Our two signings of the summer thus far (as I write, NKoudou is still MIA) are designed to provide cover where last season we were lacking. Assuming that Wanyama (make those eyes at me for) and Janssen come anywhere close to meeting expectations then we won’t feel quite so vulnerable if/when Harry, Dier or Dembélé take a tumble or get punished for going into Stamford Bridge mode.
This leaves us lacking (most) in two positions, Eriksen and Lloris.
Eriksen’s we can sort of cover by changing formation – playing two up front and/or a wide man (if we’ve got one) but Hugo is trickier. On paper, in Michel Vorm we have an experienced ready-made international replacement, on grass though we have a nervous, error prone, small for his position, accident waiting to happen. That appears harsh, but you’ll find few in White Hart Lane filled with confidence when his name is read out as a starter. Even allowing for the fact that he is being compared to one of the world’s best, when called upon to replace Hugo, he’s rarely been a totally safe pair of hands.
Upgrading him is easier said than done but it is possible and given the modern fetish for resting players, even goalkeepers, you’d think it’d be high on Poch’s summer wish list as I’m sure there wiil be occasions when he’d want to give Lloris time off.
Having two top notch keepers on the books would’ve been thought ridiculous a few years ago but now in these days where clubs are scratching around for things to spend their money on, it’s affordable and sensible. There are examples, Begovic and Courtois, De Gea and Romero and even Cech and Ospina (yeah I know) – we wouldn’t be the first.
For the sake of fans of nominative determinism everywhere, you’ve got to hope that Tom Glover, one of Vorm’s backups in Australia, continues his progress and becomes a solid reserve to the skipper but that’s a few seasons away. Until then, if we remain in a spot where Vorm is the man we have to turn to whenever Lloris is unavailable, it won’t be long I suspect before we regret it.
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