Andros Townsend Should Remain Patient as He Waits for Starting Time at Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane drew most of the headlines after his winner against Aston Villa on Sunday. Though the striker led the way, he was not alone in engineering his team's recovery from a goal down.
Nacer Chadli did not stop trying and scored the equaliser in the 2-1 victory. Kane's fellow substitute Andros Townsend also made a positive impact off the bench, notably winning the free-kick from which Tottenham took the lead.
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Though he has started seven cup games, it was only the 23-year-old's fourth appearance in the Premier League this season. Yet it was one that again highlighted his value to head coach Mauricio Pochettino and why he should remain patient as he waits for more starting opportunities.
In a similar fashion to the opening-day win over West Ham United, Townsend's introduction helped Spurs make something of their numerical advantage.
They had initially looked stumped as to how to get through a Villa side who began defending deeper following Christian Benteke's dismissal (perhaps not surprisingly given the drabness of their previous hour's work).
Along with Chadli, Kane and Erik Lamela, Townsend's running began to find ways through and put Paul Lambert's men on the back foot in places they did not want to be.
The winger continued the in-game burgeoning trend of finding some joy down left-back Aly Cissokho's flank, winning a corner on the 88th minute when Nathan Baker blocked his cross. Soon after Townsend changed tack with the inwards run that saw Carlos Sanchez make his costly foul.
Settling for an impact role in the league, alongside his more regular starting position in the Europa League and Capital One Cup, will not satisfy Townsend in north London in the long term. He has ambitions with the England team, too, and will understandably have been concerned by manager Roy Hodgson's warning to him last month.
"Pochettino at the moment has decided he doesn't want to use [Townsend], which is fine by me, but like all players, he runs the risk that the less you play, it does get harder and harder for me to keep faith with players," Hodgson told PA Sport, via ESPN FC.
Townsend does appear to have the self-awareness that it is going to be in large part up to him to get more substantial playing time at Tottenham.
"I know maybe at the moment Iโm not playing well enough to break into the Premier League side but Iโm feeling better and better and felt sharp tonight, got some good crosses in and hopefully it will all fall into place," Townsend said to his club's official website after they beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 last week. "I just have to keep working hard and be ready when I'm called upon."
Townsend can definitely not be accused of not working hard. It is difficult to develop good form when competitive football comes so irregularly, but he is as tireless and brave a performer as there is at Tottenham.
In the first half against Brighton, he overran the ball a couple of times and was unable to find his shooting range, but he kept at it and had some success after the interval.
The run he made down the left-hand side of the penalty box in the run-up to Kane's goal was well-judged. The cross from there to Roberto Soldado at the near post (from which Kane would rebound) was nicely played.
He brought the ball forward well from his predominant position on the right, too, linking nicely with full-back Kyle Naughton and also teed up Soldado for a great chance from which the forward hit the bar.
Townsend's decision-making has largely improvedโthe shoot-on-sight policy is definitely less prominent than last season. Still, there are areas of his game he needs to work on.
Slowing down sometimes and understanding the need for more thoughtful ball management would help better convince his boss he can be relied upon to play his part in constructing the team's attacks.
The way he lost possession after coming on against Liverpool in August, leading to Alberto Moreno's goal, did not aid his hope for more playing time earlier this campaign.
Lamela has made similar mistakes (such as in the Manchester City loss), but he and Chadliโprobably Townsend's biggest rivals for a starting placeโhave found ways to more regularly impact games in a way the Englishman admitted he had not. Notably in the goals they have each scored and created.
Townsend will likely have to bide his time if he is to get ahead of either of them or be included in some other way. He does have reason to be hopeful.
The Brighton display will almost certainly have influenced Pochettino's decision to bring him on against Villa, though. If Townsend can continue to contribute productively, the Argentinian will hand him a greater chance.
He only has to look at Ryan Mason's promotion to first-team duty and the reward that is now likely to come Kane's way for his goal-scoring form to see as much. The fellow academy products have earned their minutes.
If Townsend does enough to warrant it, he will get his, too.
