Andros Townsend- In the footsteps of Gareth Bale?
Andros Townsend
Stepping into the boots of Gareth Bale is a huge task. Bale had been Spurs’ heart and soul the previous season and losing him was a huge blow for Spurs, despite the enormous fee Real Madrid paid for him eventually.
Having scored 21 and assisting 4 of the total 66 Spurs’ goals, his departure meant Tottenham had a huge void to fill and that’s exactly why, Andre-Villas Boas recruited some of Europe’s best talents, who could match Bale’s exemplary pace and finishing. Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Nacer Chadli and Roberto Soldado all came in with huge reputations and obvious talent, but none of them have been able to inspire the side the way Bale did.
At such a critical phase, one man has stepped up and took charge-Andros Townsend.
Honestly, Townsend’s 10th loan move away from White Hart Lane was imminent with the arrival of the likes of Lamela and Chadli. With the likes of Aaron Lennon and Gylfi Sigurdsson already in the side, Townsend was way below the pecking order. But Lennon’s injury layoff after the 1st match turned the cards for Townsend, as Lamela hadn’t yet arrived from AS Roma and that meant he was the only one left.
Townsend impressed in Spurs’ 2nd fixture against Swansea and started the 3rd fixture, leaving Lamela on the bench. And as Lamela struggled to cope up with the more physical Premier League, Townsend has played from strength to strength and has now become a near integral part of the team. He’s shown both pace and tendency to shoot, just like Bale. The fact that Lennon was shifted to the left flank instead of the usual right side as he came back this week highlights the role Townsend is playing for the Spurs at the moment.
As said earlier, Spurs’ last season was all about Bale. The main idea of the entire Spurs’ gameplay last season was to get the ball to Bale and let him do the rest. The rest of the side only had to compliment him by either finding his runs into dangerous positions or simply finishing the defense-splitting moves he created.
Analyzing Spurs’ game against Aston Villa this week, it is quite evident that Townsend is playing a similar role for them this season. On several occasions especially in the 2nd half, the agenda seemed to be to get the ball to Townsend, who successfully outran Villa left-back Antonio Luna a considerable number of times.
Apart from the goal in the 1st half that reminded of Bale’s left-footers, a thunderous strike after a fabulous run inside from the right was pushed away by Guzan at the stroke of half-time. In the 2nd half too he produced a couple of close shots added to those swerving crosses into the box, which more than once almost found Paulinho. In the 7 matches he has played so far, Townsend has taken 23 shots and made 40 crosses thus averaging 3.29 and 5.71 respectively per match.
Bale last season averaged 4.06 shots/match [Bale played more centrally than on the flanks and thus more shots] and 5.39 crosses/match. The similarity in stats thus proves the similarity in the roles Bale played last season and Townsend is currently playing this season.
Spurs’ have struggled a bit for goals in the first few games of this season. 8 goals in 8 matches is no great figure. But this figure is mainly accredited to the lack of much playing time as a unit for this new-face Spurs’ side. And now with Townsend playing the role of the main man, it’s a matter of time before Spurs’ find their feet.
With a clinical finisher like Soldado, a playmaker like Eriksen, a man-in-striking form like Townsend and a roster of heavy talent, expect Spurs’ to raise the margins of victory considerably.
And on an ironic note, it is a pity that Tottenham actually spent about €101,375,000 in search of a replacement for Bale, and at last, found the perfect guy in their own backyard! Kudos Townsend! Keep going!