It’s not yet clear whether Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s return to first team training means that he is available for Sunday’s game with Swansea but AVB may be tempted to rush the 28 year old back into the side as soon as he possibly can.
Unlike the case of Scott Parker, where impressive performances from Sandro are blocking Scott’s progress back into the starting XI, Benny’s absence has exposed a lack of cover in the left back position. While Jan Vertonghen has looked comfortable there, many are desperate for Jan to return to his preferred role at the heart of defence.
Benny was only expected to be out of action for around a month and while his absence on the left may not have been a direct problem, Vertonghen’s switch has taken a first choice centre half away from his natural slot.
With Kyle Naughton and Gareth Bale offering less than perfect alternatives, BAE could find himself straight back in the starting XI as soon as fitness will allow.
If fit enough he should go straight back in then we can drop the liability who goes by the name of william Gallas back to the bench where he deserves to be. That would also mean Super Jan can move into the center with Caulker or Dawson (if fit) who both will be fighting it out with Kaboul soon.
If he’s fit enough – would’ve been nice to give him a ‘behind closed doors’ run out but if he can handle 70 mins+ then start him
yes. benny back in on the left and vertonghen in the centre alongside caulker (who should have got a good talking to by now) or dawson. and when kaboul is back i wouldn’t mind seeing him giving walker some competition for the right side – that’s where he played against man city when we secured cl qualification thanks to his cross to crouch
[…] Benny the latest to return – does he slot straight back in? jQuery(document).ready(function($) { postID = 932876; if (jQuery("#jockspin_carousel_"+postID).length > 0){ jQuery("#jockspin_carousel_"+postID).hide(); } }); It’s not yet clear whether Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s return to first team training means that he is available for Sunday’s game … […]
yes as soon as he’s fit enough, as others have said our strongest back 4 would include him and Kaboul, Verts and Walker. not sure I’d be quite as dismissive about Parker, as well as giving Sandro some well needed rest he will also be needed to close out games (something we desperately need) and to play with the Brazilian in tough away matches.
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We are suffering badly at LB. Moving Vertonghen to LB has caused problems in the middle. With Vertonghen and Caulker in the middle I reckon it’s worth trying BAE. It really depends on his mentality and fitness. I doubt very much AVB will rush him back. It’s interesting to note the comment about Kaboul at RB. I agree with this as I think Caulker is arguably as good if not better in the middle? Dropping Caulker might do him more harm than good? Kaboul has power and pace and is good in the air. So he’s a good choice defensively and offensively. Either way with Parker and Kaboul fit Spurs will have a lot more flexability to rotate players without seeing a mini collapse during games. I would add after a tricky start Walker is playing very well again.
We’ve only suffered at left back when the Dutch man was not been playing there. Ok so jan can be slow turning sometimes but lads you can’t put a guy into first team action who has not even played a practice game. Parker has now played 2 games so is way ahead of benny at the moment.
When all are fit I’d most definitely drop caulker. With Kaboul and Scotty in the team for the last 20 mins I’ve no doubt we would not have dropped all those points. It’s typically painful watching the last 20 mins of games. We’ve been found out way too often now and AVB has some serious answering to do.