Spurs Player review – Part 1 – Goalkeepers and Defenders

Article by Chris Schmitt

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With the season almost over and the club moving towards an uncertain future, let’s take a look back at individual players and their performances.

This week’s focus will be on the goalkeepers and their defence.

This article solely focuses on players who have had a few run-ins in the first team. Cameos from the youth and development team will be ignored, as there is not enough data to judge their performances.

Without further ado, let’s move straight to the men who can’t pass the ball back to anyone.

Hugo Lloris – As the number one keeper for Spurs, Lloris has been a mainstay at the back. The Frenchman made a number of high quality saves and earned Tottenham a few more points than they probably deserved. Although making a few individual errors, he has so far been very consistent. A lot of the conceded goals were down to mistakes of the back four.

Brad Friedel – At 42 years of age, Friedel is the senior member of the squad. In 2012, he became the oldest player to ever feature for Tottenham in a competitive game. This season he has also broken the record of being the oldest player to ever feature in the Europa League. The American is a constant performer. The ever-reliant shot-stopper even learned the role of sweeper keeper. He skillfully demonstrated this in the game against FC Dnipro proving that you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks.

Now let’s move a bit further up the line to a main source of discussion amongst fans this year – the defence.

Kyle Walker – The young Englishman has been injured for the last few matches. He had a lot of troubles acclimatizing to AVB’s high line of defence. One can safely say he hasn’t been at his usual standards set the years before but he has been of the most consistent performers in the backline.

Kyle Naughton – Naughton arrived at the club from Sheffield United alongside Walker in a double deal. He was used as a left back at the start of the season. Since Walker’s injury, he has started all of the games at right back. The 25-year-old tries hard to emulate his counterpart but doesn’t possess the same quality. There has been much speculation if he is actually even good enough to be a back up.

Danny Rose – Is he good enough to play for Spurs? This is the big discussion that has been roaming across the Internet for the last few weeks. What can be said for sure is that the young full back posed little threat in attack apart from his man of the match performance against Stoke. His tracking back has been very bad that some might say non-existent. Defensively speaking, he has been the weakest link this season.

Zeki Fryers – This is a rather difficult one to judge. At 21 years of age, he can’t be judged as being a future player anymore although he has been bought for exactly this reason. His performances have been stable but far from stellar. Used at the center of defence, his shortcomings became apparent as he was defending like a left back.

Younes Kaboul – The French defender was one of the stellar figures of our defence when he came back from Portsmouth. His cross and Peter Crouch’s header got Spurs Champions League for the first time in club history. He has been injured for the majority of this season and has looked far less comfortable on the ball after returning to the pitch. With his contract running out and his history of injuries, it might be that the White Hart Lane support have seen the last of him in a lilywhite shirt.

Jan Vertonghen – At the start of the season, Vertonghen was the rock in the back-line. He rarely made mistakes and looked comfortable even when played out of position. His performances have degraded gradually since then. His apparent lack of passion and commitment to play for the club has seen the Dutchman being linked to other clubs.

Vlad Chiriches – Under AVB’s reign, he got a lot of run-outs as the departed Caulker’s replacement. He looked comfortable with the ball at his feet, making some spectacular clearances and pulling off high-risk manoeuvres. Then he got injured for a rather long period and hasn’t looked the same since. He seems uninterested and lacking the pace to compete in the Premier League. His half-time substitution against West Bromwich was representative of his late season decline.

Michael Dawson – Another player who has sparked a lot of debate amongst fans. Dawson has had a lot of trouble accommodating to the high line. Age has taken its toll on the captain. He got slower and less agile than he was last season. But something that can’t be denied is the grit and the determination he brought to the back four. His never say die attitude has earned him a place in the hearts of the supporters. Whether that will be enough to remain captain or even stay at Spurs is for the future to tell.

Who was been your standout player in the back four? Who will or should be replaced?

Please feel free to discuss in the comments.

Also stay tuned for next weeks article when we take an objective look at the midfield and the front men.

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