After losing Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov this summer, it was important for Spurs to replace them with a quality signing or two. Surely Juande Ramos had to find a forward that could link up with Darren Bent and help his team score plenty of goals in the process, catapulting them towards the UEFA Cup places, maybe even a Champions League spot?
Instead it appears as though the North London club could have a pretty mediocre season on their hands, especially with this latest revelation. That’s because Setanta are reporting that Roman Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent are incompatible, meaning that Spurs have to choose between the two strikers for a starting berth up front. Gus Poyet reckons the pair haven’t hit it off when they’ve played together, which is something of a blow if you’re a Tottenham fan.
Poyet, who has called on Spurs’ players to find ‘that bit extra’ to lift the club out of their worrying predicament, claimed that Pavlyuchenko, despite being bought to replace Dimitar Berbatov and complement Spurs’ existing forwards, cannot play with Bent.
“Unfortunately in the game and a half that Pavlyuchenko and Bent played together, it didn’t work for us,” said Poyet.
“They’re the same type of player and it is difficult for them to play together.”
Hmmm, what about defining a different role for each player, so that they don’t make the same runs and find themselves in identical positions? When you’re trailing 1-0 to Portsmouth, it seems ridiculous that you wouldn’t give both players a whirl, something which might have stretched the opposition defence. Tottenham fans, do you really hold with the view that the pair can’t play together?
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