Who do you keep Carroll or Mason?

TEAM TALK

Who do you keep Carroll or Mason?

If you were picking the Spurs squad you would have to cover eventualities. You have to keep some lesser squad players, make room for others and make the decisions who to keep and who to let go, often between two players.

With Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele forming a formidable partnership and the probable imminent arrival of Victor Wanyama, who plays the Dier role at Southampton, attention turns to the Dembele role. Who covers for him? Ryan Mason or Tom Carroll? From the outset I have been sure that Mason will be retained as cover for Dembele, something that recent comments from Mason seem to confirm.

That is the current option, would you keep both or do squad numbers dictate you have to let one go? Is Carroll out of contract at the end of the month, has he been offered a new one or is there a one-year extension option written into it? I suspect the latter.

Who do you keep Carroll or Mason?


Assuming there is a one-year extension, what would you do? Are both better further forward or does the Dembele role suit them? Mason has played well in it before, he moves the ball from side to side faster than most, which is often all it takes to get us playing at a higher tempo and thus be more effective. He bagged the winner against Sunderland, he gets into the area and into scoring positions.

What does Carroll offer us? Defensively he is the weaker of the two, hardly a game goes by where he doesn't pass the ball to the opposition inside our own half. Is he not better around the opposition box?

I'd much prefer to see him utilised there where his passing might have a greater effect. There are loads of players who can pass from deep, those that can do it around the box are fewer and I have always thought he has the ability to play that role rather than the one he does.

It's a tough call to make and for me, it would all depend on upon what position I wanted to cover. If it were to cover the Dembele position I'd choose to keep Mason, if it were further forward I was looking, I'd take a chance on Carroll.

How about you?