LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur reacts after defeat in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
5 players Tottenham must upgrade to compete in the Champions League
(L-R) Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur FC, Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur FC, Erik Durm of Borussia Dortmund during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 match between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur on March 10, 2016 at the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
5. Ben Davies
For the record, this assertion has nothing to do with Davies’ injury in the second leg against Dortmund. It has everything to do with the fact that the Welsh left-back struggles greatly against world-class athleticism. Champions League teams tend to have quite a bit of that sort of pace.
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Davies has a role under Pochettino, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that he’s only suited to be deployed against weaker competition. In matches where Spurs can dominate possession, he can be a really useful player with his ability to whip excellent crosses into the box.
It’s the matches against upper-echelon teams where he really struggles to hold up in terms of his defensive responsibilities. He was badly exposed by attackers Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the Europa League. These are just the sort of attackers that Tottenham is going to come up against frequently in Champions League competition.
Ben Davies doesn’t need to be sold, but he needs to understand that his role moving forward is going to be limited. He’ll be a useful squad player who gets some playing time against weak competition, but his days playing in Tottenham’s biggest matches should be over. I wouldn’t even be surprised to see a third left-back added by Pochettino this summer.
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<p>Davies has a role under Pochettino, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that he’s only suited to be deployed against weaker competition. In matches where Spurs can dominate possession, he can be a really useful player with his ability to whip excellent crosses into the box.</p>
<p>It’s the matches against upper-echelon teams where he really struggles to hold up in terms of his defensive responsibilities. He was badly exposed by attackers Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the Europa League. These are just the sort of attackers that Tottenham is going to come up against frequently in Champions League competition.</p>
<p>Ben Davies doesn’t need to be sold, but he needs to understand that his role moving forward is going to be limited. He’ll be a useful squad player who gets some playing time against weak competition, but his days playing in Tottenham’s biggest matches should be over. I wouldn’t even be surprised to see a third left-back added by Pochettino this summer.</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">4. Ryan Mason</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_408514" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund battles with Ryan Mason and Kevin Wimmer of Tottenham Hotspur (27) during the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>4. Ryan Mason</h3>
<p>This one pains me a little bit. I love the attitude and toughness that Ryan Mason brings to the Tottenham squad, but when Spurs go up against elite competition he looks out of his depth. In particular, his partnership with Tom Carroll in the first leg against Dortmund was an absolute train wreck.</p>
<p>In fairness to Mason, he did play much better at White Hart Lane. Still, he just isn’t quite good enough to be a key player against elite competition. If he were a little faster, a little more skilled or a little bigger it might be different. But as you know, if frogs had wings they wouldn’t bump their rears.</p>
<p>As it stands, Mason is a great squad player for Pochettino. He can be deployed in multiple positions and you know you’re going to get great effort out of him every time he steps onto the pitch. The strategy moving forward should just be to make sure he doesn’t step on the pitch against world-class opponents.</p>
<p>He has a better opportunity to play against good Premier League competition than Ben Davies, but Tottenham will be better off leaving him on the bench against the English league’s elite. He won’t necessarily hurt them against really talented squads, but a team with title aspirations should be purchasing a better option this summer. Axel Witsel anyone?</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">3. Tom Carroll</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_408515" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-408515" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_393,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F03%2F514762382-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-590x900.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="393" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762382-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-590x900.jpg 590w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762382-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-300x600.jpg 300w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762382-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-768x0.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">(L-R) Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund, Tom Carroll of Tottenham Hotspur FC, Son Heung-Min of Tottenham Hotspur FC during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 match between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur on March 10, 2016 at the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>3. Tom Carroll</h3>
<p>I’m sure Tom Carroll is a great guy who loves playing for Tottenham very much. I’m also a great guy who would love to play for Tottenham. These characteristics don’t qualify either of us to line up against the likes of Aubameyang and Reus in meaningful competition.</p>
<p>Unlike Mason and Davies, I think Carroll would be best served to move along this summer. He’s already 23-years-old and his body still looks like he’s 14. That’s not likely to change anytime soon. His lack of size and athleticism really limit his ability to be an effective Premier League midfielder.</p>
<p>That was painfully obvious in the match at Dortmund. He and Mason played the double-pivot more like a turnstile than any real obstacle for the German juggernauts. Carroll almost looked like someone’s son had wandered out onto the pitch with a Spurs kit on.</p>
<p>If he does stay, Carroll should be relegated strictly to low-level Cup matches and the occasional substitute appearances in matches where Tottenham can control possession. You may think this is harsh, but did you see anyone who looked as inept as Carroll step on the field for Dortmund? That’s got to be the standard for Spurs moving forward.</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">2. Nacer Chadli</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_408516" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-408516" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_393,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F03%2F514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-590x900.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="393" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-590x900.jpg 590w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-300x600.jpg 300w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-768x0.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">(L-R) Nacer Chadli of Tottenham Hotspur FC, Lukasz Piszczek of Borussia Dortmund during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 match between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur on March 10, 2016 at the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>2. Nacer Chadli</h3>
<p>Full disclosure here, I don’t like the way Nacer Chadli plays. He looks slow and disinterested for long stretches. He lacks the work-rate that I believe separates Tottenham attackers from their Premier League peers. He looks much more like a lower level Premier League player than a Champions League participant to me.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>With that being said, I could certainly understand Pochettino keeping him around to play against average Premier League opponents. He is capable of moments of extraordinary quality that can make up for his long stretches of slumber. If he could ever find consistency, Pochettino would have a real player on his hands.</p>
<p>He can be a useful squad player as well. The current roster doesn’t have very many physical attacking players, so he can offer something different off the Spurs bench. Whether or not he’d be happy after being relegated to such a diminished role is a different question.</p>
<p>Ultimately, I think Chadli’s status on the Tottenham squad next year comes down entirely to his attitude and the market for the Dolphin. If he’s happy to be a squad player and no one comes in with a significant transfer offer, he’ll stay at White Hart Lane. If either of those things doesn’t come true, he’ll be off and Spurs can substantially improve at his position.</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">1. Son Heung-Min</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—></p><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_408517" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-408517" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_393,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F03%2F516196412-tottenham-hotspur-v-borussia-dortmund-uefa-europa-league-round-of-16-second-leg-590x900.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="393" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/516196412-tottenham-hotspur-v-borussia-dortmund-uefa-europa-league-round-of-16-second-leg-590x900.jpg 590w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/516196412-tottenham-hotspur-v-borussia-dortmund-uefa-europa-league-round-of-16-second-leg-300x600.jpg 300w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/516196412-tottenham-hotspur-v-borussia-dortmund-uefa-europa-league-round-of-16-second-leg-768x0.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur takes on Gonzalo Castro of Borussia Dortmund during the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>1. Son Heung-Min</h3>
<p>As I wrote at<a href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/19/5-players-tottenham-must-upgrade-to-compete-in-the-champions-league/2/"https://playingfor90.com/2016/03/18/tottenham-cannot-count-on-son-heung-min/" target="_blank"> great length in yesterday’s piece</a>, there’s still time for Son to rescue his Tottenham career. As it stands though, Spurs must move to strengthen their attack this summer and that will likely come up at Son’s expense.</p>
<p>Son just hasn’t been effective versus anyone as of late, and that was especially true against Dortmund. Don’t be fooled by the fact that he scored a goal, it was an absolute gift from the German keeper. He failed to establish any sort of offensive rhythm and generally wasn’t a threat at all.</p>
<p>The best potential remedy for Son is to follow the plan that Pochettino used with Erik Lamela this season. He used matches against weaker opponents, particularly in the Europa League to rebuild the young attacker’s confidence gradually. Ultimately that’s helped Lamela become one of Tottenham’s better players as of late. Perhaps next year the same could happen for Son.</p>
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<p>Currently, Tottenham’s lack of a genuine attacking threat off the bench is a huge weakness for Pochettino. Spurs need to spend substantial money to improve their bench options at both striker and attacking midfielder in preparation for next year’s campaign. The current options of Son and Chadli have been completely unable to impact the game at either spot. That has to change next year if Spurs are going to be a serious factor in the Champions League.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
