Redknapp is wrong, Spurs' Townsend is no Robben

Harry Redknapp

“If you look at Arjen Robben, Andros Townsend is the closest thing [England] have produced to him,” Queen’s Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp was recently quoted as saying in theDaily Mail. “I’m not saying he is Robben yet, he is not, but he is very similar. He plays on the right, dribbles well, runs at people, gets shots at goal…”

The Tottenham Hotspur winger has impressed since being handed first-team opportunities by Andre Villas-Boas this season, wreaking havoc on the right-flank in place of Aaron Lennon, who has been battling with injury. But is he really England’s answer to Bayern Munich and Holland’s Arjen Robben?

Redknapp’s claim is a result of him doing an ‘eyeball comparison’ of the players in question. While there are indeed some similarities between the two, there are also at least two key differences which make the comparison inaccurate.

In terms of similarities, both players are fleet-footed, left-footed, and excellent manipulators of the football. Last season, Townsend, then on-loan at QPR with Redknapp, attempted an average of 6.2 take-on’s per game, completing an impressive 65% of them. Robben, meanwhile, attempted an average of 3.6 per game in what was a season hit by injury, completing an impressive 56%.

Both have absolutely no problem getting the better of their opposing full-back’s, causing them endless problems with their combination of speed and unpredictability when running with the ball. They’ve continued along that line this season, with 22-year-old Townsend attempting a higher average of eight per game so far, completing an improved 69% of them. Twenty-nine-year-old Robben, meanwhile, is attempting a slightly higher average himself of four per game, and has also completed an improved percentage (71).

Andros Townsend Take-Ons This Season

Arjen Robben Take-Ons This Season

Another similarity is their tendency to cut-inside and have a shot at goal, particularly from long range. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, seeing that both players are playing on the flank that is opposite to their stronger foot. Their cutting inside, then, is only natural and expected.

Andros Townsend Shot Accuracy (50%) This Season

Arjen Robben Shot Accuracy (67%) This Season

Seeing that Townsend has played consistently on the right-flank this season as opposed to last term, when he played on the left at times under Redknapp, we’ll use shooting stats from this season alone for both players. To date, the Englishman has attempted an average of 2.6 shots per game, while the more experienced Dutchman has attempted an average of 1.7.

A shot accuracy of 50% for Townsend sounds quite good at the outset, but notice the placement of his efforts in the above visualisation. Shots are more likely to be converted to goals if they are aimed toward the corners of the goalmouth as opposed to the centre, where the ‘keeper stands a higher chance of making the save. The youngster’s efforts are aimed largely at the centre of the goalmouth, while Robben shows his experience by directing his efforts ideally more toward the corners. Unsurprisingly, then, Robben has two goals to his name already this season, while Townsend is yet to register a single goal.

As far as the differences between the two go, for one, Townsend uses his right foot a lot more than Robben does. The Dutchman is extremely left-footed and is well known to be unwilling to cross, pass, dribble, or shoot with his weaker foot. As such, as a winger, pushing the byline is a problem for him. Defenders know this and tend to show him on the outside. Townsend, meanwhile, though he often cuts inside himself, has no problem pushing the byline when needed. Once he gets past his full-back on the outside, he is comfortable putting a cross in with either foot. And his deliveries aren’t bad at all either.

A cross completion percentage so far this season of just 6.7% seems terrible at the outset, but the number is so low because his deliveries, though often well-placed, are won by the defenders because they showed that they wanted it more as well as because Spurs’ big-money summer signing and starting lone striker Roberto Soldado isn’t the tallest, standing at just 1.79 metres. He has been struggling to assert himself in the penalty area since joining, with both his goals coming from the penalty spot. The fact that Gylfi Sigurdsson, cutting in from the left-flank, is the club’s top league scorer with three goals, says a lot.

The predominantly left-footed Robben, meanwhile, has completed 22.2% of his crosses so far this season. His deliveries are generally good as well, but with a powerful, aggressive target man like Mario Mandzukic leading the line for Bayern Munich and the likes of Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos breaking forward with real intent from midfield, the chances of Robben’s crosses finding a target are greatly increased.

The other difference concerns the players’ work rate off the ball. Townsend is more of a team player as far as this is concerned. With QPR scrapping for their lives last season, he put in a fair share of defensive work, attempting an average of three tackles per game. With Spurs averaging 55% possession per game so far this season, he doesn’t have quite as much work to do in defence, but still closes down the opposition when his team loses the ball, attempting an average of just over one tackle per game. Robben, meanwhile, generally neglects this aspect of play, attempting an average of just 0.8 tackles per game last season and only 0.4 so far this term.

Indeed, Bayern tend to dominate their games (in fact, they are averaging 61% possession per game so far this season), meaning that he wouldn’t have much to do defensively, but defensive work has never really been something associated with Robben. So, the aforementioned numbers accurately reflect his unwillingness to track back rather than the idea that he just doesn’t need to. As further proof, Franck Ribery is currently averaging one tackle per game on the opposite flank.

So, while Harry Redknapp is right in seeing some similarities between Andros Townsend and Arjen Robben, the former is not the heir to the latter’s throne. He is his own player. “To be the new Bale, the new Robben, the new Aaron Lennon, is not something I strive for,” he said in The Sun in response to Redknapp’s quotes. “It’s wonderful when people say such things, but football is a tough world — and as quickly as you can be flavour of the month, you are only ever one or two bad games away from being slated. I want to achieve things in the game like them — but ultimately I want to make my own name in the game and be Andros Townsend.”

That’s certainly the right attitude to have. Hopefully, he will continue to build on the great progress he has made thus far–with Spurs and soon with England–without the crippling weight of expectation brought on by unnecessary player comparisons.