Mixed Midfield News March 15, 2010
Posted by garyf in Uncategorized.trackback
On the one hand, Tom Huddlestone has signed a new contract and pledged his future to Spurs, which is clearly good news. But the news of Huddlestone’s new deal came at the same time as the news Aaron Lennon is facing another prolonged spell on the sidelines and Spurs could really do with his skills at this crucial point in the season.
I’d better start with the positive stuff – Huddlestone has signed an extension that will see him remain at White Hart Lane until 2015. His current contract was due to run out at the end of the campaign but this ensures he won’t be going anywhere for free. Personally I’ve got a lot of time for the occasional England man, his partnership with Wilson Palacios is generally a solid one and he has become a vital member of the squad.
Now on to the Lennon scenario. The former Leeds man suffered a setback in his recovery last month, after already spending two months out of action, and now could be out for another four to five weeks at least, at least that is what Harry Redknapp has said. This is a massive shame as earlier in the season the midfielder was having probably his most effective campaign to date, there finally seemed to be a regular end product to his defence splitting runs down the flank. Indeed, Lennon was looking like a dead cert to be involved in the World Cup this summer but if he doesn’t make a return to the first team pretty soon his chances of boarding that plane to South Africa could be in real jeopardy.
Fortunately the team have managed to cope in his absence and players like David Bentley have filled the void somewhat, while Niko Kranjcar and Luka Modric have also deptuised on the right while Lennon has been crocked. Granted, all three are competent players but Bentley lacks the pace and ingenuity of Lennon, while the two Croats tend to drift into the middle and make the side a bit too narrow.
Until his injury Lennon was undoubtedly the star of the show for Spurs but fortunately the squad have rallied and maintained the push for fourth. I would argue that Redknapp has the team in the driving seat for Champions league qualification, even though Man City are just two points adrift with a game in hand there is no guarantee they will win that game and I’d rather have the points on the board. Hopefully Lennon will be back for the final push and with enough time to force himself into Fabio Capello’s England squad, I’ve got my fingers crossed for both Spurs and England anyway.
Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer who blogs about Cheltenham tips 2010, Spurs and racing tips.
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