The signing of Peter Crouch is an excellent one. He will provide goals, assists and good link-up play. He has the skill and finesse to flourish in Spurs’ passing game and his obvious physical attributes provide the team with something different. He will also form a good strike partnership with Jermain Defoe. And there lies the problem.
It is hard to envisage a regular starting place for Robbie Keane. It is well-known that Keane and Defoe cannot play together and it is obvious from their success at Portsmouth that Crouch and Defoe are natural partners. Keane appears to be little more than back-up to Defoe and that is without putting Roman Pavlyuchenko into the equation.
Crouch, like Defoe, Keane and Pascal Chimbonda is in his second spell at the club and it could well be that we have two ‘misses’ to go with two resigned ‘hits’. The return of Defoe and Crouch feels right; Chimbonda and Keane’s homecoming does not.
The decision to bring back Keane was questionable at the time, largely because of the massive fee. His £20.3m move to Liverpool felt like good business; giving £15m of it back did not. It makes even less sense now.
Harry must have foreseen a major role for such a big signing, but then he must have done in lavishing a similar amount on Defoe. He is the only man at the club who is not aware of the pair’s unsuccessful attempts to forge a partnership in their first spell at the club.
The signing of Keane was in a way understandable. We were in a relegation battle and the manager was concerned by the lack of leadership on the pitch; he cited this as Keane’s main attribute when bringing him back.
Harry might also have panicked slightly when buying Chimbonda. Vedran Corluka was having a decent season at right back and the manager would surely have overlooked the lack of cover if we were not in such a perilous position, especially as Alan Hutton was on the way back from injury.
Chimbonda can provide cover in other positions (he might well start the season as the first choice centre back) in much the same way Keane can. However, the captain is wasted on the left wing or in central midfield and he is unlikely to relish the prospect of filling in in alien positions.
Darren Bent is on his way out of the club to balance the books. Could it be that Keane will follow him in order to balance the squad? Football betting on that one may well be interesting...
It is hard to envisage a regular starting place for Robbie Keane. It is well-known that Keane and Defoe cannot play together and it is obvious from their success at Portsmouth that Crouch and Defoe are natural partners. Keane appears to be little more than back-up to Defoe and that is without putting Roman Pavlyuchenko into the equation.
Crouch, like Defoe, Keane and Pascal Chimbonda is in his second spell at the club and it could well be that we have two ‘misses’ to go with two resigned ‘hits’. The return of Defoe and Crouch feels right; Chimbonda and Keane’s homecoming does not.
The decision to bring back Keane was questionable at the time, largely because of the massive fee. His £20.3m move to Liverpool felt like good business; giving £15m of it back did not. It makes even less sense now.
Harry must have foreseen a major role for such a big signing, but then he must have done in lavishing a similar amount on Defoe. He is the only man at the club who is not aware of the pair’s unsuccessful attempts to forge a partnership in their first spell at the club.
The signing of Keane was in a way understandable. We were in a relegation battle and the manager was concerned by the lack of leadership on the pitch; he cited this as Keane’s main attribute when bringing him back.
Harry might also have panicked slightly when buying Chimbonda. Vedran Corluka was having a decent season at right back and the manager would surely have overlooked the lack of cover if we were not in such a perilous position, especially as Alan Hutton was on the way back from injury.
Chimbonda can provide cover in other positions (he might well start the season as the first choice centre back) in much the same way Keane can. However, the captain is wasted on the left wing or in central midfield and he is unlikely to relish the prospect of filling in in alien positions.
Darren Bent is on his way out of the club to balance the books. Could it be that Keane will follow him in order to balance the squad? Football betting on that one may well be interesting...
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