Re: Adebyor
Have to say, still loving the guy. As a prototypical complete forward he's relied upon to do many more things than just score. His off the ball movement, participation and work rate have been phenomenal so far. He's doing most of those in spades at the moment, while also being relied upon as virtually the sole first-team forward. His work rate, dropping back to support the midfielders, working the lanes, and his positioning has been spectacular. I'm positive that his scoring will open back up in the future. Much of this could be dismissed as him simply rediscovering his touch and form after a depressing run with Citeh. He has to adapt to the English game again, and I'm positive that he'll do it.
I've long thought that what Spurs were really aching for was a devastating No. 9 that could divert attention from opposing defenders and open up the game for Spurs' plethora of talented attacking midfielders. Say what you will about Crouch's knock-downs, and his "decent touch for a big man," but the man was simply not the devastating presence in front of goal that demanded opposing defenders' attention and marking. The presence of that factor, a truly effective No. 9 that could work the channels, hold up the ball, and provide a physical presence inside the box was something that Peter Crouch didn't provide and Ade does in spades. Beforehand, opposing defenders could virtually ignore Crouch and focus on marking VdV and Bale out of the game, they can't do that anymore. As Thelonius said, I think, it's no coincidence that their scoring has opened back up again. Opposing sides can't afford to double-mark VdV or Bale with Ade up front, they have to focus on the immediate threat of Ade's pace, form, and technical ability, which opens up the game to an incredible extent for finishes by Vdv and Bale. Maybe the man can be a bit wasteful with the ball, I won't dispute that, but the attacking movement of the entire team looks fundamentally better with Ade in the equation. Will we keep him long term, I certainly hope so! Of course, his wages are an issue, but he's certainly made a stink in the news in the past week or two leading the average fan to conclude that Ade sees his near-term future at Spurs and that he may be willing to cut a hard bargain to seek first-team football again. I mean, yesterday he was comparing 'arry to Mourinho, for chrissakes! At this juncture all signs seem to point that he may be willing to settle for a significant wage reduction in order to secure first-team football again.
If that's the case, thanks be to those fuckers at Citeh. At first glance they've taken one of the most notoriously self-centered forwards in world football and broken him. As Spurs fans we can only hope that he's so anxious to prove himself again that he'd take a 50% wage cut.
I'd definitely take the man, but let's please not break the wage ceiling.
