An Arsenal supporting friend of mine had the nerve to call Spurs a one man team last night, saying we would be nothing without Van der Vaart, rich considering their reliance on Van Persie. It is an interesting point though, do we rely on him too much? Personally I don't think we are that much weaker when he is not in the side...
If he's out then we'll have to stick Defoe or Kranjcar (once he's fit) in and I guess we'll find out how reliant on him we are.
You're not a one man team but RVP has scored half of your league goals, 5 times more than anyone else in your team. Of course these chances have to be created but without him is Chamakh/Gervinho/Walcott going to be able to score anyway near as many as he can? I wouldn't count on it.
Neither Defoe or Niko are a patch on VDV VDV now has the highest strike rate of any Spurs player in the Prem era, having overtaken Klinsmann today. http://www.myfootballfacts.com/TottenhamHotspurPremierLeagueAppearencesGoals1992-2009.html He is way in front of JD, and has a better overall game than him. He is also aesthetically far more pleasing to watch, to see him go about his game is to see an artist at work, as MOTD today correctly labelled him
Who has called you a one man team? I haven't seen any football apart from MOTD2 this weekend and haven't read any papers either.
VdV's technique and movement are far superior to Defoe's, and there isn't much difference between their respective abilities to score goals, which is why Harry feels constrained to play him ahead of Defoe. Having said that, having Defoe on the bench is pretty darn good! Having said that, and as good a player as VdV is, we are clearly not a one-man team. Parker is now our anchorman, and a superb one at that. Bale and Lennon give us pace and penetration on either wing, our defence is very strong (especially when everyone is fit), and we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of goalies. Who would have thought that Gomes would be third-choice keeper! We still have the same problem, however, that we had for all of last season - we need a top-class high-scoring striker. I like Adebayor, and I think he's a definite improvement over Crouch, Keane and Pav, but he's just not scoring enough to convince me that he's the solution to this particular problem of ours. Overall, we have a very classy team, that is looking far stronger than either Arsenal or 'Pool, and which is at least as good as Chelsea, at the moment.
Voila!...the perfect description of a one-man team despite the Goons waffle! No, as it goes this season, RVP has played in just about all the games you've lost aswell, he's just on a roll as is VdV...must be something in their Edam!
I watched the whole of the Chelsea - Arsenal game. It was a tale of comedic defending, with Chelsea being the worst, on the day. Neither side looked secure at the back - you always felt another goal was coming.
Would be interesting to see them lead the line together for Holland - on this form they would do some damage...
I think the one man team phrase is pretty stupid. Every team has a player or a few that stand out no doubt, but it's a team game and without the other players on the pitch it'd be pointless turning up. At the moment Rafa is certainly grabbing the headlines, though he hasn't even been our best player, that would be Super Scotty Parker! What a signing he's been, always knew he was a very good player but when my West Ham mate (yes, I'll hang my head in shame!) said he'd walk into the Utd, City, Chelsea and any other top team in Europe's first team, I laughed at him and said he was talking out his ar*e... Yeah it's fair to say I'm looking a fool now. I mentioned in another thread that the only thing I was gutted about with the signing of Friedel is that we never got him earlier, the same applies to this man. Special mentions also needs to go to Ledley, Bale and in fact, every other player in our first team, it's been a long while since I can honestly say we DON'T have a weak link in the team now. Couple of years ago we moaned at not having good full backs, Benny is definitely one of the best in the league and dare I say it, in Europe now and Walker, if he continues this form, will surely be England's right back soon enough. I also remember a lot of us were worried about the lack of left footers in the team, it's fair to say that with Benny, Bassong, Bale, Rafa, Carroll, Gio, Falque, Townsend and Luka who's very comfortable with both feet as is Pav to be fair, we have an abundance of it now. I really feel we've finally got a team/ squad that really is of the highest calibre, if we can get the consistency going (which thus far we have), we certainly will be a force to be reckoned with, not just in the Prem but throughout Europe. Couldn't give a toss if people call me delusional or say I'm talking sh*t, I know for a fact how good this team is and when you look at the age of most of the players, they can only get better. Would also like to praise Harry and the coaching staff and also Daniel Levy who, despite receiving a lot of stick at times, has helped re-build Tottenham back into one of the best teams in the country.
They also have the same problem at the back, without Vermaelen they have to play Koscielny and Mertesacker, without Song they have either Jenkinson or Djourou out of position.
Reading most of the posts on this board over the last day or so, you get the feeling that Ghoddle10 is a bit of a Van der Vaart fan!! But seriously I don't think you can class Spurs as a "one man team". If we played Defoe instead of VdV then it changes the way we play but I would always back Defoe to score goals, even if he had a shocker last season. Kranjcar (a player I think every Spurs fan rates as a class act), GdS, Modric, or even Peinaar can also play "in the hole" without us changing the system. For me the two most important players to the way we play are Adebayor and Modric. We have no forward other than Ade that can hold the ball up properly. If we want to play our current 4-4-1-1 system then Adebayor is irreplaceable as neither Defoe or Pav can play up on their own effectively (and talk of using Kane there in the Prem is for me a little premature this year definitely). Modric is also vital - we have no other player that creative who can be trusted to play in the middle of the park, as neither VdV or Kranjcar would cut it there. Now I'm not saying that Parker, Bale and the rest haven't also had huge impacts this season but we have alternatives to them - Sandro or Livermore for Parker, Townsend, Rose, GdS, Peinaar etc. on the left for Bale, just as we have alternatives to VdV without changing the system. But if we lose Modric the system that we currently use loses effectiveness in a serious way, and if we lose Ade then we have to change the way we play all together. Losing VdV would certainly damage the team as he is an excellent player but there are more important players at Spurs, as much as we all love to watch him play and score. The situation at Arsenal seems to be markedly different. Van Persie is Arsenal's key player this season no doubt - as good as your younger players such as Ramsey and Wilshere (when fit) are I just don't see where the goals will come from if/when RvP is injured. Walcott seems to be scoring right now and could be deployed centrally but this might be a risk as I'm not sure this has ever been done with him in the Prem, Gervinho doesn't seem to me to be the kind of player who could lead the line in the way RvP can, and the less said about Chamakh the better it seems. I guess the point is this. Both Van der Vaart and van Persie are very important players to their teams, but RvP is more important to Arsenal and VdV is to Spurs, despite both of them being exceptional players (van Persie especially given his injury record). If we lost VdV to injury then we have viable alternatives but if Arsenal lose RvP then it's hard to see where the goals come from, especially because the goals van Persie has been scoring haven't exactly been tap-ins.
Hi SP, I'm a massive VDV fan, and was shocked and angry when some Spurs fans were actually thinking it would be a good idea to drop him. I couldn't believe what I was reading/hearing, a player of his quality, that we are so lucky to have, and some fans want him on the bench, un-BE-Liev-ABLE. Thankfully Harry, much as he loves 'his boy Jermaine', recognises quality when he sees it, and I thank the football gods that he's in charge, not the people who wanted to bench VDV To see the way VDV plays is to watch an artist at work, and his finishing ....... I just loved the way he did Kenny with his eyes for the Rangers goal, left him on his arse diving the wrong way, and this is from open play. VDV brings new layers to the meaning of 'cool'. After Van Damme has finished advertising Coors, it's time for Van de Vaart I reckon
I am a huge fan as well tbh, I just found it amusing that every thread on the board seemed to have a post from you on it waxing lyrical about Van der Vaart! I can't say I blame you though, he really is a fantastic player - touch, vision, footwork, and finishing both inside and outside the box. He is one of those players who can pull something out of nothing. Granted he's not the most athletic of footballers (although that is perhaps part of his 'charm' as a player) and he can sometimes go missing and seems to have a bit of a fiery personality on the pitch but we can overlook that just for some of the brilliant moments he provides. Also (and perhaps I'm being a bit naive here) he seems to care about the team. You get the feeling that he feels loved here and enjoys being one of the 'main men' at Spurs. That said I still think Modric is the better player. The way he creates space in the midfield while making it look so simple and easy is a wonder to behold, as is his running with the ball. He looks fired up for the season, in great form (he's even shooting now!!!) and I'm sure we won't lose him in January. I just read this post back before posting and realised I had my Spurs glasses on for that one! Ah well....
