Andros Townsend

[Mad Yid]

well fifa 14 does have him listed as injury prone lol

I also remember some Belgian or Dutch guy on some forum saying he was a tad bit dodgy with the niggly injuries before the season had started

 

[HeroesAndVillains]

well fifa 14 does have him listed as injury prone lol

I also remember some Belgian or Dutch guy on some forum saying he was a tad bit dodgy with the niggly injuries before the season had started

Fifa 14 are very "liberal" with the traits. Some are just downright offensive.

 

[1882]

He wasn't injury prone when he came here. That's what is the worst thing about it.
His injury history is relatively scarce compared to most other footballers.

Well and truly SPURSY! He's part of an ever growing group!!

 

[Yorkshire_Spurs]

Well and truly SPURSY! He's part of an ever growing group!!

He is now a fully qualified set piece retard as well.

 

[Lister]

I also remember some Belgian or Dutch guy on some forum saying he was a tad bit dodgy with the niggly injuries before the season had started

I remember that too - the message was (as I recall) essentially "Get used to him being in and out of the side, he always misses odd games with niggles"

 

[VirginiaSpur]

Find myself agreeing with this Goal piece, by and large.

Mythbuster: Why over-hyped Townsend is no longer justifying his Tottenham selection

Billed as one of England's form players, the flying winger has produced just one goal and no assists in the Premier League and has struggled to connect with striker Roberto Soldado

From perennial loanee to England's next great hope, the past two months have seen Andros Townsend's reputation rise at a pace almost as frighteningly rapid as he is. Singled out by Germany boss Joachim Low as a “dynamic” threat before Tuesday night's encounter at Wembley, the 22-year-old was, yet again, the brightest player for the home side, reinforcing his status as one of the country's most dangerous players.

The Tottenham academy product is almost uniquely direct, driving forward with a rare and absorbing fearlessness – his 55 successful dribbles is a division high – while his every touch is accompanied by the collective thwacking of 36,000 seats flipping back as the White Hart Lane crowd, otherwise starved of tantalising football this season, rise to their feet in feverish excitement and expectation.

Yet, for all his intent and raw energy, Townsend has just one goal – which was intended as a cross – and no assists in the Premier League this season. His growing repute, particularly on the international stage, has added further growl to a bark that is rather more fearsome than the bite, and he has become worryingly adept at looking like a threat without ever actually being one. Townsend's limp goal tally, though, is not for the want of trying. No player in the Premier League has attempted more shots on goal than the winger's 45 – that's one every 18.7 minutes he has been on the pitch.

Astonishingly, 41 of those efforts have been taken from outside the box (or 91 per cent, way above Spurs' average of 56% which is already significantly higher than other top-four rivals), 15 have been blocked (which is another league high), just 33% have been on target, and he boasts a head-scratching average shot distance of 26 yards.

While the best players make the right decisions most often, Townsend, acutely aware of the need to score goals and make himself “undroppable”, routinely and frustratingly takes the wrong option. Better placed team-mates are ignored in favour of hopeful shots from range that rarely trouble the goalkeeper, assuming they even beat the first man. If his shooting stats merely hint at a player seeking individual accolades, his conversion rate of just 2.2% (a league low for any player who has netted this year) undoubtedly confirms him as a singularly wasteful player.

Though he has failed to record an assist in 26 of his 27 Premier League career appearances, Townsend has created 19 chances for his team-mates this term, the most of any Spurs player – even if his only tangible contribution remains the penalty he won against Swansea. Somewhat symptomatic of the problems Spurs face on a wider scale, only four of those 19 chances have been inside the box, and only three have been clear-cut.

Further to that, Townsend has created just two chances for the much-maligned Roberto Soldado (while attempting 73% more shots), yet the Spaniard has created seven chances for Townsend and provided an assist.

In none of the 10 league games in which both players have featured has Soldado taken more shots than Townsend, while in 50% of matches the England wideman has had at least twice as many attempts as the former Valencia hotshot (peaking at nine against Norwich, a match in which Soldado had just three efforts).

At the Mestalla, Soldado created a goalscoring opportunity every 81 minutes, at Spurs he has done so every 51 minutes (while averaging fewer shots now too). Andre Villas-Boas spoke of needing a player with more predatory instincts prior to Soldado's signing, yet the 28-year-old's poaching skills are being hampered by the demands placed on him to link play and facilitate the players that ought to be supplying him.

It's a curious reversal of roles, and a scandalous misuse of talent – imagine if Chris Tucker had been cast as the martial arts master and by-the-book Hong Kong detective in Rush Hour opposite Jackie Chan's fast-talking, wise-cracking Los Angeles cop; Townsend is essentially asking Soldado to speak Cantonese.

But Townsend is not the only player to frustrate this season, or fail to link up with Soldado. Icelander Gylfi Sigurdsson is often just as disruptive to his Spurs team-mates, and specifically the side's grounded Spanish focal point, as his country's ash cloud was to the rest of Europe.

Criminally, Sigurdsson has not created a single chance for Soldado in open play. The former Hoffenheim midfielder has serviced the Spaniard just once in total, from a free-kick against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season. If there is one silver lining it is that, unlike Townsend, Sigurdsson is a legitimate goal threat – a valuable commodity in a side that has struggled in that respect. Of midfielders, only Oscar, Eden Hazard, Yaya Toure and Aaron Ramsey have scored more goals in the Premier League this term.

Inverted wingers aren't inherently a problem, especially with the pace of Kyle Walker and, when fit, Danny Rose overlapping from deep, but having two largely self-serving players in the key positions to supply Soldado is an issue. In fact, Walker has created more chances for the Spaniard than any other Spurs player (with five), while the right-back and fellow full-back Rose, as a duo, have created a chance for the £26 million frontman every 189 minutes.

Townsend and Sigurdsson, meanwhile, have done so only every 471 minutes. Against Newcastle, a match which saw Tim Krul make 14 saves as Spurs peppered the Dutchman's goal, the two wingers failed to play a single successful pass to Soldado.

There are certainly alternatives to Townsend for Villas-Boas to think about exploring. Aaron Lennon led the club's assists charts with seven last season, and brings both natural width and the once uncapitalised cut-backs that Soldado would surely devour. Meanwhile, record-signing Erik Lamela, though less vivacious and gung-ho than Townsend, offers greater cunning and vision for the rest of the Spurs side to play off.

Townsend, bright though he may be, needs to find greater efficiency and clinicalness. At present he is a top-shelf, weapons-grade firework with an inaudible bang, an armoured S.W.A.T van with only a PCSO inside ready to write up a fixed penalty notice. He needs to do more without doing too much, and if he cannot convert his exuberance and direct running into something more concrete, then Tottenham simply cannot afford to carry him any longer.

Very promising, imo. But, his single-minded focus on attempting solo heroics and long-range shots is one of the biggest problems with our play at the moment. He's not Gareth Bale, so he needs to stop trying to be him.

A week or two ago I saw a news piece in which Andros was promising more goals, that that was the area of his game that he was focusing on the most, and all it elicited from me was a terrible groan of frustration and disbelief.

His attacking directness is admirable, but he hasn't earned an automatic spot in the starting 11 yet and it's time for that position to be rotated and Lamela given a chance to shine.

 

[Erik_Edman]

Find myself agreeing with this Goal piece, by and large.

Very promising, imo. But, his single-minded focus on attempting solo heroics and long-range shots is one of the biggest problems with our play at the moment. He's not Gareth Bale, so he needs to stop trying to be him.

A week or two ago I saw a news piece in which Andros was promising more goals, that that was the area of his game that he was focusing on the most, and all it elicited from me was a terrible groan of frustration and disbelief.

His attacking directness is admirable, but he hasn't earned an automatic spot in the starting 11 yet and it's time for that position to be rotated and Lamela given a chance to shine.

He's only 22, playing his first full PL season and improving every game. He's also getting double-marked in every game, even by class opposition. And in spite of all of that, he's still been the player most likely to make something happen for us in most games this season. Maybe Lamela does deserve a shot now, but even so, cut him a little slack.

Also, the thing about him wanting more goals doesn't necessarily have to be taken as him saying he wants to shoot from distance more- I interpreted it as him saying he wants to take better quality shots, which is surely a reassuring thing, right?

 

[Lister]

He's only 22, playing his first full PL season and improving every game.

I dont think he is. I think he improved rapidly and has since tailed off or even regressed a bit.
He has become more selfish, more predictable and IMO an actual hinderance to the team, just as the article states.
He needs to service his team more, and he needs to mix his game up more. Pass instead of dribble, go outside instead of in...

At the moment he gets the ball, runs straight at the box, across to the centre and then shoots regardless of whether there is a shot on or a team mate in a better position...

 

[Erik_Edman]

I dont think he is. I think he improved rapidly and has since tailed off or even regressed a bit.
He has become more selfish, more predictable and IMO an actual hinderance to the team, just as the article states.
He needs to service his team more, and he needs to mix his game up more. Pass instead of dribble, go outside instead of in...

At the moment he gets the ball, runs straight at the box, across to the centre and then shoots regardless of whether there is a shot on or a team mate in a better position...

I thought 11 games in was too much soon to be making these kind of judgments about anything.

:bae::bae::bae::bae::bae::bae::bae::bae:

In all seriousness though, while I see what you're saying, I really believe that he can iron those flaws out of his game given the opportunities. I mean, it took Kyle Walker a whole season and a half to cut the positioning and awareness mistakes out of his game, but we persevered and it paid off (IMO). I believe they're very much in the same mold- impulsive and occasional overly raw in their game, but with too much technical and physical talent and sheer explosive directness not to invest a little more time into.

 

[VirginiaSpur]

He's only 22, playing his first full PL season and improving every game. He's also getting double-marked in every game, even by class opposition. [...] Maybe Lamela does deserve a shot now, but even so, cut him a little slack.

All the more reason why the spot needs to be rotated. I'm not saying the kid isn't good, I'm just saying that -- like the op. ed. piece -- he's trying way too hard to make himself undroppable, and he's making terrible decisions in the final third, to the detriment of the entire team.

And in spite of all of that, he's still been the player most likely to make something happen for us in most games this season.

I don't find this at all comforting. That "make something happen for us" is overwhelmingly these poor long-range shots which accomplish very little.

Also, the thing about him wanting more goals doesn't necessarily have to be taken as him saying he wants to shoot from distance more- I interpreted it as him saying he wants to take better quality shots, which is surely a reassuring thing, right?

Sure, but it's not what he should be focusing on at the moment. It sounds dangerously like he's doubling-down on an attacking strategy that's been unproductive thus far, when he needs to focus more on feeding chances into the box.

 

[Lister]

In all seriousness though, while I see what you're saying, I really believe that he can iron those flaws out of his game given the opportunities. I mean, it took Kyle Walker a whole season and a half to cut the positioning and awareness mistakes out of his game, but we persevered and it paid off (IMO). I believe they're very much in the same mold- impulsive and occasional overly raw in their game, but with too much technical and physical talent and sheer explosive directness not to invest a little more time into.

I dont disagree with that at all. I think he has huge potential and can become a fabulous player.
But he isnt yet, and while he made rapid progress (I was thinking of what I saw in his stint with QPR as well) I do think he has hit a sticky patch.

IMO we should use him on the left, particularly in Roses absence, as it will hopefully force him onto the outside more and have him turn provider instead of going for goal all the time. Alternatively Id take him out of the side for a bit to process all he has done so far and get himself in order.

 

[Erik_Edman]

All the more reason why the spot needs to be rotated. I'm not saying the kid isn't good, I'm just saying that -- like the op. ed. piece -- he's trying way too hard to make himself undroppable, and he's making terrible decisions in the final third, to the detriment of the entire team.
I don't find this at all comforting. That "make something happen for us" is overwhelmingly these poor long-range shots which accomplish very little.

Sure, but it's not what he should be focusing on at the moment. It sounds dangerously like he's doubling-down on an attacking strategy that's been unproductive thus far, when he needs to focus more on feeding chances into the box.

51% of his shots have been on target this season, and of those off-target the majority have been blocked rather than sent wide.

Again, I see what you're saying in terms of him doing more to serve the team. But we're at a point now where the rest of our team play can be so sluggish that sometimes I'm desperate for Townsend to get the ball just so we can see a spark of life in our attack- a run that goes directly at the goal, and shots being put in, rather than slow, non-progressive passing phases.

I guess maybe in a team that's otherwise firing on all cylinders, I'd be happy to see him benched for Lamela. Right now Lamela doesn't look like he's quite comfortable enough in the side to provide that same kind of oomph that we need injected weekly into our attack. But hey, I'd be more than happy for AVB to give him a shot in the next few games and prove me wrong.

 

[Erik_Edman]

I dont disagree with that at all. I think he has huge potential and can become a fabulous player.
But he isnt yet, and while he made rapid progress (I was thinking of what I saw in his stint with QPR as well) I do think he has hit a sticky patch.

IMO we should use him on the left, particularly in Roses absence, as it will hopefully force him onto the outside more and have him turn provider instead of going for goal all the time. Alternatively Id take him out of the side for a bit to process all he has done so far and get himself in order.

I'd be very interested to see what he can do on the left too, because it's unclear whether his arrival as a convincing first team player in form early this year was due to the positional switch, or just being handed a golden opportunity to impress in the PL.

 

[Lister]

Harry deployed him on the right at QPR and he was quite succesful there. Prior to that I believe he was always a more conventional LW. So the switch wasnt made for us I believe, rather we just went with it...

In the euro qualifier he showed what he can do going outside as well as in, it was the first time he really excited me as a player - since then he has lost that variety altogether

 

[Erik_Edman]

Harry deployed him on the right at QPR and he was quite succesful there. Prior to that I believe he was always a more conventional LW. So the switch wasnt made for us I believe, rather we just went with it...

In the euro qualifier he showed what he can do going outside as well as in, it was the first time he really excited me as a player - since then he has lost that variety altogether

Yes, apologies, what I meant was that it's unclear whether it was Harry using him on the right, or simply Harry using him in a Premiership team and giving him the chance to impress, that made him step his game up at the start of this year. For all we know it was simply the latter, and we've missed a trick by using him exclusively on the right.

 

[Lister]

I think he reached a point where it was kind of "do or die". He wasnt going to get any further being loaned out to lower league teams and I think simply needed a chance to prove himself one way or the other.

 

[Mad Yid]

Find myself agreeing with this Goal piece, by and large.

Very promising, imo. But, his single-minded focus on attempting solo heroics and long-range shots is one of the biggest problems with our play at the moment. He's not Gareth Bale, so he needs to stop trying to be him.

A week or two ago I saw a news piece in which Andros was promising more goals, that that was the area of his game that he was focusing on the most, and all it elicited from me was a terrible groan of frustration and disbelief.

His attacking directness is admirable, but he hasn't earned an automatic spot in the starting 11 yet and it's time for that position to be rotated and Lamela given a chance to shine.

The article is spot on and very damning of both Townsend and Siggys creative influence on matches

Soldado is teeing them up alot more than they are him which is completely fucked

Good thing is we have Lamela, Chadli and Lennon waiting in the wings, so now it's up to AVB to play them

 

[1882]

Soldado does seem to thrive on conventional wingers supplying him killer crosses... which is why I thought we'd assembled so many!!
If we can't cobble together TWO players out of Lennon, Siggy, Townsend, Chadli, Lamela and the little foreign fellow Amimissinganyone to provide Robbie with decent service, then AVB needs to look long and hard at the inverted winger system!

 

[Mensa]

The article is spot on and very damning of both Townsend and Siggys creative influence on matches

Soldado is teeing them up alot more than they are him which is completely fucked

Good thing is we have Lamela, Chadli and Lennon waiting in the not inverted wings, so now it's up to AVB to play them

Just in case AVB is looking

 

[1882]

I think the inverted wingers thing has already gone stale... other teams have sussed it, and it wasn't exactly reaping dividends before they had!
Lennon & Townsend strike me as simple players (not in the Kyle Walker sense) who need to play to a simple system.
Granted, Lamela and Chadli give the impression of being more technically adaptable (maybe it's their exotic tans) but if Lamela is still struggling with language, then taking instruction isn't going to be second nature just yet...
I say get back to 2 orthodox wingers for now, play to strengths, and then when we're riding high at the top of the league come New Year, with a very healthy +25 GD, then piss about with the formations!!