Huddlestone

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Blanchflower said:
He's only good when the opposition slow down to his pace - keep him as a sub
Click to expand...

Agree!
I don't think he has the stamina to last 90mins at the moment... he has been out injured for fucking half the season!
Impact Sub isn't the worst thing to be... especially as it's already helped us to 4 points from losing positions in his last two home games....
 
As long as Parker doesn't start. Playing 4-3-3 with Dembele, Holtby andd Hudd in midfield was such a relief to watch. Rather than Parker slowing down the tempo, running round in circles, to then pass in back to the defence every time he got the ball.

ITS WIGAN FFS!
(yes I know they beat us at home:()
 
My thoughts on Hudd? I am probably one of his biggest fans, because he brings two things to the team which in conjunction can unlock resolute defences.

1) Vision
2) The ability to drop a ball on a 5p piece from 20-50 yards.

I don't think he is right for every game we play, but our ability to adapt to different teams and styles is imperative. He is valuable member of the squad, and I would start him in certain games, but not others.

Hope he stays for at least another season injury free. He is the type of 'luxury' player that makes games more than just 'who can run the fastest / furthest', and some games we are better off for having him, rather than another JJ clone.
 
I think he can definitely be given a start. But he has to play in a midfield 3, where he can primarily play the regista role whilst Dembele and Holtby mainly provide the energy going forwards and back. It's kinda like how Juventus play with Pirlo, Marchisio and Vidal. Obviously he would have to do some running and challenge for the ball at times, but it's less of a gamble having him alongside two mobile and energetic players.

What the recent matches have proved is that, we desperately lack a creative player who starts from deep positions and who can find our runners with clever disguised passes, as Thudd did with Bale's goal yesterday.
 
I love Thudd.

If he is fit enough to last the full 90 then he should be up for selection just like any other. If the game is right then pick him of course.

However, for me there is no room in the starting line up for somebody who might only last an hour (VdV tested my resolve to breaking point, of course...), that's just using one of your subs before you even start. There is no excuse for not being fit enough - sharp enough yes, fit enough, no.

He needs to go on pre season with Bale and see how somebody at the top of his game 'relaxes' over the summer. Bale was fantastic last season and still looked like he had spent all summer pushing himslef and working on his game.

:hudd:
 
He's better suited as an impact sub. Teams will pay more attention to him and might even assign a player to mark him if he continues to play like this. His vision has helped tremendously.

Like some of you mentioned, he won't get the time and space starting the game. He'll be asked to do more defensively and hold onto possession which he isn't very good at. I like him coming on around the 60th minute when the game starts to open up more. With space Hudd just sprays the ball around beautifully.
 
I can't say I agree with this thinking that Hudd needs time to pick his pass. Nine times out of ten he has decided where he is going to pass it before he has even received the ball, when the ball does come to him he passes first-time to his man. Of course this doesn't mean teams can't sit tight to him and put him under pressure / close down his passing opportunities, but sitting deep in a midfield 3 means someone from the opposition needs to move out of position to close him, thus making space for Dembele or Holtby in the middle.

My concern would be his current levels of fitness, but you only get match fit by playing matches...I'd be inclined to give Hudd a start.
 
Huddlestone confirming yet again that he clearly needs to be put ahead of the pecking order vs Parker for the right opponent

Wigan on Saturday --> I think AVB has an easy call on his hands. Parker OUT / Huddz IN
 
Regarding Parker, I'm a big fan of Sandro, but we've been doing better with Parker than with Sandro according to this

http://www.whoscored.com/Graphics/410/Show/?

It may well be that we would have done even better with Sandro too. We probably would have because we could have rotated more. But Parker returned just in time to keep us going and when he plays we're doing slightly better than the season average so far. We'd have 62/3 points now had we done as well all season as we've done with Parker starting. Wouldn't we love to have 63 points now. So while Scott hasn't been great (;)) it's hard to make a case out that he's been a hindrance.
 
Greaves_357 said:
Regarding Parker, I'm a big fan of Sandro, but we've doing better with Parker than with Sandro accrding to this

http://www.whoscored.com/Graphics/410/Show/?
Click to expand...
We've done better because the team as a WHOLE is more settled now in the second part of the season than what they were in the start... had Sandro been the DM for this half of the season and parker the other the results would most likely dreadful for the first half of the season and unbeaten madness for this half... Sandro is the better footballer of the two, and has been for a while, we were ALOT more fluid as a whole when he played and parker didn't...
 
One thing for AVB to consider is that Wigan are one of the few teams in the PL to play a different formation (3-4-3), which could mean the extra (large!) body in m/f is important? IMO Holtby + Dembele's work-ethic + THudd sitting makes for a decent trio in m/f for a game like this, and allows the full-backs licence to roam (not that Walker needs asking twice!!).
 
Good point re Wigan's formation, but I don't see how the three you mention can all play if Lennon is back. Dempsey has to play surely as he offers goal threats by scoring and assists, then there's Bale, and surely one of JD/Ade.

At most I only see room for one of Holtby/Hudd, much will depend on Lennon starting or not.
 
I think it will suit us well that Wigan must win this game. They are a footballing team, thus there will be gaps we can exploit with our smooth passing, clever running and the outragous pace from Bale (and perhaps Lennon from the bench).

When you look at THAT pass from Hudd for Bale's run for the third goal it shows what could happen to Wigan if they open up. And they need to. I think it would be correct to give Hudd the nod over Parker this weekend.

:hudd:
 
Don't know if this was already posted or not:

Tom Huddlestone: 'It's frustrating at Tottenham but I must bide my time'


Tom Huddlestone has articulated his frustration at his role on the fringes at Tottenham Hotspur and admits that after considering a move last January his future at the club will be back on the agenda in the summer.
The midfielder, capped four times by England, made a dramatic impact as a second-half substitute in Spurs' comeback win over Manchester City on Sunday, which has reignited Tottenham's push for a Champions League finish. He also impressed in the Europa League quarter-final second-leg tie at Basel, despite missing a penalty in the shootout defeat, and he is pushing Scott Parker for a place in the team for Saturday's trip to Wigan.
Huddlestone is determined to seize whatever opportunities he is afforded in the club's final five matches, even if they come from the bench to "try and prove to the manager that you should be in the starting XI as well". But after beginning only six league games this season, plus six more in other competitions, he has come to wonder how highly he is rated by the manager André Villas-Boas.
"You can't really judge it [the future] over the last five games," Huddlestone said. "You've got to see the bigger picture throughout the whole season and speak to the manager to see if I am in his plans or not. You speak to the manager every day and if you are not playing for a sustained period then you do wonder what's going on. But the manager has reassured me that I am in his plans, even though time-wise on the pitch, it hasn't always been shown that way."
Fulham were keen to sign Huddlestone in January, with the club's manager, Martin Jol, aware of his qualities from his time at White Hart Lane. It was Jol who brought Huddlestone to Tottenham from Derby County in 2005. But the January deal did not happen, with the long-term injury that Sandro suffered that month hardly increasing Villas-Boas' inclination to lose another midfielder.
"At times, you think you might need to move ... if you don't play for a few months, especially," Huddlestone said. "I am 26 now. I missed a year to 18 months through injury. You just want to play every game and if that opportunity is not at Tottenham, then I will have to look elsewhere. Nothing was that close to happening [with Fulham] where I thought it would be possible. I have been fully focused on getting us into the top four and staying there."
Huddlestone has, at least, found things easier than he did last season, when he needed two ankle operations and barely kicked a ball. "It has been difficult but probably not as difficult as last year," he said. "This year, I had a run in the team and we were doing fairly well. It has been a frustrating few months. Scotty has been back and fit, he has played a few games and Mousa [Dembele] has been excellent since he has come in [last August]. It's just a case of biding your time."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/apr/22/tottenham-tom-huddlestone-villas-boas
 
I don't think there's any question of what he can deliver for 90 minutes but the midfield should be picked on form as well as opposition. Against Wigan we could start him and see what happens, with Holtby and rest Dembele.
 
I just can't see AVB leaving out both Dembele and Parker. I wouldn't do it, it's just too high risk. Probably Holtby and Hudd deserve their chance, but I can't see any of the top managers taking a chance like that in a key game.
 
Personally I would like the team that finished Sunday to start v Wigan apart from leaving Defoe on the bench because he really is best suited as an impact sub. Even if Lennon is fit I would bench him as an excellent option against tired legs. Huddlestone Holtby and Dembele just looks a very good midfield trio to me. I'm afraid Parker really doesn't suit the way we play anymore.
 
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