Ryan Mason got 29 goals in 31 matches for the academy last season
Roman Pavlyuchenko is almost certain to leave Spurs this January and the tabloids have already began speculating as to who his replacement will be. The Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Ruud Van Nistelrooy rumours have been dusted off and wheeled out yet again and the names of countless other top class strikers are bound to be linked with Tottenham between now and the end of January.
But would the arrival of another top striker at Spurs end in the same way as it did for the likes of Defoe (in his first stint at the club), Darren Bent and Roman Pavlyuchenko?
Lets say Klaas Jan Huntelaar is signed. A player of his stature has to be a first team regular. Crouch would be the most likely to fall down the pecking order into that fourth striker role. All of a sudden we have a dejected player, bereft of confidence who doesn’t do it when called upon because the opportunities are so few and far between. With each poor performance, the notion that the player has no future at Spurs and isn’t good enough gets stronger and stronger. A stench of resentment and pressure lingers every time he takes to the field. He leaves.
The squad depth associated with having four top strikers is nullified because the poor bastard who is fourth choice can’t do his stuff without a run of games and the confidence of the manager. We’ve seen this scenario play out countless times, not just at Spurs but at other clubs too. What is the point?
A young exciting player around the age of 18-20 who knows he isn’t going to get regular games in the first team would be a breath of fresh air in that fourth striker role. The circumstances which dictate that a top striker almost always performs badly without regular first team football are precisely those that young players thrive on. Fans are excited to see them, the player is beside himself with excitement at being picked to play. There is no pressure or resentment, just anticipation.
Looking within the Spurs squad, there is Jonathan Obika who was the young striker pushing hardest for a first team opportunity last season. He played a couple of times in cup games and failed to impress though. Interestingly when asked a few weeks ago who the most exciting young player he’d seen recently was, Darren Bent replied ‘Ryan Mason’, a forward from Spurs’ academy who scored 29 goals in 31 matches last season and is currently on loan at Yeovil Town. I’ve only seen him play twice and he didn’t stand out particularly in the way that Bostock, Caulker and Townsend did. He’s probably not quite ready yet either.
Spurs should go and spend £5m-£7m on a skilly, pacey 18 year old striker with an eye for goal and the potential to be a top a striker. The only question is who?
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Gio??
I reckon Gio can’t play as a striker in the prem at the moment. He’s a winger, even though he thinks he’s a striker. Neither Harry or Ramos has ever played him up front.
they love mason at spurs lodge. they think he’s going to be huge. only problem is physically, he’s the complete opposite. if he bulks up he’ll be our 4th striker.
The issues with the 4th striker have been made worse by not qualifying for Europe and at the same time the FA Cup having not started.
If we were still in the CC, had qualified for Europe and the FA Cup had started I feel sure that Pav would have had more play time.
IMHO the main problem is that Pav/A.N. Other is labelled as 4th choice. When Slur Alex had Yorke/Cole/Sheringham/Scholsjaar (sp?) it was generally understood that Yorke/Cole were just about preferred starters, but I no-one would have dared label Teddy ‘3rd’ choice (let alone 4th), and I never heard Ollie called 4th choice – it was always understood that he was a top-notch striker and integral to the squad.
I do agree, however, that a young, eager to learn striker is the best solution for Spurs at this precise moment in the club’s history.
I wasn’t over impressed with Obika, but he is still young. I believe Mason is highly thought of; but ‘Arry is also getting in young from outside – there was the Hong Kong fella, on trial, and now there is a Norwegian lad as well.
Spot on Sean. We have talent coming through the academy now at some point they have to be blooded so why not in an FA cup game against lesser opposition a good mix of youth and experience goes a long way to developing some of the talent we currently have. We can’t keep opting for the big money solution that might not pan out. Lilywhite til I die
id go for mason and obika, we have 3 strikers at the mom defoe,crouch and keane, if he gets a couple of minutes its good for him and there will be no moaning
Blood the youngsters in the FA cup! has everyone gome mad? I think i missed the point where we turned into Man Utd and could view the FAC as a lesser competition! We should be going all out to win this as it is the biggest piece of silverware we have a realistic chance of winning.
If the youngsters are good enough, they will make it
[...] I’d prefer to see either a an exciting young player getting chances – read about that here — or an aging legend like Van Nistelrooy — read about that here — but Lua Lua would be a decent [...]
i think we should try to sign oscar cardozo, or mylevski, but if u are looking for young players i would haveto say Romelu Lukaku 16years old, Rasmus Jonsson,john fleck, Alan Dzagoev and for cm i would like to see moussa sisoko, jack rodwell, and tarabt to play some more games for us.