Player by Player Review
Friedle: It has been a long time since we had a reassuring presence to support the back four, then we signed Friedle (and Parker). The American has been mostly excellent, although it would be remise to not recognise that Bradley has been at fault for a few goals that have cost us points (Swansea away, QPR away) he has been, without question, an improvement.
Walker: When we signed both Naughton and Walker, those in the know had considered Naughton the better prospect of the two. In no way is this a swipe at Naughton who has looked more than capable but Walker’s development has been meteoric. There is, naturally, room for improvement but I consider full back to be one of the most difficult positions to master and confident that Walker will provide plenty of years of wonderful service.
Kaboul: A colossus and entirely different player from his first incarnation at Spurs. I like the way he takes responsibility even if that has led to the occasional brain fart, it is noticeable how much better he plays alongside Gallas than King, with Gallas being so much more vocal. A leader.
King: The first half of King’s season mirrors the teams own, and that is perhaps not surprising considering how intrinsic to our success King is it only makes sense that his dip in form should coincide with ours. How to answer a question like Ledley? I don’t know; I want him to play and be brilliant but when the brain and the legs begin to go then questions need asking. All I would say is; we need to be covered more adequately for King’s absences and I love him.
Gallas: I wonder how our season would have panned out had Gallas been available more often. He is a player whose experience and leadership we lacked at times. I also think this is his last season with us.
Benny: I have already gone against general consensus before; Benny is 90% great 10% catastrophic. He does a lot of good work and often with little fuss. But, he is also capable and normally reliable to make one fuck up a game, be it completely out of position, fannying around in our box with the ball or not putting in a challenge (almost always from a cross) that results in a goal. I don’t want to replace him but he needs competition.
Bale: There has been fair few better sights at The Lane in recent years than Bale at full pace, bearing down on a petrified full back and whipping in a cross between keeper and defender. There are a few less frustrating sights than seeing that same player meandering across the pitch, distorting the shape of the team, narrowing the pitch, congesting the midfield and nullifying one of the great threats in the Premier League. Whether it is Bale’s own doing or Redknapp’s is almost irrelevant, Bale should understand that if it is to the detriment of both the team and himself, then it behoves him to not do it. That moaning aside, he has potential that no Spurs player has had in years and could well be a frightening prospect from a central position in years to come, in the meantime, stick to what works, son.
Parker: The player we had been calling out for, for so long. His influence can’t be praised highly enough, how he isn’t injured more often is a mystery but I’ll be grateful for those performances, especially up too February –I just wish Redknapp had been a little more sparring in his use of Parker, which undoubtedly has taken its toll on him. A skipper in voice and action and a bargain.
Modric: The season has progressed and yet Modric had seemed less inclined to put in the type of performance the first four months had yielded, whether that is tiredness or otherwise I don’t know but few of us suspect we’ll have him in our line-up come August. Capable of breathtaking football made to look staggeringly simple shouldn’t mask how important he is or indeed how difficult that is.
I’ll be sad to see him go but at a £20m profit and the idea of bringing in one superstar, or two cracking players, it doesn’t break my heart.
Van der Vaart: The argument about whether van der Vaart destabilises the team is not one I adhere to. When the players are available, van der Vaart’s position is an advanced midfielder or deep lying striker, it’s essentially the same position. When, for instance, Lennon was injured I can’t have been alone in thinking that, at times, van der Vaart would have been a better option from the bench. Trying to shoe-horn players into a system doesn’t work. Van der Vaart hasn’t been quite as domineering this season as last but he has been fantastic, often and brings creativity to the team where not many others can (see his pass to Pav for our goal against Sunderland). A winner and someone who is important to the Club.
Lennon: I like the fact that no matter what, Lennon likes to strut. Importance to the team is amplified by the fact we have no cover for him but that shouldn’t take away from the fact he is a player who offers much, and is actually better than Bale when it comes to switching wings. Like Benny, Lennon offers a lot but can offer more, competition might encourage that extra effort that Lennon always seems to suggest he has…and again, were it not for the injuries then who knows how the remainder of our season might have unfurled.
Adebayor: There aren’t many players we would have turned our nose up at but I had suggested the previous January that he would be ideal and whilst he hasn’t scored as many as we would have hoped his play has been essential. That he has done so with a smile on his face, the players clearly like him and the fans have taken to him too, that is in no small part due to his work rate and, to the detriment of his own play, selflessness. Whether he stays or not, I have enjoyed seeing him play for us and would be perfectly happy if he started next season as a Spurs player.
Defoe: A victim of formation? Possibly. Often a victim of his own lack of intelligence, from a footballing perspective, Defoe does the same things wrong now that he was 5 years ago and is too old to change. I was gutted when he left for Pompey but the more I think about it the more I think Defoe is a top 10 player, not a top 4 player. I think he will leave this summer, be a relative success at Sunderland or Fulham but never be the player he should have been. This season was the deciding one for him and it’s not worked out.
Saha: I can’t be arsed…..honestly, a more confusing, depressing signing I can hardly imagine….
Nelsen….ahh!
I have left out a fair few players due to long term injury (Dawson, Hudd) or just not playing very often (Kranjcar, Rose)
Friedle: It has been a long time since we had a reassuring presence to support the back four, then we signed Friedle (and Parker). The American has been mostly excellent, although it would be remise to not recognise that Bradley has been at fault for a few goals that have cost us points (Swansea away, QPR away) he has been, without question, an improvement.
Walker: When we signed both Naughton and Walker, those in the know had considered Naughton the better prospect of the two. In no way is this a swipe at Naughton who has looked more than capable but Walker’s development has been meteoric. There is, naturally, room for improvement but I consider full back to be one of the most difficult positions to master and confident that Walker will provide plenty of years of wonderful service.
Kaboul: A colossus and entirely different player from his first incarnation at Spurs. I like the way he takes responsibility even if that has led to the occasional brain fart, it is noticeable how much better he plays alongside Gallas than King, with Gallas being so much more vocal. A leader.
King: The first half of King’s season mirrors the teams own, and that is perhaps not surprising considering how intrinsic to our success King is it only makes sense that his dip in form should coincide with ours. How to answer a question like Ledley? I don’t know; I want him to play and be brilliant but when the brain and the legs begin to go then questions need asking. All I would say is; we need to be covered more adequately for King’s absences and I love him.
Gallas: I wonder how our season would have panned out had Gallas been available more often. He is a player whose experience and leadership we lacked at times. I also think this is his last season with us.
Benny: I have already gone against general consensus before; Benny is 90% great 10% catastrophic. He does a lot of good work and often with little fuss. But, he is also capable and normally reliable to make one fuck up a game, be it completely out of position, fannying around in our box with the ball or not putting in a challenge (almost always from a cross) that results in a goal. I don’t want to replace him but he needs competition.
Bale: There has been fair few better sights at The Lane in recent years than Bale at full pace, bearing down on a petrified full back and whipping in a cross between keeper and defender. There are a few less frustrating sights than seeing that same player meandering across the pitch, distorting the shape of the team, narrowing the pitch, congesting the midfield and nullifying one of the great threats in the Premier League. Whether it is Bale’s own doing or Redknapp’s is almost irrelevant, Bale should understand that if it is to the detriment of both the team and himself, then it behoves him to not do it. That moaning aside, he has potential that no Spurs player has had in years and could well be a frightening prospect from a central position in years to come, in the meantime, stick to what works, son.
Parker: The player we had been calling out for, for so long. His influence can’t be praised highly enough, how he isn’t injured more often is a mystery but I’ll be grateful for those performances, especially up too February –I just wish Redknapp had been a little more sparring in his use of Parker, which undoubtedly has taken its toll on him. A skipper in voice and action and a bargain.
Modric: The season has progressed and yet Modric had seemed less inclined to put in the type of performance the first four months had yielded, whether that is tiredness or otherwise I don’t know but few of us suspect we’ll have him in our line-up come August. Capable of breathtaking football made to look staggeringly simple shouldn’t mask how important he is or indeed how difficult that is.
I’ll be sad to see him go but at a £20m profit and the idea of bringing in one superstar, or two cracking players, it doesn’t break my heart.
Van der Vaart: The argument about whether van der Vaart destabilises the team is not one I adhere to. When the players are available, van der Vaart’s position is an advanced midfielder or deep lying striker, it’s essentially the same position. When, for instance, Lennon was injured I can’t have been alone in thinking that, at times, van der Vaart would have been a better option from the bench. Trying to shoe-horn players into a system doesn’t work. Van der Vaart hasn’t been quite as domineering this season as last but he has been fantastic, often and brings creativity to the team where not many others can (see his pass to Pav for our goal against Sunderland). A winner and someone who is important to the Club.
Lennon: I like the fact that no matter what, Lennon likes to strut. Importance to the team is amplified by the fact we have no cover for him but that shouldn’t take away from the fact he is a player who offers much, and is actually better than Bale when it comes to switching wings. Like Benny, Lennon offers a lot but can offer more, competition might encourage that extra effort that Lennon always seems to suggest he has…and again, were it not for the injuries then who knows how the remainder of our season might have unfurled.
Adebayor: There aren’t many players we would have turned our nose up at but I had suggested the previous January that he would be ideal and whilst he hasn’t scored as many as we would have hoped his play has been essential. That he has done so with a smile on his face, the players clearly like him and the fans have taken to him too, that is in no small part due to his work rate and, to the detriment of his own play, selflessness. Whether he stays or not, I have enjoyed seeing him play for us and would be perfectly happy if he started next season as a Spurs player.
Defoe: A victim of formation? Possibly. Often a victim of his own lack of intelligence, from a footballing perspective, Defoe does the same things wrong now that he was 5 years ago and is too old to change. I was gutted when he left for Pompey but the more I think about it the more I think Defoe is a top 10 player, not a top 4 player. I think he will leave this summer, be a relative success at Sunderland or Fulham but never be the player he should have been. This season was the deciding one for him and it’s not worked out.
Saha: I can’t be arsed…..honestly, a more confusing, depressing signing I can hardly imagine….
Nelsen….ahh!
I have left out a fair few players due to long term injury (Dawson, Hudd) or just not playing very often (Kranjcar, Rose)
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