Welcome to SpursMad's official 2009-10 season preview, in assocation with www.spursforum.co.uk.
Here our editor, Gareth Davies, takes a look at how the squad is shaping up ahead of today's league opener against Liverpool. Enjoy...
Unsung Heurelho…
Every team has a player who goes through a sticky patch and has to endure both the fans, and the media, writing him off. Unfortunately for Heurelho Gomes, his came during his first few months at the club, so his critics had no previous record of good behaviour on which to fall back (his record breaking stint at PSV is easy to dismiss, given the poor regard in which Dutch football is held in this country).
So Gomes quickly became “Gomess”, a tag he has found difficult to shake off. Whilst he will be known to opposition fans, unintelligent pundits and a small section of our own ignorant faithful as a blundering buffoon, his performances in the latter half of the season, characterised by superb saves in the draw against Manchester United and victory over Chelsea, played a significant role in the club finishing the season having conceded just 10 goals at home, the lowest figure in the league.
Suddenly his seemingly misguided willingness to fling himself, fist first, from his goal line became a strength, rather than a hindrance, and thanks to his own reserves of will, coupled with the faith of manager Harry Redknapp, Gomes has become an integral part of a defence that began, whisper it, to look dependable in the latter stages last season. For his strength of will alone, Gomes deserves the support of the dwindling numbers of boo-boys in the stands; after all, dramatic dips in form and calamitous blunders cost us the services of Paul Robinson, a previous White Hart Lane favourite.
If Gomes does go the same way, then Redknapp will call on Carlo Cudicini, who must have cursed his luck when his arrival from Stamford Bridge coincided with Gomes rediscovering his form (coincidental, probably not). In the games that the Italian has played for the club he has shown an understandable lack of match sharpness, but while not looking at his formidable best, he is certain and able understudy and a signing that showed Redknapp at his wily best.
Beyond that, however, the club continues to look thinly spread and one of the players Harry might look to bring in over the next few weeks is a promising young goalkeeper, as Ben Alnwick, on loan at Norwich, does not look the required standard.
The King is dead, long live the king…
Defensively, the club is stronger than at any point during the Premiership era. Despite injuries to Michael Dawson, Jonathan Woodgate and, of course, Ledley King, the signing of Sabastien Bassong, recommended to Redknapp by Alan Shearer, is a shrewd piece of business. In the short term, the Cameroon international will cover for injured colleagues, in the long-term Harry believes he has the ability to succeed King as the club’s most reliable defender.
Bassong has remained largely impervious to the understandable criticism levelled at his Newcastle team mates during the club’s descent toward the Championship. Despite the odd rash decision, and several red cards, he showed enough during a handful of assured displays that, given a more reliable wingman than Coloccini, he might shine. He’s an unfinished article, for sure, but his athleticism should compensate for his suspect positioning.
Elsewhere, Harry will enjoy starting the new campaign with a wealth of options at right-back, having signed Kyle Naughton from Sheffield United. The England Under-21 international has impressed in pre-season and has done enough to suggest he will see his fair share of first team football, particularly in the League Cup. His arrival confirms the feeling that Redknapp has not been overly impressed with Alan Hutton since the former Rangers man returned from injury and while his forays forward have been promising, question marks remain about his defensive qualities and wayward positioning. In the short term, Corluka will remain his first choice, but expect Naughton to challenge the Croatian when Redknapp needs a more athletic foil for Aaron Lennon.
If there is one area in which the club’s defensive strength in depth remains questionable it is on the left-hand side of the quartet. Beniot Assou-Ekotto, fresh from enjoying his best season for the club, will retain his place in the first team, but beyond that Harry’s options look limited. He has lost faith with Gareth Bale, who promised so much before several nightmarish performances last season and may have to rely on Naughton to fill in when needed, with the former Blades youngster performing the same role for his home town club in the final few games of their run into last season’s Championship play-offs. There are rumours of a move for Nadir Belhadj, who Harry signed for Portsmouth in September 2008, but he would be no improvement on Ekotto.
Left short…
If Harry is struggling for options on the left-hand, he has also been unable to end our perennial search for a left-footed winger. If that record was getting old this time last year, then it’s now sitting in the attic gathering dust, waiting for a re-release five, ten, twenty years from now.
Villa beat us to the signing of Stewart Downing, which is probably lucky given he had been written off long before his proposed arrival. Slow and average, perhaps, the former Middlesbrough winger would have at least offered balance to a side that faces starting yet another season without a naturally left-footed midfielder. He is also no slouch from set-pieces, a string to our bow that has been missing since Christian Ziege left in 2004.
Still, time remains, even if the options available to Redknapp are hardly obvious. One suspects he would rather start with Luka Modric on the flank, than risk signing an injury prone but talented player like Manchester City’s Martin Petrov, who I personally think would be worth the risk on a short term contract. Failing that a move for West Brom’s Chris Brunt might be the solution. The Northern Irish wingman impressed in flashes for the Baggies last season and would benefit from playing alongside higher quality midfielders at a team who like to use the flanks. Yet, desperate as we might be, let’s hope that recent rumours linking us to a move for Sunderland’s Keiran Richardson prove just that.
It’s a big year for…
Aaron Lennon. With the World Cup fast approaching and none of his rivals for a berth on the right-hand side of England’s midfield covering themselves in glory, there has never been a better time for Lennon to force his way into Fabio Capello’s plans. There is no doubt that the diminutive winger has the potential to make a name for himself at international level, but to do that he needs to dramatically improve his final ball.
In terms of his consistency, last season was by far and away Lennon’s best for the club. Such were the strength of his performances that he managed to confine big money signing David Bentley to long stints of warming the bench. The season showed he has made significant strides in many aspects of his game, particularly to his defensive responsibilities, but time after time his good work was undermined by a wildly misjudged final ball.
It may be the speed at which he runs, or his low centre of gravity that causes him trouble, but if this issue can be overcome, through training or experience, then there will be no reason why he cannot book himself a place on the plane to South Africa, because, on his day, there are few full-backs in the world who can deal with him.
He will face competition in the shape of David Bentley, who despite enduring a turgid first season at the club and wrapping his £90,000 Porsche 911 around a lamppost just days before the start of the new season, may well still have a future at the club. Redknapp insists the former Blackburn star has shown a terrific attitude in training and, despite his questionable professionalism, it makes little sense to sell him to rivals Aston Villa, particularly because it would leave us short in depth on the another flank.
Coming soon, we talk Jermain Defoe, Wilson Palacios, Robbie Keane and whether Jermaine Jenas is a player or a figment of the imagination…