Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Players Who Need to Step Up

Only two matches into the 2011 Premier League season, the Tottenham Hotspur find themselves looking at the number zero in the win column.

The two games included a disappointing second half against a Manchester United team they knew they had to play 90 minutes against, and an embarrassing loss to Edin Dzeko of Manchester City, who netted four goals all on his own.

The season is far from over, but Tottenham has their work cut out for them with one more game against Manchester City and Manchester United in the season. With that said, they have a few must-win games, including their next match against the Wolves.

However, these games will not come easy, which means that some players are going to need to step up more than they have in the past two games or even in the past season. This article will look at five of those players for the Spurs who need to improve their game.

#1: Jermain Defoe

The player on Tottenham that needs to step up the most is striker, Jermain Defoe. After scoring 18 goals for Spurs in the 2009-10 season, Defoe has basically been quiet since.

Defoe only netted four goals last year with 113 shots, but only 47 making them on goal. As a striker, he should be able to put more than 41% of his shots on net.

Defoe found himself on the bench to start last match against Manchester City, giving Peter Crouch the nod in the starting lineup.

Spurs have also gone into the transfer window in order to try to get some scoring. They were able to successfully transfer former Arsenal player, Emmanuel Adebayor.

Adebayor could pose a big threat for Defoe, maybe even putting Defoe on the bench.

#2: Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is going to need to step up, with the recent struggles of the Spurs as well as the injury to one of the most important pieces to the squad, Rafael Van Der Vaart. Bale has to play a big part in the offense of the Spurs in order to be successful on attack.

Garreth Bale has just one shot on goal in the two games so far in the Premier League season, which will not cut it, especially with Van Der Vaart out of the lineup. Teams will be able to focus on Bale and take away all opportunity for Bale to have touches on the ball.

#3: Rafael Van Der Vaart

With Rafael Van Der Vaart out for a couple weeks, the Spurs are going to need people to step up in his place. Players like Niko Kranjcar, Luka Modric, and Jake Livermore are going to need to step in the midfield in VDV's absence.

Van Der Vaart was leading the Spurs in shots with 17, shots on goal with 7, and assists with 1. This just shows that VDV was a huge part to the Spurs offense, and the team will really suffer with him being out. Hopefully, his return will spark the team as they are really going to need him down the stretch of must-win games as well as games which will matter to getting closer to the end of the season.  

#4: Scott Parker

Scott Parker is one of the biggest transfers for Tottenham this transfer period. Parker won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award in 2011 which is exactly the type of player that Tottenham will need in order to overcome the winning drought after two games.

Parker is not the type of player who will put goals up on the board, never scoring more than 7 goals in one season. However, Parker is a player who will make plays on both sides of the ball. Van Der Vaart and Parker in the midfield will be surely a force to be reckon with when VDV comes back from injury. Until then, Parker will have to work with Bale in order to make plays to get Tottenham on their winning ways once again.

#5. Michael Dawson

As one of the anchors of the defense, Michael Dawson is someone who is really going to need to step up. Tottenham has given up 8 goals in two games including four of those to Edin Dzeko in the last match against Manchester City. Tottenham has given up the most goals in the Premier League as well as one of the teams with the fewest, one.

The whole defense will need to step up, but Dawson is really the one who can and will set the standard for what the Spurs defense should look like. If Dawson steps up, the rest of the defense should follow suit and be in better shape for the rest of the season.