Who can plug the gap on the left?

Article by James Lingfield

Despite being only 16 games into the season, it’s already been a rollercoaster of a season for AVB’s men. From feelings of pure ecstasy with Paulinho's late and great heroics at the Cardiff City stadium, to the despair of the 3-0 crushing at the hands of Allardici’s Irons, one thing has stayed certain; in typical spurs fashion, we never have an easy win. However, ever since the departure of one Mr Bale, we haven’t troubled the opposition penalty areas as much as we would like. Consequently, we are starving Soldado of support from the wings, something that made him so successful at Valencia. With no ‘out and out’ left wingers currently at the club, it’s crucial that we find someone who can stop our attack becoming too slow and narrow.

Andros Townsend

The young England winger has spent 6 years on the brink of the squad. Despite having almost 140 career appearances, only 28 have been in the white of spurs. After no more than 9 loan spells, many felt that he would be another of Spurs’ youth players that would eventually fizzle out of the first team picture and eventually be sold to lower league opposition. But it wasn’t until his most recent loan spell at loftus road under ex-spurs boss Harry Redknapp, he really began to back up the promise that he has been showing for so long. After an injury to Aaron Lennon, Andros really seized his chance in the first team, and hasn’t looked back. After some scintillating performances and a Premier League goal for Spurs, it wasn’t long before Roy Hodgson came knocking on AVB’s office. 

On his international debut, he scored a screamer for England which turned more than a few heads in the world of football. This ‘inside out’ right winger has been hailed by some as England’s answer to Arjen Robben. His non-stop work ethic and love to run at defenders has made him a fan favourite at white hart lane. I think that if he were partnered with Aaron Lennon on the right, he would add a real pace to the spurs attack which has been lacking since the loss of our Welsh Wizard in the summer. The only problem I could see with this is that he may not be able to cut inside and unleash a powerful left footed strike, as he has been so notorious to do. But, this could be quickly fixed with a simple, mid game wing swap that we’ve seen so often recently, would leave full backs boggled and let Andros work his magic.

Gylfi Sigurdsson

After the summer signing of Christian Eriksen and the return to form of Lewis Holtby, many believed that the Icelander, who had a hit-and-miss debut season at spurs, would find appearances few and far between this season. But despite these thoughts, ‘gylf’ has found a new lease of life and looks like a whole new player. Having already notched 4 times this season, including a goal of the season contender in the cup against Hull this week, Gylfi could be the perfect man to fill in the gap of the left wing position. Sigurdsson, who claimed that he was “finally settled on and off the pitch” after the game at Selhurst Park earlier in the year, his quick thinking a sharp snapshots has implemented himself as a solid starter for spurs. Also, if he did play on the left, it would allow him to cut inside and fire one of his thunderbolt shots that have already given many a goalkeeper sleepless nights. Despite his lack of pace, he has impressed with his touch and shooting ability and that has made him an ideal choice for the left of midfield.

Erik Lamela

After some excellent performances for Serie A team Roma, hopes were high when the £30 million acquisition for Lamela capped off our £120 million summer spending spree. Despite this promise, it’s been more than a bit of a disappointing start to his Spurs career. He’s looked well off the pace and his penalty miss in the capitol one cup will do little for a player low on confidence. Lamela, or ‘Cocoa’ as he was known at his previous club, has looked isolated on the right wing. I think that given time, however, he could become a real star for spurs, much like luka Modric. I think that the key for success for Lamela would be if he could shift from the right, to the left of midfield. His dribbling and quick-thinking would more than make up for him not having the burst of speed than other wingers that have worn the cockerel over their hearts in recent years. He offers something completely different to the other wingers at the club and, in the words of Erik, “I have been struggling but my moment will come”.

In the eyes of a lot of spurs fans, the lack of left wingers at the club may be a real downfall for spurs, but on the contrary, either Andros, Gylfi, Erik, Lewis, Nacer or even Aaron could give spurs the injection that we so desperately need in our attack.

By James Lingfield

© e-Spurs 2013 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Spurs

Share on Google Plus