Kane proving he is more than able

Whilst Tim Sherwood’s future as Tottenham hangs in the balance, one factor which is certainly is in his favour is his willingness to give youth a chance and also his decision to make team selections based on form rather than reputation. Something Sandro is probably feeling less than happy about right now.

Sherwood’s willingness to promote from within and give younger players a chance is certainly a result of his having being a coach at the club.  Promoting a manager from within the club then results in players being promoted from the youth set up to the first team.

Nabil Bentaleb, the Algerian 19 year old holding midfielder was the first to prosper from Sherwood’s youthful policy and has become a firm fixture in Sherwood’s Spurs side making 13 appearances so far this season. However, despite good performances he has not featured since the 4-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool. 

Sherwood has turned to another youngster as he has returned to the 4-4-2, system, or variations of, which he used when he first began his tenure as manager at White Hart Lane. The first time around that system saw Emmanuel Adebayor prosper and look like the world class player he was once considered to be. In its second reincarnation it is Harry Kane, the 20 year old English striker who is taking the chance he has been afforded. The fact that a 20 year old is keeping out Soldado, a player Spurs signed for in excess of £20m in the summer, speaks volumes of the performances of the youngster, but also of the torrid performances of Soldado.

The Spanish striker has failed to find his feet in his first season at White Hart Lane, Soldado has managed just 6 goals in the Premier League so far this season, just two of which have been from open play, the other 4 have been penalties. Soldado has also provided 5 assists for his team mates and averaged 2.1 shots per game.

In contrast, Harry Kane has scored 3 Premier League goals so far this season, all of which have come in his last 3 starts. Given Kane’s performances and prolificacy, coupled with Sherwood’s penchant for selecting his team based on form, it looks as though Kane will continue to get chances as the season draws to a close.

Kane’s 3 goals make him Spurs’ 6^th highest goal scorer this season, a total he’ll certainly be looking to add to in the remaining three fixtures. He also averages 2.6 shots per game, the highest in the squad, although the fact he has played fewer games is a factor in that, which speaks of the confidence he has in himself and his ability to take chances. From his 18 shots this season to have scored 3 goals shows he has a clinical edge in front of goal.

Two of Kane’s three goals have been headers, he wins 1.4 headers per game on average, and the other was a finish from close range. Although the goals have not been remarkable they demonstrate more, they show that he has the positional sense, which will always guarantee goals.

Undoubtedly, Kane has profited from the fact that Tottenham’s season has dwindled out to some extent. Where they more than outsiders in the race for fourth place Kane may not have been offered the chances that he has. However, he has more than justified his selection and he will continue to grow in stature and confidence in the coming weeks.

Should he continue to score at anywhere near the rate he is currently, Kane will certainly have a large number of suitors should Spurs wish to loan out the striker next season. That decision will rest with whoever the manager is next season, should it be Sherwood you imagine Kane would continue to be given chances, if not his performances at the back end of this season have shown he is certainly worth considering for a starting position. 

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com

Will someone take a chance on Hughes?

At the start of March, somewhat prematurely, the Football League decided to announce their players of the season. The best young player in the Championship, according to this panel, was Derby County’s Will Hughes. Past winners of the award have included Gareth Bale and Wilfried Zaha.

Derby currently sit in 4^th place and will be hoping to ensure a playoff position in the coming weeks, with that comes the possibility of promotion and a chance for Steve McClaren to prove himself at the highest level once more. Understandably there’s been a lot of buzz around Will Hughes, especially when the transfer market rolls around, although at the minute Derby and the Championship seem to be the right place for Hughes to reach his utmost potential. At just 18 years of age he is certainly one of the brightest young English midfielders, having already made 7 appearances for the Under 21 side.

He looks to be mature beyond his age, with an aptitude for reading the game and being able to pick the perfect pass when the moment is right. This is shown by the fact that Hughes averages 42.3 passes per game, the highest of midfielders in the Derby squad and does with an accuracy of 86.8%, the highest of all of the Rams players. In fact his pass accuracy is the third highest of all players in the Championship and is marginally the highest amongst players to have played more than 20 games.

Hughes has been so important for Derby this season, starting 33 games and appearing as a substitute twice, although an injury has kept him out of late. For such trust to be placed in such a young player is something of a rarity and it speaks volumes of the way that Hughes conducts himself on the pitch, he plays with a level of responsibility shown by the fact he misplaces so few of his passes and is dispossessed just 1.7 times per game. Add to that the fact that he is making 2.9 tackles per game, the joint 7^th highest in the division, and you begin to get a sense of the fact that Hughes is a complete midfielder and doesn’t shirk his defensive responsibilities. With that come the fact that he commits more fouls, an average of 1.5 per game, which is something he can look to improve on, although it does show his determination and passion, qualities that are often overlooked in footballers.

Hughes’ influence on the game is shown by the fact that he has provided 5 assists so far this season and scored 3 goals himself. His goal return is impressive given that he averages just 1.1 shots per game, whilst he is creating 1.6 chances for his teammates per game. There’s so much potential in his game, you can imagine how those figures might grow exponentially if he was playing at a top club.

The fact that he plays a lot of passes and that many of them are short, indicates that even when he is not directly influencing the game he is helping Derby keep the ball and contributing to the fact that Derby have the third highest average possession in the Championship, similarly they have the third best passing accuracy. There’s no doubt that those figures have been heavily impacted on by Hughes’ performances but also they show why he’s been judged to be the best young player in the Championship: Derby play in a manner which suits the way that Hughes play.

Whilst Hughes’ statistics are impressive, and there’s no doubt in the fact that they are, what they represent is far more the potential that he has as a player. It’s also worth noting that he’s playing with, and more importantly against, players who have much more experience than him. To be doing so well, especially in such a competitive and important part of the pitch shows just how good he can become. That said, a big money move would place a lot of pressure and expectation on him, for Hughes the best scenario is probably promotion with Derby and a chance to acclimatise to the Premier League. If not, he needs to ensure he will be given ample chance to progress and impress in the top division, here’s hoping that he does so.

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com

Champions League Review: Possession Isn't Everything

If Tuesday’s Champions League games revealed anything it’s that there is more to the game of football than possession. Both games ended in 1-1 draws but the parallels don’t stop there, Bayern had 74% possession and pass accuracy of 91% against Manchester United, whilst Barcelona had 71% possession and 90% pass accuracy against Atletico Madrid.

Despite Ryan Giggs’ protestations Manchester United were clearly underdogs ahead of the tie with the newly crowned German champions. Such has been Bayern’s dominance this season that many claimed it’d be a question of how many rather than what the result itself would be. Given the injuries that United faced it’s hardly surprising that this was the view that many took, but perhaps more surprising that it wasn’t the outcome.    

Although United looked particularly vulnerable out wide early on they grew into the game and should have gone in to the lead when Danny Welbeck was presented with a one on one but opted to chip Neuer when a less cultured finish might have beaten the German keeper. It was United who took the lead, with a Vidic header from a Rooney corner, it showcased Bayern’s vulnerability and their use of zonal could be a weakness Moyes looks to exploit in the second leg.

The lead only lasted 8 minutes when substitute Mandzukic knocked down a Robben cross for Schweingsteiger to rifle the ball past De Gea. The scorer’s impact on the game did not finish there, he received a second yellow card, meaning he will miss the second leg and while Bayern have a multitude of talented midfielders to call on his experience will be missed.  It was nice to see Rooney not react to Schewiengsteiger’s claims he dived, the England man just shrugged nonchalantly, Rooney is beginning to show the experience he has.

Bayern had 16 shots, but just 3 of them were on target whilst the United defence managed to get in the way of half their attempts, blocking 8 shots. Despite having almost 3 times less possession United had more shots on target (4) from their considerably fewer (6) attempts. United also restricted Bayern to shots from long range, half their shots came from outside the area, compared to just 17% of United’s ( although that is skewed by the small sample size of 6).

It’s interesting that Bayern opted for Guardiola as a coach, given how last year Bayern tore what was essentially his Barca team apart, 7-0 on aggregate. The result signified a shift in power, an indicator that possession may not be the best way to win games and that a quick counter pressing game was more effective. However, Bayern seem to have taken a step back, their game is now heavily reliant on possession and although Guardiola claimed they were to be a plan A-Z team and not just a plan A team like his Barca were, last night didn’t show that. He has removed the fluidity and pace which made last season’s Bayern so ominous.

Against possession based play teams will park the bus and play on the counter and last night illustrated that it was just as effective a way to play. Bayern played 701 short passes, at times in places it wasn’t necessary, United were happy to let them have the ball in their own half and only really became concerned when they neared the final third. But when they presses Bayern they didn’t look comfortable on the ball, particularly not Neuer who skewed a few clearances whilst being closed down.

Guardiola’s former club Barcelona could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to La Liga leaders Atletico and their away goal will have Simeone’s men believing they can reach the semi-finals. Especially as Pique is now out for 4 weeks added to the lengthy lay-off facing Valdes. Earlier in the season Simeone said he doesn’t care about possession and last night illustrated that. Atletico are very effective at what they do, their defence is one of the best in the world right now and going forward they have the players capable of doing damage. Whislt a lot of the goal scoring onus has fallen on Diego Costa this season, his hamstring injury last night could be bad news for Atletico’s title and Champions league dreams.

Barca managed 19 shots but just 6 on target, whereas Atletico had 2 of their 6 attempts on target. The statistics are remarkably similar to the United Bayern game, but whereas Atletico will fancy their chances going in to the second leg it’s take a brave man to back United to go through against Bayern.

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com