Recently, Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood has been criticised by the media for his questionable team selections. Usually, his selections in midfield where the team can’t break down the opposition, which have been costing the team valuable points I know sadly I won’t ever have the opportunity to be in Tim Sherwood’s shoes, but this article will be on what my preferred Tottenham Hotspur starting XI would be and why.
My Preferred Tottenham XI
Between the sticks, there is one obvious choice to have start there and that is French goalkeeper or sweeper keeper and captain Hugo Lloris. The 27 year old was brought in last season in the summer by former Tottenham coach Andre Villas-Boas from French side Olympique Lyonnais. Many were surprised at the signing as he has a huge reputation and has been previously linked with top European clubs like Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and AC Milan. Hugo now has the reputation of being a “sweeper-keeper” who runs off his line when the opposition beat the defence. Most of the time it works and he looks like a genius. He is picked as first-choice with no questions because the back-up keeper is American keeper Brad Friedel, who is 42 years of age. He is somehow still playing and at times he doesn’t do bad for his age. Then again, there are times where you would rather stick a toddler in goal. They probably have better reactions than Brad does to be honest!
With the defence, my back four would be Kyle Walker, Younes Kaboul, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose. Walker is there for me as he is the most gifted right back at Tottenham and for me, he works very well down the right hand side with Aaron Lennon causing all sorts of problems. The French monster Younes Kaboul is at the back because he adds something different to the defence. He is extremely strong, knows how to bully a forward and show them who’s boss and doesn’t mind making a clever forward run. Jan Vertonghen will always be a starter for Spurs as the Belgian centre-back is one of the best in the Premier League. In his first season in England, he was included in the Premier League Team Of The Year and has shown real quality as a ball-playing defender. Danny Rose is there as the left-back as he attacks the flank well and is improving his defensive abilities as he plays more games.
In the middle of the park, my 5 would be Christian Eriksen, Sandro, Paulinho, Aaron Lennon and Erik Lamela. Eriksen would personally play on the left hand side cutting in on his right to link up play and pull the strings. He has the quality now even at 22 to really be Tottenham’s main playmaker. Sandro would be sitting in the middle to break play down and to give Spurs an opportunity themselves. Paulinho would be the engine running up and down causing problems going forward and playing people through but also helping the defence out when they need it. Lennon would be on the right hand side skinning left backs and linking up with Walker, to make deliveries into the box with drilled and floated crosses. This debatable choice is to play Erik Lamela in behind the striker. I believe he has the potential to be something special and if given the freedom in the middle to let loose on defences. He has a similar build to the likes of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo so if he puts the effort in to become sharper, quicker and stronger, the young Argentinian could really set the Premier League alight.
The only forward I would have up top is Togolese international Emmanuel Adebayor. At the moment, he is in great form and looks like a new player and to me and he would give Tottenham a number of goals if the midfield help him out and do their job too. Adebayor is spectacular at holding the ball up, his control of a ball in magnificent and can score any type of goal when given the opportunity.
As you can see, the team is set up as a 4-2-3-1 formation. There are some players who wouldn’t get in the side for different reasons. Michael Dawson is a typical centre-back who likes to fling himself to anything and can head a ball like a bullet, but now he is too slow for the Premier League and this season has been shredded at times. Vlad Chiriches wouldn’t only because he is another left-footed ball playing defender. Him and Vertonghen would be too alike and the defence would be too soft. Moussa Dembele is strong and can get forward however he just seems to stop when he’s 25 yards out and starts playing sideaways! For me, he doesn’t do enough when going forward. Etienne Capoue is very strong and can boss the midfield some of the time but lacks timing with challenges which can prove costly which should have been seen against Everton a couple of weeks ago. Nacer Chadli seems too slow out wide and lacks creativity. He can dribble reasonably well but doesn’t deliver enough to the forward. Gylfi Sigurdsson again isn’t the quickest and lacks that spark to sit in behind the striker and pull the strings. Roberto Soldado, the Spanish ‘poacher’, can do everything but score. His touch is exquisite, his ball control is marvellous and his eye for a pass is very good, especially for a striker, but the number of times he has missed open goals from four or five yards out is just not good enough. He is really lacking confidence and when on the ball in front of goal seems a different player to when he’s out of the box.
So, this is my Tottenham Hotspur XI: Lloris, Walker, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Rose, Lennon, Sandro, Paulinho, Eriksen, Lamela, Adebayor.
Bench: Friedel, Chiriches, Dawson, Capoue, Dembele, Sigurdsson, Soldado.
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