Tottenham Squad Analysis Part Two: Defenders

This is part two of my squad analysis. Please read part one if you haven’t already.

The second part of my analysis will concentrate on the defence. And the defence really does highlight the inconsistencies of the club, as well as displaying our abysmal transfer market policies. If all Premier League teams were told to field a team of right backs, we would actually stand a chance of finishing in the top four. Corluka, Hutton, Chimbonda, Naughton, Walker and Gunter (who was recently sold to Nottingham Forrest) all play in the position, offering Harry Redknapp a multitude of options. However he doesn’t have this luxury in the centre back position, with the club only having three specialist centre backs. The transfer market has been opened for a while now and yet still Harry hasn’t bid for a senior centre back, instead choosing to sign a striker, two more right backs and possibly an ageing defensive midfielder who once played for Arsenal. What’s going on! We’ve got the money for another defender yet Mr Levy seems content with signing players who play in positions already well covered. After I’ve reviewed our current crop of defenders I will also examine some possible defensive transfer targets and, surprise surprise, the list won’t contain any other right backs.

BENOIT ASSOU-EKOTTO

BAE is another player who benefited from the ‘Arry revolution. Bought in by Jol in 2006 for three and a half million pounds, the Cameroon left back struggled to break into the Spurs side, his path blocked by South Korean YP Lee. When Ramos took over and sold Lee, it appeared Assou-Ekotto was now the clubs first choice left back but he struggled in Ramos’ early games and Gareth Bale took his position. Come Christmas, Harry Redknapp was in charge and after some poor performances from Bale, Assou-Ekotto was gifted his chance. A string of good performances saw BAE become a first team regular, and he was superb in games against Manchester United (when he nullified the Cristinao Ronaldo threat) and Arsenal.

Assou-Ekotto is not one of the players whose name you will see plastered on the back of many replica shirts. He’s not a particularly glamorous player and his profile isn’t sky-high (unlike his hair). In fact, BAE is one of the least well known Spurs players. But, in my opinion, he’s one of our best. Benoit goes about his business quietly and effectively, a fantastic tackler of the ball and equally at home charging up the wing. I believe him to be one of our most crucial players and I see no reason why he can’t play in all 38 of our Premier League games this season. True, he might have lost a bit of popularity with the Spurs faithful when he told journalists he wanted “to move to PSG” a couple of years ago but since ‘Arry’s arrival he has knuckled down and trained hard. He’ll be very important to us this season, and we should strive to keep the 25 year old for the rest of his career.

SHOULD HE STAY? 100%. BAE is incredibly important to us, and will also be pivotal in Cameroon‘s World Cup campaign. Assou-Ekotto has really turned his fortunes around.

SQUAD RATING: 9 (out of 10).

GARETH BALE

He arrived on a wave of optimism and hope. Dubbed a “hugely promising player with the potential to be better than Ryan (Giggs)”, many expected Bale to become one of the teams best players. There was jubilation when Jol captured his signature as bitter rivals Arsenal were also in the hunt and, at the time, his £5 million transfer fee looked a snip. It seemed Tottenham had a gem on their hands.

But things didn’t work out quite the way everybody had hoped.

Bale started well enough, scoring against London rivals Fulham and Arsenal and then converting a beautiful free kick in a league cup clash against Middlesbrough. However not long after it was revealed Bale would be out for the rest of the season injured, and injuries have plagued Bale’s time at the club. After returning to training Bale played a few times under Ramos, setting the unenviable record of 24 Premier League games for Spurs without being on the winning side.

Bale’s an annoying player. He’s definitely got the quality and at times he looks the business, but injury and inconsistency have tainted his time at the club. He’s also got Benoit Assou-Ekotto to contend with, a player revitalised under Redknapp and in the form of his life.

SHOULD HE STAY? Whilst many wouldn’t mind Bale being sold of, I’d like to see him stay at the club. It’s easy to forget he’s still only 20, and I believe he’ll find his consistency with time. We can’t expect all of our young players to be fantastic every game and, with a bit of confidence, Bale could deliver and fulfil the hype that has long surrounded him.

SQUAD RATING: 6

VEDRAN CORLUKA

I love Charlie. He’s one of the players I rate highest at Spurs. Always giving 110 percent, and versatile across the back line. Corluka has quickly become a fan’s favourite at the Lane, and will be an important player this season.

We signed Corluka from Manchester City in September and the Croatian was initially deployed at right back. He didn’t get off to the best of starts with our goalie, Heurelho Gomes, with the Brazilian ‘keeper kneeing the defender in the chin. Corluka was knocked unconscious and rushed to hospital, but fortunately he left hospital with no serious injury. Corluka has been ever present in the Spurs squad since, making 31 appearances for Spurs.

One of the reasons I rate Corluka so highly is for his versatility. Corluka is equally at home in any defensive position and has played in all three defensive positions for Tottenham. His natural home is probably on the right but with Hutton seemingly preferred on that flank, we could see Corluka fighting it out with BAE on the left. Wherever he plays, Corluka will always be a strong player for Tottenham.

SHOULD WE KEEP HIM? It’s highly unlikely Corluka will leave the club anytime soon, which is a good thing. The defender has reportedly settled in well at Spurs and became fast friends with Michael Dawson, as well as having countryman Luka Modric at the club.

SQUAD RATING: 8.

KYLE NAUGHTON

To be honest, I don’t know too much about the young right back. His name was frequently in the gossip column a few weeks ago, with Everton favourites for his signature. However Levy stole Naughton from the Toffees, and the 20 year old could feature as back up for the more experienced Alan Hutton. Naughton made his Spurs debut in our Wembley Cup game against Barcelona, and played in 40 games for his former club, Sheffield United.

Naughton was bought for £11 million, along with fellow Blade Kyle Walker. As part of the agreement, Walker was sent straight back on loan to Sheffield United, so I have neglected to include him in more detail here. Naughton looks to be very promising and many Tottenham fans were happy with his signature. But as earlier referenced, do we really need another right back? Levy apparently thinks so, and this season should be a big one for young Naughton.

SHOULD WE KEEP HIM? I doubt fans would be very happy if we let him go just days after signing him! Naughton does look promising and if the rumours are to be believed and Hutton is on his way out, Naughton could be an important player for the future.

SQUAD RATING: 6.

ALAN HUTTON

Another injury prone defender, but Hutton seems to be injury free at the moment. The right back showed a lot of promise at Rangers but hasn’t really stole the show at Spurs, and since Corluka’s arrival, the Scot could be sweating over his starting place.

Hutton enjoyed a great start to his Tottenham career, winning a medal on just his third appearance in a Spurs shirt, beating Jimmy Neighbour’s previous record of a medal after fifteen appearances. Injury slowed down Hut’s progress, but he’s fit and ready to go for the 2009/2010 season.

I rate Hutton. Not as much as I rate Corluka, but I think the Scot’s a good player all the same. You can always bet Hutton will get stuck in and he does put in a lot of effort, but he’s not really in the same league as Corluka. A few clubs, such as Sunderland and Everton, have reportedly been sniffing around the player but I think ‘Arry should do his best to keep the former Rangers man at the Lane as primary back-up for Charlie. If there’s one thing the club should have learnt from Juande Ramos’ disastrous reign, it’s that you need a good squad, not just a good starting X1, to succeed. Corluka is also drafted into the centre back position a lot when either King or Wood gate (or both) are injured, so Hutton would still play an important role for the club.

SHOULD WE KEEP HIM? Yes, as back up for Corluka. Though with Sunderland splashing the cash I wouldn’t reject a massive bid for the right back. Still, I doubt he would join Sunderland and he is a good player, so I think we should do our best to keep him at the Lane.

SQUAD RATING: 7.

PASCAL CHIMBONDA

Oh Chim, where to start? A true football mercenary if there ever was one, Chimbonda epitomises everything that is wrong with twenty-first century football. The right back handed in a transfer request just moments after Wigan’s last game in 2006, before joining Tottenham. The Frenchman enjoyed some success at the Lane, but lost a lot of popularity when he stormed off down the tunnel after being substituted in the Carling Cup final. He then proceeded to join Sunderland before Harry Redknapp inexplicably bought him back to the Lane.

As discussed above, the club boasts a huge number of right backs. Usually I consider this a bad thing- why have we spent all that money on a position we’ve got covered?- but, in this case, it’s a great thing. A joyous thing. A fortuitous thing. Because it means we can get rid of players like this, safe in the knowledge we’ve got adequate back-up. Chimbonda’s a git and I’ll be happy to see the back of him.

He’s not even that good anyway.

SHOULD WE KEEP HIM? Are you serious? Why would we want to keep an ageing, sulky, unloyal and untalented player, when we’ve got about four players who play in the same position as him- all of whom are better. I used to like Chimbonda but I lost a lot of respect for him after the Carling Cup episode and I’d be delighted if ‘Arry lets him go. Let’s just hope he doesn’t buy him back after six months again.

SQUAD RATING: 3

MICHAEL DAWSON

Another highly under-rated player in my opinion. For me, Dawson is the future and so I was very worried when I saw his name cropping up in the gossip columns. At 25 years old Dawson will probably be desperate for regular first team football, and I feel the English centre back is good enough to hold down a regular place in the Spurs side. Both Woodgate and King seem to spend more time on the sidelines then they do playing, so now should be the time Redknapp places his faith in Dawson.

Dawson does play a large number of games for Spurs, but I really think he should become Harry’s first choice defender. Quick and strong, Dawson is physically superior to Ledley King, being able to train during the week and last longer than the club captain. Dawson.

Technically, Woodgate and King might be better players than Dawson, but the time has come to resign ourselves to the fact that King will probably never overcome all of his injury problems. Dawson is more than capable of filling his shoes, and so the player should be at the heart of our defence in the season to come.

SHOULD WE KEEP HIM? Yes, definitely. I see Dawson as being incredibly important in seasons to come, and I’d be incredibly disappointed if he did leave the club.

SQUAD RATING: 8.

JONATHAN WOODGATE

There’s no doubting Woody’s a quality player. The defender has played for Newcastle, Leeds and even Real Madrid before joining Middlesbrough and, eventually, Spurs. Injuries have always prevented Woodgate from being regarded as one of the best England defenders (in his 3 year stint at Real Madrid he played only 9 times) but the defender has performed consistently at the Lane since joining in 2008.

The defender is still only 29, and should still have a few years left in him. But like Ledley King, Woodgate is incredibly injury-prone. Therefore, I feel the club should really prepare for this season as if the defender had left the club. We should sign another defender to play alongside Dawson when Woody and King are injured, and play either one of the more senior defenders when they are at full fitness. We can’t carry on playing Tom Huddlestone at centre back when ever Woodgate is out injured, we need to prepare properly.

SHOULD WE KEEP HIM? We should obviously hold on to Woodgate, but prepare for the season without him. Unfortunately Woody’s just too injury prone and we need a pair of regular centre backs.

SQUAD RATING: 7.5

LEDLEY KING

Despite being a defensive rock, a fan’s favourite and being voted the 25 th best Spurs player of all time by the times, I fear Ledley King’s Tottenham day’s are numbered. He might still be only 28, but unfortunately I sense early retirement on the cards.

It’s no secret King is possibly the most injury-prone player in the country. The defender suffers from a chronic knee problem, for which there is no real cure. King can only play once a week and is unable to train during the week- he simply shows up and plays. He’s been called an “absolute freak” by Redknapp, but I doubt King will be able to play in this manner for much longer. As discussed above in the Woodgate section, I think the club must start preparing for life without Ledley King. Sign another player to partner Dawson and play King when he’s feeling fit, but don’t stretch to accommodate him. We need fit defenders and, whilst it pains me to say it, I just don’t see King being an incredibly important player this season.

SHOULD WE KEEP HIM? To be honest, I don’t see any clubs coming in with a bid for King. He might be a great player but injuries have blighted his career, and I don’t think he’s got many games left in him.

SQUAD RATING: 6.5

Part three will focus on defensive transfer targets and will hopefully be posted soon.