Janssen: Just 40 PL minutes in 4 months - he may still have a future


SPURS TALK


"He scores when he wants, Vincent Janssen scores when he wants... the Tottenham crowd sang

Slow play, keep the ball, possession football to see a game out and Janssen is desperate to score, he wants the team to speed up and play faster, to create chances for him. That is what Pochettino told the press who generally fixate on the number of games played rather than when a player was playing and for how long.

He has only played 789 minutes of Premier League football, 3 minutes, 61 minutes, 29 minutes (1 assist), 73 minutes, 4 minutes, 1 minute, 8 minutes, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 3 games not in the squad, 13 minutes, 1 minute, 4 games out injured, 7 minutes, that takes us all the way back to West Ham on 19 November.

While a player must do what he can to make an impact when given the chance after his performances in training, there is actually very little time there to adjust, to score and make an impact in games.

From 20 November until 20 March he has played just 40 minutes of Premier League football. Four months for 40 minutes, is it any wonder he has been struggling? It is up to him to pull himself out of it and why when Kane came off I'd have immediately put him on.

It will be important for him to grab another goal soon as the same thing happened to Roberto Soldado. He scored and then wasn't given any game time for three games. His confidence sunk once again and he remained in the same mental position, lacking confidence.

Confidence can drain away or be boosted. A weight off the shoulders yes, but for how long?

The same thing can not be allowed to happen with 22-year-old (23 in June) Janssen. We have the semi-final coming up and then another Premier League game against Leicester City away. If we are winning that he needs the chance to be involved, five minutes isn't going to do him much good.

How he is handled between now and the end of the season may determine his future. Pochettino was delighted, you saw the way he celebrated when Janssen scored. That suggests he may still have a future at Spurs.


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