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Three wins in three games over the busy and usually decisive festive period, has kept Spurs fourth in the Premier League and realistically challenging for the most unlikely of titles. Regardless of what happens over the next five months, this is undoubtedly Spurs’ most successful season for the past few decades.
Yet along with all the plaudits that Spurs’ new found success is bringing, it also brings new and harder challenges. Over the next few months Spurs will rely on their entire squad to get them through a gruelling fixture schedule.
In the first half against Newcastle and at intervals against Fulham, the Spurs players have started to look tired and a little leggy for the first time this season. Redknapp, by his own admission expressed his “relief” that they were able to “hold on” against Fulham. This could present a dilemma for the Spurs boss. Does he look to rotate the side and freshen it up for the game against Everton?.
Spurs play a very high paced attacking style of football, so it is natural that the players are likely to get tired, particularly when they are required to play three games in a week. Enforced rotation of the team has taken place at the back and upfront, where the suspensions of Kaboul and Defoe (still both suspended for the trip to Everton) have allowed the likes of Gallas and Pavlyuchenko to step in. Vand Der Vaart has only recently returned from injury and the rest of the midfield have played a lot of games recently, so maybe Redknapp could be forgiven for thinking he may need to introduce some fresh faces. Personally, I hope Redknapp sticks with the same core players that have won him the last three games. Spurs play Charlton in the FA Cup, after the Everton game, this will provide Harry with plenty of opportunity to rest his top stars.
The Everton game will more than likely start off at a slower pace than Spurs’ recent home matches, and this should help ease spurs through the opening stages. Everton like to pack the midfield through a 4-5-1 formation and they like to close down the opposition from inside their own half. They defend deep in an attempt to prevent teams getting in behind them. This may mean that Bale and Lennon (should they play) may be restricted to crossing balls into the box from deeper positions on the pitch. If Redknapp plays Peter Crouch up front, he would offer Spurs a target for those deep crosses and Spurs could still pose a threat to the Everton defence if they cannot get down the flanks, Van Der Vaart has provided a willing recipient to Crouch’s knock downs already this season and could do so again here.
Everton do not pose much of a wide threat and they do not have any recognised natural wingers in their side. This means that their 4-5-1 formation becomes very narrow. They will look to play balls up to Saha and then try to play off him, with the likes of Arteta and Pienaar in support. The supporting role is usually reserved for Tim Cahill, but luckily for Spurs he has chosen to play internationally for Australia during January, thus missing the game on Wednesday. Cahill was providing Everton’s most potent attacking threat in recent weeks and he will be sorely missed. Spurs should be able to cope with Saha upfront on his own, Gallas and Dawson have enough experience to manage this, Everton’s best possible route for success could come through the centre, where they will try to outnumber the Spurs midfield of Modric and Palacios. The Honduran could have his hands full trying to protect the Spurs back four from the likes of Arteta and Pienaar as they make their attacking runs from Midfield. The crowded midfield will mean Modric is unlikely to have the space on the ball that Fulham and Newcastle afforded him, he may have to drop deep to start spurs’ attacks. With this in mind I would expect Van Der Vaart to be instructed to drop deeper into the Spurs midfield to try and even up the numbers. If Spurs are forced to start play from deeper, then by using Crouch as an outlet, Spurs could still switch from defence to attack very quickly.
If Harry does decide to use this game to rotate his side, I would fully expect either Bale or Lennon to make way. That would mean the introduction of either Bentley, Kranjcar or perhaps the use of Van Der Vaart in a wide position. This will limit Spurs in an attacking sense, as removing Bale or Lennon will take out the ability to get in behind Everton’s defence from wide positions, thus making Spurs’ attacking options more one dimensional.
The deep defensive back line that Spurs are likely to face against Everton is a set up that Spurs will come up against more often, now that teams are adjusting to their obvious wide attacking qualities. I believe Harry has noticed this attitude in the opposition he has faced recently and that is why he is interested in bringing David Beckham to the club. If his team are not able to get in behind the defences they face, then they will need to provide decent quality into the box from deeper positions, no doubt Gareth Bale has this quality from the left, but I would not consider Lennon to be so accurate from a deeper position. So who better to bring in to give the side that added quality……David Beckham.
Should Redknapp give in to the pull of rotation then he could be passing up an opportunity to keep pace with the top clubs. If he takes a quick look across north London, he will see Arsene Wenger still stewing over their recent draw away at Wigan, after Wenger made several changes to his side. It just remains to be seen if Harry will choose to stick or twist.
Some Related Spurs Posts:Super Spurs Beat Werder Bremen, And Make It Look Easy! (Includes Highlights)Spurs Beat Villa 2-1 Thanks To Van Der Vaart DoubleSpurs End 17 Year Run To Beat Arsenal At The EmiratesWho Will Spurs Get/Lose?Spurs extend festive cheer
Category: Team News
Tags: Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric, Premiership, Spurs, Team News, Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur Official SiteTweet « Spurs extend festive cheer | Home |
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