Following
France captain Hugo Lloris’ arrival at Tottenham on transfer deadline day, as
well as the confirmation that Spurs have named 4 goalkeepers in their 25 man
Premier League list, I’ve wondered about Lloris’ role in the team and squad as
a whole this season.
Spurs’ head
coach André Villas-Boas praised current first choice keeper Brad Friedel’s
performance against Norwich City at the weekend and claimed that the American
would keep his place in the starting line up for the foreseeable future. Following
the 1-1 draw, Villas-Boas had this to say:
'Brad is doing extremely well and deserves to
be playing and he'll continue to do so.
'He knows about the situation. We had to take
this decision bearing in mind that we want to build for the future. So we
decided to bring in Hugo now.
'We
have to work with that and he will have to adapt to the Premier League.
'There
are players who need more time, players who need less time. But when you have a
keeper who gives so much confidence to the team and is doing so well, he
deserves to be in goal.'
Villas-Boas’ statement is obviously an
understandable one, though anyone who has watched Friedel closely since his
arrival at White Hart Lane would have seen a mixture of fantastic saves coupled
with a refusal to venture off his line to collect crosses. The last two goals
we have conceded, against Norwich and West Brom, left me questioning Brad’s
bravery, or whether it was down to him wanting to stick to the basics,
therefore not making any noticeable ‘mistakes’. Both goals came as a result of
a number of crosses failing to be cleared, while Brad could be criticised for
being slow to get down to meet the final shots, both goals being placed under
the veteran’s body.
A goalkeeper with more command of his area could
have been willing to come off his line to attempt to claim one of the several
crosses being floated into the Tottenham box, but that risk could just as
easily have led to a mistake, resulting in a goal. One does have to wonder if a
pairing of Michael Dawson and Younes Kaboul would have had more success
clearing the crosses that William Gallas and Jan Vertonghen failed to deal
with. Food for thought.
Lloris’ international manager Didier Deschamps has
added to fuel to the fire by claiming that Lloris is now having second thoughts
following his move to North London, having expected to be an automatic starter.
Speaking ahead of their first World Cup qualified, Deschamps said:
'Hugo
has not appreciated the statements of his coach.
'I
am not going to create a problem that I do not need today.
'But
if it were to happen then it would need some consideration. I do not want Hugo
to find himself in this situation.'
The second line amuses me, given the reaction his
comments have provoked. Deschamps’ comments must surely be taken with a pinch
of salt. As manager of the national team, it is in his best interests to have
his captain playing first team football, even if he has to use underhand
tactics to insure this is the case.
Additional reports that Lloris has been badmouthing
his new boss have been unconfirmed, likely to be part of the ongoing media
vendetta against our great club. While Lloris, being the fantastic goalkeeper
he is, surely expects to be first choice at Spurs, I sincerely doubt he expects
to walk straight into the team, especially given Friedel’s record of
consecutive Premier League appearances.
Brad Friedel is playing reasonably well; he’s doing what he’s good at, if not what Villas-Boas wants from a goalkeeper. Lloris arrives with a reputation for being good with his feet, having good communication skills, and being able to use his 6’3” frame to good effect. Those three qualities are all key aspects of what Villas-Boas wants patrolling behind his high-lined defence.
It makes me wonder what qualifies a player to be an
automatic choice in a first XI. Last season under Harry Redknapp there were far
too many, too many players that were considered undroppable, players that were
virtually unchallenged for their position. This wasn’t because there was no
other player capable of playing in that position, or even players close to the
current starters’ ability level.
Brad Friedel, Kyle Walker, Younes Kaboul, Ledley
King, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Aaron Lennon, Scott Parker, Luka Modric, Gareth
Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Emmanuel Adebayor were the players in question.
While Sandro became a more valued member of the team towards the end of the
season, that was the first choice XI, and if fit, no matter what level of form
the player or team was showing, they were likely to start.
Members of our squad, supposed valued members, were
left kicking their heels on the bench, playing the occasional cup match. Those
cup matches were often followed by wide spread levels of criticism for the
players who came into the team, usually following subpar performances. Any
criticism of these players was unfair and unjust, as they were expected to step
straight into the team with hardly any match fitness built up, and even if they
did perform well, they were straight back onto the bench for the next game.
Does a new signing deserve to start straight away?
Not in most cases. If they player arrives in a struggling team, or those who
are starting in his position are under performing, if they are already in good
form upon arrival, then it is understandable.
Wages and transfer fee should not come into the
manager’s head when he is selecting his team. It may come into the chairman’s
when he selects his privately, but for Villas-Boas it should be down to form
alone, and not reputation.
Andros Townsend has been an unused substitute in
all three Premier League games this season, when Aaron Lennon is particular has
struggled to make an impact. The arrival of Clint Dempsey is likely to further
stand in the way of any minutes on the pitch for Townsend. His pace and
trickery could have been an effective weapon against tired defenders in the opening
few weeks of the season, but he has had to settle for U-21 Premier League
ond Spurs XI outings thus far.
My hope is that as the season progresses,
Villas-Boas will select players in form, not those that cost the club the most
money on a weekly basis.
