van der vaart

mickman

what are peoples opinions of rafa at this stage of the season ?

personally i think if we had benched rafa at the weekend and started pav up front with defoe then we would have won the game. rafa was getting in lucas way in mid field, and only when he went off did luca really take over the midfield.

can harry tell this guy what to do? does he even listen? im sure harry saw he was playing way too deep, did he just haul him off cos there is no point in talking to him and will only do what he wants anyway?

why cant he get 100% fit? is he not making the effort to get fit?

i admit when he is on the ball and playing off the front man then he has excellent ability and is a great goal threat but at the moment he isnt doing enough to get in the team in my opinion and a day or two on the bench might do him good

SuprSi

I'm not sure what to make of him now. He had a brilliant first few months with the team, player of the season material, but now he's gone off the boil, isn't scoring, seems quite selfish, and seems to be playing more for himself or at least suiting himself. Seeing him drop behind the half way line to collect the ball, spary it out, but not try to make a move into the box, ala Rooney, is very frustrating. We have Lennon and Bale, two guys who can get the ball in there, but if there's only one striker, what's the point?

The fitness thing is frustrating too. The pre-season excuse may be valid, but does that mean that he won't be fully fit at all this season? What about players who are injured for pre-season yet still get full match fitness afterwards? He's been very frustrating of late, and it's almost at the stage where he doesn't warrant starting.

Having said that, of our 4 strikers he's still the most likely to score a goal and has scored the most too. He'll have a proper pre-season next season, and I'm sure he'll have it tougher than any of the other players in order to make him fit, so we'll see what he's like next season.

mickman

its nothing to do with pre season, its march!!! if he isnt fit now then he is not training correctly .

he seems to not trust the other players that they will get him the ball so he goes back to the half way line himself for it, thats utter nonsense as modric is as good a passer if not better

if vdv is worth 20 mill then modric is worth 50. u cant compare the two players in my opinion. modric is truly world class

tomo75

I Think VDV should be given credit for what he has achieved in the season to date. 10 league goals and has been class in the CL. I would have been very surprised if he could continiue that form thru out the season. He is probably annoyed with himself that is is not still in the vain of form. There aren't many players who can sustain that kinda form over a full season.

While I don't like seeing a player sulking or walking down the tunnel when subbed, I still think it better than sitting on the bench and letting your agent doing the talking aka Pav. Now there is a guy I'm fustrated with but thats for a different thread!:D

PS. While his fitness may be under question, if it weren't for Bale and VDV goals - we wouldn't be within an ass's roar of competing for fourth or the CL quarters!

Kiith

I'd say he's just gotten frustrated with himself, as he's had such a tough time with injuries after what was an amazing start. It must be tough to go from being out for so long with Real, to being in the form of his career with Spurs, but then have a series of injuries that keep him benched.

I think he'll get himself back to full fitness, then get a goal or two and be back to where he was. At least i hope so, because our strikers can't hit the broad side of a barn at the moment.

yiddo59

Shows on far we've come that we're complaining about VDV. A few seasons back it was Ruel Fox , Andy Sinton etc

As for starting Pav with Defoe it won;t work cos Defoe will stay up top and Pav is useless out the field. Don't rate Pav overall but he's a good finisher. I do agree though that if Pav had got the chance Defoe did he'd have taken at least one of them. I'd go Pav up top with VDV behind in the EPL and Crouch and VDV in the CL.

Hatch99

yiddo59 wrote: »

I'd go Pav up top with VDV behind in the EPL and Crouch and VDV in the CL.

It'll never happen, JD is Harrys love child.

yiddo59

Hatch99 wrote: »

It'll never happen, JD is Harrys love child.

Thought it was Crouchie?

Hatch99

yiddo59 wrote: »

Thought it was Crouchie?

Both

Seillejet

Hopefully the international break does him good.

I think he scored against Hungary. Can also see him pull it out against Real.There will be huge incentive for him to do so, considering how he perceives he was treated there.

We are going through a slump but come on two ties away from the CL Final. I think all the players can get their game on for it. COYS!!

happy hotspur

Van der Vaart scored against hungary alright. I see he was captain for both games. Is he the fulltime captain of Holland now or was it just for these recent games?
Maybe if Holland made him captain it would help to drive him on at Spurs.