Adebayor – Season of Sink or Swim

He infuriates fans at the best of times and this has lead to recent speculation linking Emmanuel Adebayor with a move away. His most likely destination seems to be a move to Turkish side Besiktas, and he has even been linked with a return to Real Madrid as part of the Bale deal. It is almost certain that he doesn’t feature in Andre Villas-Boas’ plans, however I still believe that he can play a crucial part in the coming season.

There’s no doubt that the player has quality and has showcased this in a few great seasons, e.g. his loan season with us scoring 17 goals and his unbelievable season with that lot from down the road which subsequently earned him a move to Manchester City. He also has the reputation of being a money-grabber who only plays for a big money contact, but if he tried a little harder in matches and showed some work rate he may well be worth the £100,000 pounds he earns.

I was listening to the radio the other day when I came across a Spanish expert who was explaining everything a spurs fan needed to know about new signing Roberto Soldado. He said that Soldado works best when working up top playing off of someone. And thinking about who that could be, the only player who could fit the role would be old Manuel himself, although this would reduce Bale (if he stays) to a wider or slightly deeper role. Therefore, Adebayor could fit into the formation by winning long balls and bringing Soldado into the game, where Soldado can use his fox-in-the-box trait to finish off a well-worked move. This passage of play could be scrutinised as a long ball move, however if effective many fans wouldn’t criticise as I believe sometimes we needed to mix up our play last season when we run out of ideas towards the end of matches.

Adebayor also posses a talent for passes, believe it or not. Therefore, if he was to use his ariel threat and maybe use his strength, which sometimes eludes him, he could win the ball and use his flair and wide range of passing to add an extra dimension to our play. He can also weigh in with a goal or two of his own, and during his two seasons at the club we’ve seen him score a wide variety of goals, so he does have the capability to get the fans on the edge of their seats occasionally, but he needs to do it more often.

Although, even if he doesn’t feature in AVB’s first XI plans, he could also become a vital squad member, coming off the bench and scoring/setting up goal scoring opportunities in the latter minutes of a match. One thing is for certain, at this moment in time Tottenham are a much stronger outfit with Adebayor in the squad rather than out of it.

GET YOUR FREE £10 BET (NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED) WITH BETFRED