the manager and I was lucky enough to work with him when I was on loan at Wolves. He joined in training every day and was probably the best player there to be honest. Working with him for three months I am still not sure which was his favourite foot. His left and right was equally good.
"When I left he told me he thought the players there were no better than myself – it was just a case of going back to Tottenham and showing it. That stuck in my mind. If someone like that, probably one of England's best managers in the last 40 years, says that then you listen."
Huddlestone has now seized possession of a regular jersey and intends to keep it. His partnership with Wilson Palacios has given Tottenham better ballast then they have had in years. It is a factor Huddlestone believes is crucial to helping his club to hang on to that precious position in the top four. They travel to Birmingham today, a fixture he is wary of.
"It's not a nice place to go," he says. "Their crowd are right behind them, their team have being going well, and their pitch isn't the best.
"We have dropped a lot of points ourselves but we are still in fourth. Realistically we should have maybe eight or nine more points than we do have, but ­everybody seems to be dropping silly points that in previous seasons they wouldn't. Fourth place is wide open for anyone. Even Birmingham."
Manchester City are Huddlestone's biggest concern. "A lot will depend on how they react to going out of the Carling Cup. It was a massive local derby, they missed out on the final. You can't count out Liverpool and Aston Villa either."There is, of course, another motivation for a strong finish to the season and that is the chance to make a firmer impression on Capello. "It would mean everything to make the World Cup squad," he says. "If I keep playing and we finish fourth I am giving myself a decent chance. But the four central midfielders in most of the squads are Lampard, Gerrard, Carrick and Barry, they are all playing week in week out at massive clubs so I can't be too confident, as nice as it would be."
Time for a curve ball. Would he choose a top-four finish or a trip to South Africa if one could be guaranteed? Huddlestone reacts as you would expect him to on the pitch – no panic, no hurry, no need to sweat. He simply smiles, sidestepping trouble with his usual tidy deliberation.
Tom Huddlestone presented a cheque for £20,000 on behalf of Tottenham Hotspur to the Haringey Sports Development Trust as part of the Premier League's Creating Chances 'Places for Players' scheme. The money will be used to fund Team Haringey at this summer's London Youth Games.
