After an hour of yesterday’s game I was starting to contemplate an article questioning whether we could possibly mount a consistent top four challenge without the help of Gareth Bale. We’d had chances and plenty of shots on target and if Kyle Walker’s drive had been either side of Tremmel it would have burst the rigging in true Roy of the Rovers style.

However, it seemed that the one man who could have found the keys to Swansea’s bus and driven it away would have been Bale – fast runs right into the heart of that defence together with telling crosses and more testing shots on target when we needed them.

By the 75th minute however, Andros Townsend was doing a very passable impression of our welsh winger. He is far from the finished article and Gareth’s possible return ahead of the Stoke game may end this debate for now but does Townsend have what it takes to step in for Bale in the short, or even the long term?

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27 COMMENTS

  1. I think Townsend should be given a lot more gametime now he is starting to develop. He is confident on the ball, has made 100% of his passes while on the pitch and isnt afraid to take players on (freekick from Routledge as he jinked the ball past him helped to set the goal up!) This will give Bale/Lennon some rest time also and could be good for Spurs’ top 4 push after xmas! COYS

    • Younis Kaboul has made 93.1% of his passes, got anymore meaningless stats.

      The idea of a winger is to beat his man and cross it, not pass it, passing the buck to someone else!

  2. BALE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT—–IN TOTTENHAM WING QWALITY—-LENNON [DRIBLLER & CROSSER] AND BALE [ATTAKER]—–SO IF BALE GO——-1. FRANK RIBERY 2.ZAHA & WILLIAN 3. PERISIC & ZAHA 4. WILLIAN & HULK

  3. yawn. Ribery??? Hulk??? get real.
    Townsend was great when he came on. Questions are obviously, is he ready for 90 mins and how is he defensively?

    • He’s played as a wingback under Harry. Loves taking players on at full tilt, and can shoot. Definitely needs more game time. Got so many great prospects coming through at the moment, so there’s little or no need to bring players in…apart from maybe an Eriksen or a striker…

  4. I would loan him and Livermore out in January to Premiership clubs think they need that playing time at this level look at Caulker Naughton Walker and now Rose who have benefited massively.

  5. No. The Headless chicken would be a revelation at wigan Rovers or The Conneticut Shadows but not at Tottenham rotspurs. Arsenal are too good to go down….FACT

  6. Siggy and Dempsey are next in line ahead of Townsend. We really do not know how good or bad he is until he actually starts a Premier league game. The ideal scenario would be Townsend to Norwich, Reading or Wigan – who could probably do with a potential rough diamond. He would be likely to get more PREM LEAGUE game time.

  7. NO – a game is 90 minutes not 5 – why would you replace a world class player with a mid table player, how exactly is that going to strengthen the team?

  8. If you had been told by me three years ago that Gareth Bale was a world class player you would have laughed and told me I don’t know what I’m talking about. At that time Spurs had never won with Bale on the pitch, he was almost sold but injuries meant he played in the team. As the cliche goes, the rest is history. Of course, Bale is someone with great physique and maybe this is more of another Lennon in style. But it’s too early to write Townsend off, exactly as Bale has proved.

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