The BIG Football Question: How Much Will Tottenham Miss Tom Huddlestone?

Ollie Irish

16th, November 2010

7 Comments

By Ollie Irish

Intense: Tom Huddlestone’s game face

Bad news for Spurs – Tom Huddlestone is out for three months because of an ankle injury that requires surgery. Sad face.

Huddlestone’s great improvement has been apparent for all to see, and he has even worn the captain’s armband this season. Some fans still don’t ‘get’ him, but now that he has shed his puppy fat, he really has matured into a formidable central midfielder, with as good a passing range as any English player in his position – not to mention his explosive long-range shooting, which he makes look almost effortless.

Whilst Spurs are well-stocked in central midfield, for my money their best CM pairing is Modric and Huddlestone; an odd couple, but they seem to love playing together. As such, I wonder how much Spurs will miss Huddlestone. As I said, it is a position where they have plenty of cover – I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the form of Jermaine Jenas at times this season; right now, I favour Jenas over Wilson Palacios or Sandro – but I guesstimate it will cost Spurs one place in the league table. That could be crucial.

And of course Spurs are going well in the Champions League, a competition which really suits Huddlestone’s measured style of play. So his absence might also be costly in Europe. Bah.

All of which makes me wonder if Arry Redknapp now plans to bring in another central midfielder in January. Lassana Diarra maybe?

How much do you think Spurs will miss the Hudd in the coming months?

Posted in Opinion, Tottenham Hotspur

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7 Comments

  1. Dilly Crump says:

    In the prem not really missed as he can be a liabilty in games where teams come on to us and play at a high tempo. Sandro will eventually seal that DM spot and WP will improve. No need to buy another bloody CM. We also have Livermore who should step up to the Plate next season (mind you if Toms been there first the plate may be licked clean) He may be missed in Eurup as the style of play is more suited to his lumbering game. I do see Tom more of an attacking CM than a DM, more in the mould of Hoddle.

  2. frank says:

    2 up front, van der vaart in the centre with modric, sorted

  3. j says:

    Big Tom will be a massive miss for us.
    His passing, due to effortlessly using both feet, is panoramic, it’s his distribution that will be most keenly felt.
    How many times has he pinged the ball to Bale to set up a quick counter attack? We have no-one else who can do this from such a deep position. Van der Vaart has a similar ability for a long pass, but it’s usually cross-field as he’s always in the final third.
    Huddlestones height is another loss when defending set pieces. Palacios or a Diarra won’t compensate this.
    Sandro has the obvious physical attributes to step in for Huddlestone, and he played a major part as the holding midfielder in Internacional’s Copa Libertadores triumph of last season.
    You don’t do that if you’re not a top player.
    I think we should stick to a 4-4-2 with Modric and Sandro central, Bale left, Lennon or Jenas right wing. With Pav and Van der Vaart up front. With VdV playing off the shoulder of the last defender, at least until Defoe is back.

  4. Ollie Irish says:

    Great comment, J – Hudd’s range of passing will be sorely missed

  5. Anonymous says:

    what’s more worrying is that we’ll no doubt see more of Jenas!!!!!!

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