Article by e-Spurs writer Matt Tumminia (USA)
Wait, we’re supposed to defend?
Ha ha ha, yeah, let’s all laugh at the subtitle. It’s humorous but in reality, it’s quite sad. In 2011-12, we had two of the best fullbacks in the Premier League with Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Kyle Walker marauding up and down the flanks, providing us width, attacking flair and solid defending, not to mention a hell of a lot of speed. Top teams in the Europe were envious of the pair and how vital they were to our success. Fast forward to the present and we still have those two, but significant questions surround the pair. Is Benny a real liability or was it just an injury riddled term with a steep learning curve? Has Kyle burned bright too early or is it just the dreaded “sophomore slump”? It is hard to say with the two of them what the reasons were for their regression but these questions as well as others about the other fullbacks in our squad need to be answered.
Kyle
Walker
It seems like after his first full season with Spurs, Kyle could do no wrong. Young and talented, blessed with speed and a hard shot, it seemed like he was going to become the next Roberto Carlos, except on the right side. The world was at his feet yet, somewhere along the way, something went wrong. Maybe the success went to his head, or maybe it was just learning the complexity of AVB’s system coupled with an ever changing central pairing that set him back. Whatever the reason for his less than superb second season, we may never know but what is important is for him to regain some of the form he had in 2011-12. Walker, when paired with Lennon on the right side, create quite the nasty combo as they both are crazy fast and are able to work off each other very nicely. This combination, when on point, could make any world-class left back stay up all night scared to step onto the pitch the following day. Unfortunately, it seemed like something wasn’t working right last term, maybe it was just a lack of confidence due to a mistake or two and to be 100% honest, I only remember him making the mistakes at home to Chelsea and away at Liverpool. Two mistakes don’t make a terrible season but compared to his stellar previous season, this past term was definitely the worse of the two. And furthermore, I believe that there were very few chances created by the opposition against Kyle, but again, two high profile mistakes plus some erratic performances equals a bad season to many. This all being said, I have confidence that the young lad will push on and have a great season, maybe not as fantastic as the first but it should be a cracker.
Benoit
Assou-Ekotto
There has never been such a polarising character to ever don the colours of Tottenham such as Benny. Some of us love him, even when he does something ridiculous and gifts possession to the opposition in our defensive third, while others will always point to these defensive “brain farts” and insist he is not good enough for us. The funny thing is, both sets of fans switch allegiances with every match, sometimes ready to present him with knighthood, while other times ready to move him for a bag of chips. The bottom line is this; when he is ready to play, he is one of the better left backs in England, when he isn’t on form, he is a walking calamity. The same could be said about almost any player on Spurs though, it just seems like every one of Benny’s bad performances are under the proverbial microscope and this past term, due to injury and lack of form, many fans are ready to push Benny back into his Smart car and send him off to France. Now, in the past, I have defended Benny as he does have his moments of brilliance, but those moments are overshadowed by silly, Sunday-league mistakes which are then scrutinised by every critic, analyst and fan for the next 4 weeks. Is this criticism really fair? Why are some players immune from such inquisitions while others are lambasted for every stray pass they hit? The answer is simply due to his nonchalant nature and honesty. He is on record saying he doesn’t really like football, he just happens to be good at it, and that it is nothing more than a job. Is this wrong? Hell no, I know I hate my profession but I stay working as a Molecular Biologist because I am good at it and it pays the bills. Am I a mercenary too? Maybe, but at least we are both honest. Regardless of his attitude, he is a good left back that is able to provide an excellent attacking outlet and solid defensive play. He will have those moments of madness, but so will everyone in our squad, even Gareth “Welsh Jesus” Bale, but when Benny does make a mistake, I am sure that he will receive twice the flack than anyone else does. I hope he stays as he is a good player and on his day, can be regarded as one of the finest full backs in England, maybe all of Europe. In the end, it is up to AVB and Benny to see what happens but I do think he will stay with Spurs and have a much more consistent season, to say the least.
The
Other Kyle
The other Kyle, Kyle Naughton, came back from his loan spell at Norwich City with the idea that he would be a straight back-up for Walker, maybe sometimes replacing Benny when he needs a breather, and get a number of Europa League and cup games. Of course, sometimes life is kinda funny and with the injury to Benny and an otherwise lack of confidence in him, Naughton received quite a good amount of playing time this past season, 26 games in total. Did he set the world on fire in those matches? The answer to this question is a resounding no. He was simply the best of a bad situation and the use of a square peg to fill a round hole. Not quick enough to keep up with Premier League forwards and wingers, not technical enough to provide an attacking outlet, not skilled enough to use both feet and ultimately, not good enough for us. Sorry to put it so blunt Kyle, but you are not really going to be in our future plans. Yes, his flexibility was good as he was able to play on both sides of defence but being strictly right-footed really hurt him when he was employed on the left. In fact, when he did play on the left side, the team as a whole had no width as he constantly needed to cut in to use that right foot, which allowed the opposition plenty of chances to get behind him and cause havoc. Needless to say, he is not a starter or primary back-up for us so I can see him being sold outright or sent on loan to a lower table club.
Danny
Rose
Last season, Danny was on loan at Sunderland where he was an ever present in the starting XI, not to mention the recipient of numerous praises from the Wearside faithful, and his statistics deserve such merits. Making almost 3 interceptions and roughly 8 challenges per match while winning a whopping 86% of his tackles, he clearly excelled last term. Needless to say, the Black Cats wish they could hold on to him as he provided solid defensive work and offered a good attacking outlet and wing play, but he is clearly in AVB’s plans for this coming season as the boss has stated time and again that his future is at Spurs. I think this is great news. The competition at the left back position will make both players, Benny and Danny, work harder to earn that coveted starting berth and if one happens to get injured, we have a more than capable replacement ready to jump in. These two will also allow us to use left footed players on the left side of the defence. I know, what a crazy concept? Danny, being a former winger, is comfortable getting chalk on his boots playing wide which is perfect as our left sided attackers tend to cut inside, thereby pulling the tracking fullback with them, allowing space for Danny to go up the wing on the overlap. Will it take some time for him to learn the new system? Probably, but he has all the favoured qualities to be a proper modern day full back, capable of pushing up the pitch and providing an offensive threat. I think we can expect Danny to get about 10-15 Premier League and all the Europa and cup matches, which should result in about 20-30 total starts. As I mentioned before, I see Benny as our primary left back but maybe Danny is ready to push him for the honour of being the no.1 left back at Spurs.
Adam
Smith
Here is another of our promising full backs who spent all of last season on loan and ended up becoming one of the better players on his respective squad. Playing at right back for Millwall, he helped the Lions to an FA Cup semifinal berth vs. eventual champion, Wigan while showing some real offensive instinct. A constant representative for the English U-21 side, he has developed nicely from his numerous loan spells at League 1 and Championship sides. I do think that AVB rates him but he will definitely not be able to oust Walker from the starting XI, therefore, he will probably be our primary back-up for Kyle as the other Kyle (Naughton) will more than likely be moved. He’s got talent, but it remains to be seen if his future lies with Spurs as Walker is young and has established himself in the squad, two things which may play against young Adam.
Conclusions
The long and short of our full back situation is simply this; on paper we have plenty of talent and combined with our central defenders, we should have a sturdy, water-tight backline. Of course, this game is not played on paper otherwise we wouldn’t have lost against Fulham and Wigan at home last season, but I think we should see an improvement in our defensive record as another year under the tutelage of Andre should benefit our entire defensive unit. I personally, am very excited about our defence and the vast amount of potential than can come from the group. Thanks for reading! COYS!!
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