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Redknapp mulls over a Tottenham change at right-back
editorial@hamhigh.co.uk
02 June 2010
By Ben Pearce
HARRY Redknapp's latest update on Tottenham's
transfer activity provided very few clues, but it did provide one or two
interesting insights.
"We are not close to doing anything really," said the manager. "At the
moment I couldn't say that we are close to doing anything. I am going
out to the World Cup, we will keep watching games, we have got some
players on the list.
"We have got a good squad. I think that if
we are going to push on and take that extra step and be where we are and
even higher next year, then we do need to improve in one or two areas
and strengthen the squad."
'One or two areas'. A quick glance
around the team shows world-class players in every spot, with
international players in reserve.
Of course, Tottenham could
trade up in virtually every position - Fernando Torres and Lionel Messi
would have no problem getting into the Spurs team.
However,
lavish and unrealistic luxuries aside, it is hard to see any position
where Tottenham really need a change in personnel. Except at
right-back, that is.
Vedran Corluka is a proven defender and he
has 36 international caps to prove it. However, he is a world-class
centre-back who has been playing out of position for two seasons.
As
he has often done at Tottenham, Redknapp stumbled upon his selection
and, having found a winning formula, he stuck with it.
Now,
however, as the Spurs boss ponders how to take his side on to yet
another level, he may well reconsider the Croatian's position.
Corluka
is solid, reliable, strong, positionally sound and good in the air -
everything you would want in a defender. However, he is also
restrictively one-dimensional and his top speed is 'spritely shuffle'.
The
best full-backs have another side to their game - the other half of the
pitch in fact.
The likes of Patrice Evra, Glen Johnson and
Ashley Cole all offer an attacking threat, and Gareth Bale's impact in
the new year only served to highlight the value of a well-rounded
full-back who is effective at both ends of the pitch, adding goals and
assists to tackles and clean sheets.
Of course Redknapp knows
that. This was the manager who took Johnson and Nadir Belhadj to
Portsmouth and played with two of the most attack-minded full-backs in
the Premier League.
And, having initially opted for the no-frills
reliability of Corluka and Assou-Ekotto at Tottenham, the Spurs boss
may feel that the time has come to be more adventurous, and attempt to
mirror Bale's threat from full-back on the other flank.
Replacing
Corluka at full-back would also give Redknapp extra cover in the
centre, killing two birds with one stone.
One option would be to
sign a new right-back, and Redknapp has previously expressed his
admiration for Shakhtar Donetsk's Croatian Darijo Srna - a Chelsea
target.
However, Redknapp also has an interesting option within
his existing squad, and the manager has hinted that he will have another
look at Younes Kaboul in pre-season.
It is a big U-turn from
Redknapp, who initially felt that the ex-Pompey centre-back was a ropey
replacement for the injured Corluka at the climax of the season.
Despite
watching the French-Moroccan defender contribute to victories over both
Arsenal and Chelsea, Redknapp's initial reaction was far from positive.
"Kaboul's playing at right-back, and he's no right-back to be
fair to him. I do find myself shouting more than normal when he plays
there," he said.
Just two weeks later, after Kaboul had
impressed with aggressive, marauding performances against Bolton and
Manchester City - and created Peter Crouch's pivotal goal at Eastlands -
the manager had a very different message.
"Kaboul came into the
team, he suddenly played four games for me and we won four games. I
played him at right-back, he's never played in his proper position but
he's done a job, he's got better," said Redknapp.
"Again he's a
lad who, if we work hard enough with him and teach him the position...
He's still raw in that position and some of his positional play is
suspect at times, but he's great in the air, he's quick and he can pass
it. There's no reason he can't learn the position. He did a great job
against [Craig] Bellamy."
The 'again' almost certainly refers to
Bale, and the extensive work that was done with him on the training
ground, developing the defensive side of his game and, in particular,
his positional sense.
Should Redknapp decide to give Kaboul the
same treatment, the results could potentially be very exciting.
The
24-year-old is just as sizeable and strong as Corluka, he is better in
the air and he is infinitely more dangerous on the front foot. If Roman
Pavlyuchenko had been wearing his shooting boots against Bolton, Kaboul
would have had at least one assist.
It is no exaggeration to say
that the Frenchman was the equal of Bale that day, and there is no doubt
that Aaron Lennon would profit from having Kaboul - or a similarly
pacy, aggressive foil - playing behind him, overlapping and making decoy
runs.
It remains to be seen whether Redknapp will entertain the
idea of converting Kaboul into a full-back, or whether he will look at a
new signing.
But, whatever happens, Kaboul's cameo performances
at the end of the season, coupled with Bale's impact, have raised the
bar for Tottenham's full-backs - from now on, it is not enough to simply
defend.
editorial@hamhigh.co.uk
02 June 2010
 |
| TAKING KABOUL BY THE HORNS... Younes Kaboul's charge upfield is halted by Bolton's Arsenal loanee Jack Wilshere. |
HARRY Redknapp's latest update on Tottenham's
transfer activity provided very few clues, but it did provide one or two
interesting insights.
 |
| ON THE DEFENSIVE... Vedran Corluka |
moment I couldn't say that we are close to doing anything. I am going
out to the World Cup, we will keep watching games, we have got some
players on the list.
"We have got a good squad. I think that if
we are going to push on and take that extra step and be where we are and
even higher next year, then we do need to improve in one or two areas
and strengthen the squad."
'One or two areas'. A quick glance
around the team shows world-class players in every spot, with
international players in reserve.
Of course, Tottenham could
trade up in virtually every position - Fernando Torres and Lionel Messi
would have no problem getting into the Spurs team.
However,
lavish and unrealistic luxuries aside, it is hard to see any position
where Tottenham really need a change in personnel. Except at
right-back, that is.
Vedran Corluka is a proven defender and he
has 36 international caps to prove it. However, he is a world-class
centre-back who has been playing out of position for two seasons.
As
he has often done at Tottenham, Redknapp stumbled upon his selection
and, having found a winning formula, he stuck with it.
Now,
however, as the Spurs boss ponders how to take his side on to yet
another level, he may well reconsider the Croatian's position.
Corluka
is solid, reliable, strong, positionally sound and good in the air -
everything you would want in a defender. However, he is also
restrictively one-dimensional and his top speed is 'spritely shuffle'.
The
best full-backs have another side to their game - the other half of the
pitch in fact.
The likes of Patrice Evra, Glen Johnson and
Ashley Cole all offer an attacking threat, and Gareth Bale's impact in
the new year only served to highlight the value of a well-rounded
full-back who is effective at both ends of the pitch, adding goals and
assists to tackles and clean sheets.
Of course Redknapp knows
that. This was the manager who took Johnson and Nadir Belhadj to
Portsmouth and played with two of the most attack-minded full-backs in
the Premier League.
And, having initially opted for the no-frills
reliability of Corluka and Assou-Ekotto at Tottenham, the Spurs boss
may feel that the time has come to be more adventurous, and attempt to
mirror Bale's threat from full-back on the other flank.
Replacing
Corluka at full-back would also give Redknapp extra cover in the
centre, killing two birds with one stone.
One option would be to
sign a new right-back, and Redknapp has previously expressed his
admiration for Shakhtar Donetsk's Croatian Darijo Srna - a Chelsea
target.
However, Redknapp also has an interesting option within
his existing squad, and the manager has hinted that he will have another
look at Younes Kaboul in pre-season.
It is a big U-turn from
Redknapp, who initially felt that the ex-Pompey centre-back was a ropey
replacement for the injured Corluka at the climax of the season.
Despite
watching the French-Moroccan defender contribute to victories over both
Arsenal and Chelsea, Redknapp's initial reaction was far from positive.
"Kaboul's playing at right-back, and he's no right-back to be
fair to him. I do find myself shouting more than normal when he plays
there," he said.
Just two weeks later, after Kaboul had
impressed with aggressive, marauding performances against Bolton and
Manchester City - and created Peter Crouch's pivotal goal at Eastlands -
the manager had a very different message.
"Kaboul came into the
team, he suddenly played four games for me and we won four games. I
played him at right-back, he's never played in his proper position but
he's done a job, he's got better," said Redknapp.
"Again he's a
lad who, if we work hard enough with him and teach him the position...
He's still raw in that position and some of his positional play is
suspect at times, but he's great in the air, he's quick and he can pass
it. There's no reason he can't learn the position. He did a great job
against [Craig] Bellamy."
The 'again' almost certainly refers to
Bale, and the extensive work that was done with him on the training
ground, developing the defensive side of his game and, in particular,
his positional sense.
Should Redknapp decide to give Kaboul the
same treatment, the results could potentially be very exciting.
The
24-year-old is just as sizeable and strong as Corluka, he is better in
the air and he is infinitely more dangerous on the front foot. If Roman
Pavlyuchenko had been wearing his shooting boots against Bolton, Kaboul
would have had at least one assist.
It is no exaggeration to say
that the Frenchman was the equal of Bale that day, and there is no doubt
that Aaron Lennon would profit from having Kaboul - or a similarly
pacy, aggressive foil - playing behind him, overlapping and making decoy
runs.
It remains to be seen whether Redknapp will entertain the
idea of converting Kaboul into a full-back, or whether he will look at a
new signing.
But, whatever happens, Kaboul's cameo performances
at the end of the season, coupled with Bale's impact, have raised the
bar for Tottenham's full-backs - from now on, it is not enough to simply
defend.
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