The Huddlestone Enigma

Article by e-Spurs Writer Mark Viales (Gibraltar)

In Tom Huddlestone we have one of the greatest English passers of his generation. He has the ability and vision to craft out key passes which slice through the opposition’s defence with the guile and class some have referred to, boldly perhaps,as “Hoddle-esque”. When you flip to the other side of the coin you are presented with a case prime for scrutiny on whatcould be considered as very apparent weaknesses.

So what’s wrong with him?

Lack of Mobility:

This, I would consider Huddlestone’s fatal flaw. When someone in the mould of a small, quick, technical player such as Juan Mata is waltzing his way towards him, a sense of panic and rigidness sets in as he takes on the form of a static, brick wall. I have lost count of the amount of yellow cards he has received for just this kind of situation and in key fixturescan therefore be a liability.

With no pace to speak of, acres of space appear for the grateful opponents as his lumbering defensive efforts to cover the area are exposed due to his lack of mobility. Playing in the anchor man role is the perfect position for him, although the team must be prepared to compensate for his shortcomingswith a hard working midfielder to plug the holes.

Ambition or Lack of:

Huddlestone is likely to be wanting 1st team football at this stage in his career and his involvement as a squad player may not convince him to remain with Spurs. On the other hand, it may be that Spurs are not convinced by him and he could be offloaded in the summer if Spurs do strengthen in this area, not to mention the imminent arrival of young Tommy Carrollinto the frame. If he does decide that he is happy as a squad player then he could consequently block the progress of our youngsters or even halt potential arrivals that could better the squad.

Inconsistency:

There are many Spurs fans who would be happy to see the back of him as he firmly represents what the old guard stood for, a defeatism attitude. When things did not go our way the opposition would sense it and amount of capitulations that have followed is astonishing. We can see this in Huddlestoneas he often fizzles out in games and on occasions he has struggled to recover as mistake after mistake creep into his game when he is not an automatic starter. That said, he is a confidence player, similar to Defoe in that when his game is off, it is immaculately off, drifting aimlessly like a stray feather in the wind.

So what does he bring to the team?

Passing 10/10:

Tom Huddlestone is blessed with a natural talent whereby his range of passing is limitless. Personifying a look of cultured finesse, he has the ability and vision to craft out key passes which slice through the opposition’s backline. When he glances up and sees the chess board moving in front of him,he can calculate quickly and accurately, where best to place the next decisive pass. Huddlestone’s pin point, cross fieldpasses are a delight to witness as they glide through the air with only the slightest of caresses needed to bring the ballunder control, this requires immense skill to execute and few can match his precision.

Team Rhythm:

The Quarterback consistently produces these moments of brilliance when on form and subsequently can give us a rhythm of passing, spraying the ball around from left to right, acting like the hub of the midfield machine. When at full flow he keeps the team ticking and the speed at which The Huddkeeps the play going naturally causes the opposition to leave gaps for our pacey players to take advantage of. It is here where he thrives and could genuinely provide us with a different option as in this system he would complement our current personnel.

Dead ball Specialist:

Even though we have Gareth Bale for these situations in general, Huddlefro is without a doubt one of the best strikers of the ball we have at our club. We haven’t seen one of TheHudd’s trademark strikes in a while as the awesome afro would testify, however that does not go to say that he no longer possess the cannon strike in his locker. He is also useful at corners and I am sure that we would prefer Bale in and around the area in these situations.

 

All in all I hope that Huddlestone is given another chance as he did look impressive when introduced in the latter part of the campaign providing us with game changing tempo and several trademark key passes. If he is to push for a 1st team place he will need to improve on his weaknesses and he may not have much time left to convince AVB that he has what it takes to push Spurs to greater heights.

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