| S |
|
58.4% |
| P |
|
66.2% |
| U |
|
52.6% |
| R |
|
53.4% |
| S |
|
56.8% |
| = |
|
57.48% |
Form Guide April 2013
P W D L F-A GD Pts
5 1 4 0 11-9 2 5
Two Cup matches
Pos:- 5th
· March 2013 figures
· Last year's figures
April 2012
Player of the month Tom Huddlestone? Why not?
Gareth Bale has this week won the PFA player of the year and young player of the year and quite rightly hogged the headlines, not least because he is only the third player to achieve the double feat. Cristiano Ronaldo and Andy Gray were the only other two players to win such a dual accolade. Gareth still leads the accumulating Spurs Odyssey player of the season vote, but he doesn't get our headline for the month of April.
No, our headline this month goes to Tom Huddlestone, who has been voted our player of the month, despite making only one start in April, and his first start since the Leeds FA Cup game in January.
Huddlestone is a "marmite" player. Some fans love him, others don't. I see his faults, but I have urged him on to succeed heartily as much as any other player wearing our beloved shirt all season.
For much of April, Spurs have missed key players, such as Gareth Bale (injured in the first game against Basel), Aaron Lennon (missed three games), and Jermain Defoe (missed three games). This is not to mention the long-standing absences of Sandro, and Younes Kaboul, who suffered a set-back this month when trying to work his way back to fitness with the under-21 team.
With no clean sheets in our five games, and 9 goals conceded, our defenders have not been winning the limelight. Clint Dempsey has scored three goals this month, and Adebayor scored twice, but these two players are never going to win the hearts of the majority of Spurs fans due to too many under-par performances. Similarly Gylfi Sigurdsson, who also chipped in with a couple of goals, drifts in and out of the fans' affection.
The answer to the question - Why Huddlestone? - lies in moderate individual and team performances, and the fact that Tom has had considerable impact in some of our achievements this month. "Thud" missed out on the home game against Basel, but came off the bench after 75 minutes of the Everton game, when Spurs were 2-1 down, after an early goal by Adebayor. Tom had an excellent 15 minutes, pinging passes that gave Spurs impetus in the closing stages of the game, during which Sigurdsson got a precious equaliser.
Incidentally, Adebayor's goal after only 34 seconds was our second fastest goal ever in the Premier League, behind Ledley King's 10 second goal in December, 2000 against Bradford. Adebayor also did win the man of the match vote against Everton for his goal, assist and an excellent all-round performance.
Huddlestone was a late substitute in Basel, in a game where the team performance became subdued after Jan Vertonghen's late sending-off. Huddlestone did have an impact on that game though, with the assist for Dempsey's equaliser in the 82nd minute. Tom can be forgiven for a reasonably taken penalty in the shoot-out which the goalkeeper saved. On the other hand Adebayor's effort will always be remembered for the wrong reasons. it was diabolical!
At home to Manchester City, Huddlestone joined the fray after 61 minutes, replacing Scott Parker, with whom many Spurs fans are falling out of love.
Again, Hudd gave great impetus to the team performance, and most memorably gave Bale a sublime pass for a superb third goal which secured the win for Spurs, and put us back on track for Champions League football. Tom shared the man of the match vote with a high score of 7.7 with Bale and another goal-scorer- Jermain Defoe.
In our last game of the month at Wigan, Tom was arguably the best of a bad bunch when it comes to assessing individual performances, but if you check out my report, you will find his name featuring time and time again, as an integral part of most decent Spurs moves. I didn't spot it during the game, but he had one free kick hit the outside of the post in the first half, and it was his late free kick which led to Spurs' late equaliser. Tom might even have won the game in added time with an effort which was saved.
So, Player of the month Tom Huddlestone? Why not? Spurs have four games to conclude the season in May, with Champions league football still within our grasp, and key players returning to full match fitness. Why, Tom Huddlestone might even score that elusive goal he's been seeking since April 2011!
...if you want to read reports of the matches played during this month, then links are on the Spurs Odyssey Fixtures page here. By working your way back through the previous month's figures, you can review the performances since November 2000!
|
