Emmanuel
Adebayor’s new lease of life under Tim Sherwood has been well documented, but
he’s not the only one that the new Spurs boss is getting the best out of. Tottenham’s
3-1 win away at Swansea was their 4th in a row and they are
undefeated in the Premier League under the stewardship of Tim Sherwood (5 wins,
1 draw).
Sherwood’s first league
game in charge was the 3-2 win away at Southampton. The game was Adebayor’s
first start of the season and he marked it by scoring 2. Adebayor has started every league game under
Sherwood, scoring 5 goals in his 6 starts, as many as Roberto Soldado has
managed in 16 starts. He’s also provided 2 assists in the games and looks a new
player under Sherwood.
Adebayor looks
much more like the player he was at Arsenal and at times at City, confidence is
so important for footballers, especially strikers, and what Sherwood seems to
have done is give Adebayor a massive boost of confidence. He looks to be
building the team around the Togo international and has made Adebayor his main
man, it’s a tactic which is to date playing off extremely well.
Christian Eriksen
is another player who has started every game under Sherwood. In this time he’s
scored his first 3 goals for the club and has provided 2 assists. When Sherwood
has deployed a 4-4-2, Eriksen has been utilised through the middle and also on
the left. However, his best position is a number 10 role in behind the striker.
From here he can have the greatest influence on the game, picking out passes to
Adebayor and the other attacking talents that Spurs have.
Eriksen was good
enough to be running the Ajax midfield and when you think about the history that
entails, it demonstrates what a great player he can become. Especially when you
consider that he is just 21 and has so much potential already. He’s the kind of
player that David Moyes is lacking at United, he could have easily been their
creative spark and they must be kicking themselves for not bidding for the
player, given that he cost Spurs a meagre £11m.
Last season at
Ajax, he created more chances than any other player in the Dutch Eredivisie
(138), scored 10 goals and supplied 17 assists. When you look at those numbers
it makes you wonder why AVB didn’t make more of the Dane, he’s already made
more starts under Sherwood, and when you consider that Spurs were lacking
creativity and a cutting edge under AVB it’s puzzling that he didn’t use
Eriksen more. It’s understandable that Eriksen would take time to adjust to the
rigours of the Premier League, so that may be why he’s taken time to really hit
the ground running, or maybe it’s the confidence that Sherwood seems to have instilled
in so many of his players.
Sherwood has had
the advantage of being able to play a settled back 4 whilst he’s been in
charge. He’s used the same defensive line on 5 occasions and the centre back
partnership of Chiriches and Dawson on every occasion. Spurs have conceded just
5 goals in these games and Lloris has kept 2 clean sheets, having a settled
back line will have certainly had something to do with that.
Chiriches in
particular looks to be growing in to an assured centre back. Playing alongside
the experienced Michael Dawson he looks settled and less error prone than when
he first arrived.
The Romanian is
averaging 2.3 interceptions per game, the most in the Spurs defence. He has the
pace to complement Dawson and as a centre back pairing they looked extremely
settled and play to each other’s strengths. It’ll be interesting to see if the
youngster will keep his palce when Vertonghen and Kaboul return from injury,
but if he keeps playing in this way, it’ll be hard to leave him out.
This is something
which seems apparent from Sherwood’s management style, he is willing to give
players a chance, particularly young players. The chance to gain Premier League
experience is vital if these players are to become top class. It’s certainly an
advantage Sherwood has over an outside hire, having worked within the club as a
coach he knows the players, especially the young players and when you consider
the strength of Spurs’ youth system these are players who will be key in the
future.
A prime example
of this is Nabil Bentaleb. The 19 year old centre midfielder looks adept and
mature beyond his years. He has more than held his own in the Premier League
and looks a bright prospect, apparently the FA are keen to convince him to play
for England as he has represented France at Under 19 level. He has started the
last 2 games in the league for Spurs, following an impressive display in the FA
cup defeat to Arsenal.
Against Palace he
played 107 passes, the most in the team and had a pass accuracy of 93%, he also
had 120 touches of the ball (the most), his defensive contribution was clear as
well, making 4 tackles and 2 interceptions. He is clearly not just a passenger
and is having a positive impact on the team. Against Swansea he continued in a
similar fashion, with 91% pass accuracy, playing 58 passes (the most), the decrease
in the number of passes is due to the possession dominated style of football
Swansea play, whereas Spurs dominated the game against Palace. Despite having
less of the ball, he made a staggering 10 tackles in the game, showing he’s
more than just good on the ball.
Bentaleb will
serve as a prime example for young Spurs players, play well and you’ll continue
to get chances in the team. I really like this aspect of Sherwood’s management style;
he is basing his selections on performances rather than reputations. Meaning
the players who get picked are those are playing and training well, this must
inspire confidence in players, which is so important in the modern game.
Whatever he lacks
as a tactician Sherwood more than makes up for with his man management
techniques, he’s more akin to Harry Redknapp than AVB, and given the size and
quality of the Spurs squad, maybe that’s what they need right now.
Next up for
Spurs, it’s the visit of City to White Hart Lane and they’ll be looking to
exact some revenge for their 6-0 drubbing at the Etihad. Whether or not they
will be able to get a result will depend somewhat on the performances of the
likes of Adebayor and Eriksen. I fear it might just be a challenge too big too
soon.
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