Emmanuel Adebayor has scored two headers, two from his right foot and three from his left for Spurs this season in the BPL. A magnificent seven, which were mostly scored in the new reign of Tim Sherwood.
He has become Tottenham’s talisman, a striker who scores goals when Spurs need them most. Sort of like how Gareth Bale helped Spurs out of trouble once or twice (well, maybe more). In his ten games he has also set up two goals. Strength and pace allow Adebayor to hold-up play as well as running with the ball to stretch defences and alleviate pressure. Occasionally, he drifts out wide in order to provide an option for his team mates. At 6’3, he is a likely winner of anything in the air, using his height and strength to his full advantage.
“Control” is what made his goal against Everton. The quick free kick from Kyle Walker was lofted to Adebayor, who chested it down brilliantly whilst holding off the defender in the process, and then moving the ball onto his left foot with a strike that found the mark to win the game. This is but one example of his goal scoring prowess.
Since the departure of Andre Villas Boas, Emmanuel has seen far more game-time under new manager Sherwood. This has greatly benefited Spurs, as he has really been on form lately. Soldado and Defoe just have not been scoring enough goals and it was a great relief to see Adebayor making his presence felt. At the end of the day, it is form that starts a striker. Certainly Defoe and Soldado are equally classy and should be respected, though the hole will soon be felt as Defoe’s time in North London has come to an end. However, an out-of-form striker like Soldado can be greatly different to in-form striker, and the effect on the team will be noticed.
Strolling around, losing the ball and with a lack of confidence is how we used to see Emmanuel, but now as he seems to be scoring goals for fun, he is a different man. It is brilliant to see his long strides chasing down a player, or pressuring the keeper. Most importantly, he puts in the effort to make his ability shine even more. It isn’t enough to put in a little bit of effort for 90 minutes, show a few really classy touches, maybe score a goal and think that you have done your job. What makes a difference is to put in that little bit extra off the ball that really helps the team.
At the age of 29, Adebayor could be seen as “getting on a bit”, but at the moment he is in fine form proving his age is just a number. Let’s hope that Spurs can rely on this man in the future, and perhaps he can make the struggling Spanish striker Soldado shine like the diamond he we know he can be.
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