Last week the rumourmongers over at talkSPORT suggested that AC Milan were weighing up a move for Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart. Despite a sprightly start to last season, which had numerous pundits positing Van der Vaart as one of the signings of the season, he went off the boil a touch towards the end of last season and at the moment it’s not really clear where he fits into this Tottenham side.
Is this one player who Harry Redknapp could afford to let go for the right price? My initial feeling before this weekend would have been that his sale, in combination with the sales of Roman Pavlyuchenko and Heurelho Gomes would give the club enough money to bring in another striker and a keeper.
But given his goal and overall performance against Wigan at the weekend, I think there should be a change of emphasis at the club. Harry must work out how to get the most out of the Dutchman. Make the system work around Van der Vaart, rather than make Van der Vaart work around the system.
He’s too good a player to send on his way for a fee of around £12m (even if that would represent a £4m profit on what Tottenham originally paid to bring him over from Real Madrid). Consider this: is there a player anywhere in the world available for around £12m that is as good as Van der Vaart? I very much doubt it.
It’s true that a nice partnership seems to be forming between Jermaine Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor and that as a result some may be unwilling to sacrifice Tottenham’s 4-4-2 to accommodate Van der Vaart, but isn’t the clubs real strength in the centre of the midfield? Perhaps Van der Vaart could play in a 4-5-1 where Sandro and Parker provide additional protection for the back four, whilst Modric takes up a more advanced role.
I could see this formation working, particularly against the big teams and when Tottenham are playing away from home. Perhaps it’s time for Harry to get a little experimental in order to get the most out of one of his best players. If he can do so whilst keeping the likes of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale happy, then all the better.
Would you be willing to see VDV move on? Or would you like to see Tottenham work harder to fit him into their system. Let us know your thoughts!
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I feel a little bit for the likes of Livermore and Krancs when Harry says things like he’s had no midfield for them games, but… the difference between the 1st teamers and squad players is still quite apparent. Those saying we can afford to let Vdv go must be paying loads for their internet connection, getting all the way over here from whatever planet they’re on.
To let VDV go would be madness, he can play in any midfield position or as a support striker, tell me any other player in our squad that can do that.
I see you and your media collegues are now trying to do the same to VDV as you did with Modric and cause problems within the squad. Go get a proper job Tosser !!!!!
Sometimes a player arrives and upsets the balance of your team , The problem is every time he plays he scores and after this is work rate drops dramatically. When this happens he runs out of gas mostly just after he scores. Then the rest of the game he protects his hamstring by limiting any sprints too ten yards. He left Walker exposed too Moses runs when Lennon plays he helps Walker in defense he is a quality player with bad hamsting and a poor work rate a luxury we play 90 mins better without him.
I have said elsewhere .. VDV is great as an impact player. we should play the 442 without him , but if a striker gets sidelined or the strategy needs it we have the capacity to go to a 451. He is a good player but he does run out of gas,another problem with him is that he tries to do everything. He is often out of position and exposes our defense as a result. Mostly a lone striker formation is easy to mark so it was pretty ineffective for us last year.
I agree with Davspurs. The balance of the team is key to Spurs. We look formidable when we played Liverpool in the 1st half. When vdV came on in the 2nd, our formation lost its shape. For Defoe’s goal, vdV was at left midfield putting the ball through! Why was he there in the 1st place? I mean, we have Bale, BAE, Modric and Parker in that area! Imagine how exposed Walker would be if the pass was picked up by the Liverpool players, and Parker & Modric would then have to cover for vdV by shifting to the right ( I guess we all know vdV would not track back). Sometimes in the game, Adebayor will be at wide right as he knows that the place is open without any Spurs players since vdV wants to be in the thick of action everytime. Any other player would have enough discipline to stay focus on their jobs, but not vdV.
This article has to have been written by closet gooner.Tottenham would be very foolish to let go of such a quality player.Besides its best to have strenght in depth.Unless of course he was offered heaps more in wages(ie.Modric)That could well persuade him to move on.That would only come from the likes of Chelski/ManCity/Manu.In the english premier league.Even the arse are not that flamybouyant with their wage structure.
we know vdv when he came to spurs was not fit.he still seems not 100%.also he picks up injurys too frequently.when big clubs sell supposed top players at reasonable prices,one has to wonder why?dos santos is another who came with a great reputation.this appears to be for only big occasions.back to vdv.he came like a winged angel and we could only admire his goals and skill.he is a shadow of his former self.if you sell he might capture his lost form.on the other hand he may not.you need the wisdom of solomon to make the right decision.
I think that VDV was purchased for a reason and that is to play in thew position he now fills. A player who can knock balls into the net like he does would be difficult to find. We are not in a club that is trying to make money out of our players but to retain their services. We were a selling club but that was in the past I HOPE.A player that goes away for treatment so he can return and play earlier than expected is not one we should want to sell. VDV has his heart in our club and I hope it will remain so for the next few years.