SPURS
 

IT has been said over the years that Spurs do not produce enough home-grown talent, a point underlined by the fact that the last player who joined as a youngster to make the grade was Ledley King.

All too often we’ve bought prospects instead of raising them ourselves, players like Aaron Lennon, who came as a teen but was already getting games under his belt for Leeds, or Simon Davies, who was a regular at Peterborough when we snapped him up.

 

So it must be pleasing for the board – especially after the megabucks investment in our new-state-of-the-art academy in Enfield – to see the likes of Jake Livermore able to step up to the plate when first-choice options are injured.

 

With Tommy Huddlestone still on the sidelines – he has yet to play this term – and Scott Parker’s knee giving him gip, the calf tear suffered by Sandro, who would be the automatic choice as a midfield enforcer, was all the more annoying.

 

But it has given the home-grown talent of Livermore the chance to come in and have a stab at some first-team action. HJR obviously rates the youngster and he has been a steady stand on nine occasions this term, and, if not playing, a regular face on the bench.

 

And on Wednesday night, in an accomplished 2-0 home win against Everton which moves Spurs up to joint second and just three points off league leaders Manchester City, the youngster showed he is more than capable of stepping in when called upon. Coupled with Livermore’s performance, there were some other reasons to be happy: Lennon was deemed fit to start, and centre-back Michael Dawson was given his first run-out since the achilles tendon operation he underwent in August. HJR marked Dawson’s return by handing him the captain’s armband.

 

Livermore, 22, made his presence felt early on with a crunching (but fair) tackle on Victor Anichebe. He didn’t bottle it when the hefty Evertonian went steaming in and his challenge won the ball as well as stamping his authority on the sector of the pitch he was patrolling. He then illustrated his growing confidence with a neat tackle and turn on to dispossess Tim Cahill and then set Luka Modric free. The way the ball was released showed a calmness and maturity.

 

Then it was more neat stuff a moment later when he controlled a tricky spinning ball that had been knocked clear by Tim Howard and pinged it into space for Benoit Assou-Ekotto to step on to – altogether it was a confident start from the youngster.

 

Livermore, one of a good current crop from the youth academy, was told to sit deep and provide the platform for Modric to wave his wand about. He had the shock-haired Marouane Fellaini to keep an eye on but still managed to work his way up the pitch to offer an outlet when the ball had to go backwards, and his willingness to take responsibility meant the loss of Parker was not noticed.

 

Spurs started brightly, with plenty of the ball, and created a few sniffs early on with van der Vaart and Modric both looking busy in dangerous positions while Adebayor had two opportunities in the opening half-hour to get shots off but found the ball sticking under those big feet of his. And it was Adebayor who had the first really clear-cut chance on 23 minutes, van der Vaart intercepted a sloppy ball from the Everton ranks and motored forward. He played Bale into space and the winger laid it on a plate for Adebayor. With just Howard to beat he contrived to knock it wide when arguably he should have buried it.

 

He had a chance to make amends moments later when he powered into the box but instead of getting his shot off, his lanky legs tripped himself up. He claimed a penalty, which it wasn’t, but then seconds later Modric was bundled over in the box and perhaps the referee should have pointed to the spot.

 

The breakthrough came moments after van der Vaart had nearly scored the goal of the season with an instinctive curler. Assou-Ekotto sent a cross-field ball over to Lennon. He slipped the attentions of Leighton Baines, shimmied across the face of the goal and nipped the ball home with a left-foot effort.

 

It settled the team and more chances came and went as the goal put a spring in the team’s step. It took until the 63rd minute for Spurs to double their lead, and what a beauty it was. Assou-Ekotto, arguably our most consistent player of the season, found himself in space in a central position and as Everton sat off him he decided to walk forward and have a pop. His perfectly placed drive took a little nick off Tom Cahill and, from about 30 yards, left Tim Howard clutching at air.

 

The second goal calmed the nerves and Spurs continued to get forward with pace and verve while swatting away the vague Evertonian efforts to get back into it. Much of this was down to Livermore. He had a lot to do. Physically, Everton’s team are big, strong lads but he never gave up. He fought for everything, and when he did when the ball, he used it carefully and simply. His first-half performance was illustrated perfectly by his nip and tuck tackle on Landon Donovan, his dummy to lose Anichebe and then his measured cross-field ball to Assou-Ekotto. It was textbook defensive midfield play. He didn’t flag in the second period either, despite busting a gut for those around him.

Whilst it’s clear he won’t be in the side when Sandro, Parker or Huddlestone are fit, this is an impressive youngster who has earned the right to learn his trade on the field alongside this tip-top Tottenham team.

 

PLAYER RATINGS

Friedel, 7: Hard to give him a mark out of 10 because he didn’t really have anything to do. Yet his big presence settles those in front of him.

Bale, 8: Tormented all who came near him. Got kicked a lot but is used to the rough stuff.

 

Kaboul, 7: Rapidly becoming a senior partner at the back. Has played alongside so many now – Dawson, King, Gallas and Bassong – that he can rightly claim to be the rock this terms efforts have been built on.

 

Lennon, 8: A great goal and settled right back into things after a lay-off with a hamstring problem. His pace troubled Leighton Baines and he offered an outlet every time the ball headed his way. Sub: Pienaar

 

Adebayor, 6: 10 out of 10 for effort but it can be frustrating when you see him stumble in positions where you just know Defoe would have buried it. Sub: Pavlyuchenko

 

van der Vaart, 8: Never anything less than a joy to behold. Showed his eagerness by popping up left, right, then centre, up front, back deep, all over the place: this is Dutch total football. Nearly hit a memorable opener when he curled one first time from the edge of the box.

 

Modric, 8: Great hustle and bustle. At times he was unplayable, with his opponents resorting to niggly little nips at the ankles in frustration.

 

Dawson, 7: Solid return from the big centre-back. Nice to be reminded of his raking passing ability as well as his brutal headed clearances.

 

Walker, 7: Speedy stuff, got some excellent crosses in.

 

Livermore, 8: A sign of how well he did that we didn’t miss Parker or Sandro. Always available, a mature performance.

 

Assou-Ekotto, 9: Watching him turn Landon Donovan inside out was good enough, and then he pops up with an exceptional effort to make the points safe. He even set Lennon up with the goal by drilling a ball 50 yards across the pitch, that landed on the winger’s toes. No one got any change from him. Brilliant.