Time For The New Generation Of Spurs Players To Step Up?

As last season drew to a close it appeared that Spurs only hope for European football was the Europa League that came with 5th place. Arguments raged as to whether or not this was a good thing and it appeared Harry Redknapp and a number of his players didn’t seem keen on the idea. For me there was no argument, it’s European competition and a chance at a trophy. Trophies equal glory and no matter what the English media might try and tell you, the Europa League does still mean something. Ask Porto fans, or those of Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar or Sevilla.

Whatever your point of view we made it anyway. Along with the Premier League and two domestic cups it seems obvious that Redknapp is going to have to use all of the squad depth available to him. This, based on the evidence of last year is concerning. Squad rotation along with tactics appears to be one of these new fangled ideas that ‘Old school ‘Arry’ can’t get his head round. Nevertheless, it has been hinted at from within the club that the early stages of the Europa League and the League Cup will give opportunities for some of the fringe and upcoming younger players to get a chance. I should imagine that once the group stages of the Europa League are done we will then have a good idea of who needs to go on loan to further develop and who is able to step up to the plate with the first team squad on a more regular basis.

Here’s my look at who we might get to see more of in this coming season:

Goalkeepers: Sadly I can’t see any of the younger keepers on our books as being close to the first team, even for cup action. Mainly because unless we sell Gomes we will have three supposed top keepers at our disposal. Also because I don’t think they are good enough. Ben Alnwick appears destined to have a good career at Championship level. David Button and Oscar Janson still need more time but on the limited amount I’ve seen of them don’t seem stand outs. Jordan Archer from the academy looks like he may have a brighter future but is not ready yet.

Defenders: We are significantly more blessed in this department. Kyle Walker who was arguably the star of Englands Euro Under 21 campaign heads the cast here. He was excellent for QPR at the beginning of last season then continued that form for Villa at first. He made a few mistakes at the tail end of the season but displayed great maturity by holding up his hands to those and saying how determined he was to right his errors. I fully expect him to push Corluka all the way for the starting right back berth though we are much more likely to see his strength, pace and determination put to use in the cups. His positioning and decision making still need to improve but these often come with experience, which he will get I hope. His England cap earned last year is surely not going to be his last. Future star.
Walkers England Under 21 colleague Danny Rose can also expect to feature as our back up for Benoit Assou-Ekotto. He was very impressive there at the end of last season, obviously adding impetus going forward but also a taste for the tough tackling too. Despite still featuring further forward for the young England side Harry Redknapp has stated that Danny’s only hope of making it at the top is at full back, so its safe to say this is where we will see him.
Steven Caulker is a highly rated talent at centre back, impressing many in the Championship for Bristol City last year. It appears highly likely he will be on loan somewhere for most if not all the season. Personally I’d like to keep him at The Lane and give him as many opportunities as possible. Future England centre back if he works hard.
Kyle Naughton was named in the Championship team of the season after an excellent season at Leicester. His ability to play in either full back role should make him a versatile, dynamic addition to the squad but I feel the emergence of Walker and Rose may force him out. Adam Smith looks likely to go out on loan for the season, rightly so.

Midfielders: Spurs always seem to have a number of players coming through in midfield that fans expect to be good enough. This could be the year they get a chance to shine. Dean Parrett looks to head the queue for some game time. He’s already tasted European competition having made his senior debut against Shakhtar Donetsk. Parrett has impressed on his various loan spells and I hope he gets a chance. I believe that the boy wonder John Bostock may be on his way out. He appears to believe his own hype a little too much. Andros Townsend deserves an opportunity after a string of impressive loan spells and his goal scoring, man of the match debut against Charlton in last seasons FA Cup. Our wide players need strong competition and Townsend might just start to provide that. Ryan Mason is a player who is probably another loan spell away from getting close to the first team, but his potential in a Van der Vaart kind of role is intriguing.

Forwards: The cupboards are pretty bare on this front. Harry Kane is the only one of our younger frontmen who seem to me to have enough to contribute but even then it may be a season too soon. I’d like for Jon Obika to prove me wrong on that point but don’t think he’ll ever be good enough for Premier League level.

There always seems to be an air of drama around White Hart Lane and that the fans are constantly enraged by something. Harry Redknapp and Olympic Stadiums being two regular features, but you can always throw in a dash of ‘are we skint?’ or ‘some random dude on the internet said we’re selling Luka, PANIC!!’

Some of the youngsters named above give us a chance to rise above all the nonsense and negativity, to see that there is quite possibly a bright future ahead for Spurs. Europe could witness some of these kids making their breakthrough. If you can’t make the matches personally then tune in to Channel 5 to see the new generation for yourself.

COYS

Submitted by Stuart Watts from THFC1882