Selfish and Ineffective Teammates Impeding Tottenham Forward Roberto Soldado

Tottenham Hotspur forward Roberto Soldado, the £26 million man from Valencia, will only be as good as the support provided by his teammates. 

Yes, Soldado shares a portion of Spurs' inability to finish their chances—nine goals in 11 Premier League games—but he has struggled to transition from being the first option at Valencia to an afterthought at his new club. 

LEAGUE ONLY	Player	Shots Per Game
Valencia (2012-13)	1. Soldado	2.9
	2. Costa	2.4
	3. Jonas	2.3
Spurs (2013-14)
	1. Townsend	4.5
	2. Paulinho	3.3
	3. Soldado	2.4
	4. Sigurdsson	2.3
	5. Chadli	2.3

Soldado isn't just jostling with opposing defenders to get into an advantageous goal scoring position, but he is also being hindered more by his own teammates—the players expected to assist him in a potential 20-30-goal season for the club.

Andros Townsend and Paulinho have disregarded playing to Soldado's strengths in order to up their own status at the club.

Townsend and Paulinho are the main culprits. They not only average more shots per league game than the club's No. 9, but the duo have brought a new meaning to wastefulness, scoring a combined two league goals from 81 shots. 

Soldado averages 0.3 dribbles per game, so he cannot create his own shot, a la Liverpool's Luis Suarez, who averages 3.3 dribbles per game and has scored eight goals in six league games.

Paulinho was described as a Brazilian Frank Lampard by former Argentine international Juan Riquelme. 

Riquelme was correct about the shooting element of Paulinho's game, but the Brazilian is far more mobile than Lampard ever was. 

Paulinho's awareness is excellent, getting himself into great position to score, hence his average of 3.3 shots per league game. But unlike Lampard in his pre-deep-lying midfield position, Paulinho's efficiency has been dire, scoring once from 36 shots. 

He averages 3.3 shots per league game compared to 1.3 key passes per league game, which indicates a willingness to shoot as opposed to assist. 

This is why you need to cut Soldado some slack. Lacking express pace, he is a pure goal poacher who needs to be chauffeured on the pitch with one aim in mind: tapping the ball over the goal line. 

But this task is complicated by the selfishness of Townsend, a take-on specialist so good he has completed 33 more dribbles than Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. Desperate to avoid another loan stint, Townsend has been playing hero ball, tearing apart opposing left-backs and then shooting with reckless abandon. 

Townsend averages more shots per league game (4.5) than Daniel Sturridge (3.5) giving you an idea how self-serving the Tottenham winger is. Townsend is to Spurs what Sturridge was to Andre Villas-Boas' Chelsea. 

Both Townsend and Paulinho need to be like Christian Eriksen, who created nine shots for his teammates in Spurs' 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United. 

Without adequate service, Soldado will have to continue padding up his goal tally with spot-kicks (75 percent of his Premier League goals have come via penalties).

Someone find out what the odds are of Spurs being awarded 20-25 penalties this season.

For comparison's sake, Serhiy Rebrov, a big-money flop at White Hart Lane, had scored five goals in his first 11 league games. 

Tottenham fans will be hoping Soldado isn't the next Rebrov just like Soldado is hoping Townsend will slide in a through-ball rather than shooting.

Statistics via WhoScored, FFT Stats Zone, Squawka and Transfermarkt
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