Spurs Squad Rotation and Loan Players

Spurs Squad Rotation and Loan Players

Cameron Carter-Vickers in action for Ipswich Town against Bolton

A good article on squad rotation and how perhaps Zinedine Zidane got it right last season when Real Madrid not only win LaLiga but retained the UEFA Champions League, the first time this feat had been achieved in the tournament's history in it's current guise.

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Looking at the Tottenham squad there were 16 players who were relied upon. Mauricio Pochettino has tended to work with a smaller set of players than previous managers in an attempt to keep the players feeling really involved and an important part of the squad, which in turn has the knock-on effect of keeping the players happy.

We saw only one major first team squad member leave on a permanent deal, Kyle Walker, although having bought a replacement we also saw Vincent Janssen leave for a season-long loan deal.

Tottenham Squad Minutes Played 2016/17

Eric Dier 4,092
Christian Eriksen 4,036
Dele Alli 4,013
Victor Wanyama 3,894
Toby Alderweireld 3,325
Kyle Walker 3,169
Harry Kane 3,149
Heung-min Son 2,973
Ben Davies 2,683
Mousa Dembele 2,504
Danny Rose 1,803
Kieran Trippier 1,457
Vincent Janssen 1,355
Moussa Sissoko 1,306
Harry Winks 1,298
Erik Lamela 943

Cameron Carter-Vickers 360
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou 324
Josh Onomah 277
Filip Lesniak 4

This season we have seen the same squad management, the same rotation of the full-backs, when they are all fit. What this season has also shown with Ben Davies and Danny Rose, is that if you are in possession of a place, in other words you are generally the one picked for the bigger games, you don't automatically lose it when the perceived previous first choice becomes available after injury again.

Ben Davies with 14 actually leads Danny Rose (13) on career assists. The Welshman has 5 assists this season, which is the 4th most of any defender in the Premier League. He has also chipped in with 2 goals. Only Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli have created more goals for Spurs this season.

When Davies plays, Spurs have a higher win percentage than when he doesn't. He was bought as a player who had an attacking element in his game, yet was rather more defensive than Rose. We are seeing he has grown in confidence and developed his game to suit us, giving a greater attacking outlet than many might imagine.

If you valued them you's have Rose as the more expensive player. Rose hasn't been the player he was last season, we are only seeing glimpses of it this season. I still wonder whether he is just biding his time until the summer.

Pochettino rewards players, Wanyama hasn't yet claimed back the role that was his last season. Their was press talk of Dier leaving because reporters perceived he might not be happy not being first choice defensive midfielder. Now the show is on the other foot, Dier has the spot and Wanyama has to try and take it off him, the same as Rose has to try and remove Davies.

Those that want to battle are the players you want at your club, they have the right mental approach, those that go into their shell or want out are fair weather players and not players for us long-term.

It isn't possible to get every transfer right and it is only Pochettino who will know if a player is worth persevering with after one season. If their is improvement in them then yes, but someone like Janssen there were big question marks over. We loaned him out and didn't want him back when he was injured it seemed. Latest reports suggest Fenerbache want to keep him another season.

They paid us a £2.25 million loan fee and if you take into account the add-ons on the deal that brought him to the club will not have been triggered with his performances last season, his fee isn't as reported in the press, as they add in add-on fees to a transfer fee.

Do we sell him in the summer, do we loan him out for a similar fee and hope he grows as a player with another season of football?

We are being linked with a centre-back or two in Germany, yet we have Cameron Carter-Vickers making his way at Sheffield United and now Ipswich Town. He has started most Championship games and has 2,110 minutes playing experience under his belt. He has also won his first full international cap for the USA in a friendly against Portugal where he came on as a substitute after 48 minutes.

Carter-Vickers and others will need to assessed pre-season to see were they are at, but in all this development we mustn't lose sight of the fact that we must start winning things.

That makes developing youngsters that much harder. Some supporters want to abandon this youth development, they want players bought, stunting youngsters opportunities. A fine balance has to be trod and that isn't easy.

Right now it's Champions League qualification that matters and we could do with Llorente coming up with the goods again against Swansea in the FA Cup.

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