Do any of you think his contributions are a little overlooked in light of the common criticism about his fitness or incompatibility with your forwards? Most times I watch your lot, he's a great menace to the opposition with the instinctive movement, the technique, the decisive finishing and the eye for a final ball but a lot of your fans underrate his contribution. Perhaps my perception is wrong and I'm just listening to the wrong Spurs fans. It does seem though the rave of the moment is the duo of Modric and lately, Parker with few other honourable mentions. As an Arsenal fan though, I can certainly say the duo of VDV and Bale terrify me a lot more than any of your other players with the way they consistently make things happen in advanced positions. So do you think VDV's performances merit more recognition or is he getting just desserts for his performances?
I think that he's probably getting about the right amount of credit at the moment. He's scoring a lot of goals and he's one of those players that can just create something out of nothing, but other players have to do their jobs well to give him the freedom to do so. I hate to compare the two, considering the massive gulf in class between them, but Taarabt's non-performance today highlighted the problems with a player in this role. Van der Vaart can do what he does because Modric and Parker run the midfield behind him and Adebayor creates a lot of space and time for him. He's an exceptionally talented player, but he flourishes on the work of others.
Sure, but then football is a team game and the right balance means that you have both creators and users. As we have seen the difference Adebayor makes by holding the ball is huge compared to Crouch & Pav, who consitently were unable to do that. VDV was hard to fit into last seasons team but he looks an altogether better fit this one.
I agree Spurf, but I think that there'd be a place in virtually any system for Parker, Modric or Adebayor. I don't think that the same is true of van der Vaart, despite his immense talent.
Sure, but he's still outstanding at what he does and there are not many players in a similar position better than him. I can only think of Ozil, Cesc and Sneijder. If the fans can appreciate Modric's unique qualities, they can similarly appreciate VDV's equally unique qualities. I feel like he's completely in the shadow of Modric.
Can't say that I agree, Mthierry. Van der Vaart gets plenty of credit. There was an article on here earlier in the week with a poll on people's favourite current player. He came joint second with Modric, behind King.
I agree though he's a less adaptable player than creative players like Silva but some of the world's best players in several positions aren't the most versatile.
Not in the eyes of Spurs fans I think, Modric has had to prove himself again after the transfer window mailisms. VDV has shown his love for Spurs and is loved in return.
In that case then, I'm wrong. Nice to see that cos he's my favourite Spurs player. I'm hoping though his second half of the season is as poor or poorer than last season's second half.
Redknapp overused him last season, as well as a number of our other better players. Very annoying, as we had a very good replacement for him in Kranjcar, who was just rotting away on the bench. Shouldn't see a repeat of that this season, as we're not playing our first XI in Europe.
He's in great form today but as PNP has pointed out he has to be surrounded by the right players and perhaps play against the right team too. VDV and Defoe/Pav last season was rubbish and even alongside Crouch the effect was short lived. It's understandable that some supporters questioned whether he was "worth it", the player whilst undoubtedly talented required a change in system and couldn't play alongside the strikers that got us 4th the previous season. Despite this he still gained the plaudits over Modric last season, who was better and Spurs fans were saying the exact opposite to you, mthierry. Obviously he's in excellent form at the moment but he's injury prone, doesn't always trackback, his fitness to finish a game is questionable and the type of player he is demands that we change our play to suit him.
I think VDV has been undervalued by a lot of Spurs fans for much of this season, and by the words of some on here continues to be so. He's my favourite player and the way he scores goals brings joy to my heart. He's every bit as much a guaranteed starter as King, Modric, Bale, whoever, whatever the system. He is pure and utter class, with a fighting spirit to boot.
I think the main reason Modric got so much attention was the Chelsea debacle. Compared to VDV he is an unassuming character and goes about his work in a quiet way. Before the arrival of Adebayor Rafa did, to be fair, upset the balance of the team. It is difficult to shoehorn him into a midfield four and he is not that effective on the right, not being a particularly good crosser of the ball or being gifted with the pace required. Also he tends to drift infield. You cannot see him playing in the middle of the park either with Modric or instead of him. As a withdrawn striker though, especially with somebody as mobile as Ade, he is a revelation. The therapy he received in Amsterdam for his last injury seems to have made him more durable too. If he carries on the way he is, he will have a good case for being made our footballer of the year, but if you look all over the park right now Spurs players are playing well. I like the fact that VDV is just one of them. It demonstrates how far we have come and means there is much less pressure on him.
I agree chirpy, Do you think Harry missed a trick yesterday by not bringing on JD in the last 20 mins as VDV drifted out of the game ? How important will goal diff be in may?
I am surprised that defoe wasn't brought on tbh - he is in good form so deserves some game time. I wonder whether Harry is going to use him on Thursday?
It'sAlso been a massive help having Parker, and or, Sandro behind, minding the back door. For me, Parker gives the team the balance it's been missing for a while.
There's certainly hope for you, you're improving already. Wenger doesn't seem to be very adept at buying defenders, especially centre backs - so you need to improve there. What you must remember is, that this is one of the best Spurs teams of the last 20 years, at least. It is genuinely one of the best teams in the premiership. If it weren't for City's massive spending power, I'd fancy us to have a run at the title next season - providing we can hold the team together.
I did think using Defoe to create a new set of problems for the hoops would have killed them off completely. Maybe VDV just needs games and a run of them to be as effective for the 90 minutes. Disappointing for JD though. He has goals in him this season.
