Premier League: Tottenham Must Continue to Utilise Their Midfield Options

Tottenham Hotspur were hardly wanting for midfielders this past summer, but the arrival of Scott Parker has undeniably added a component that was missing—leadership.

Parker's display in Tottenham's 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers this past Sunday had his manager Harry Redknapp purring over another hard-working and tremendously effective performance by the England international.

Redknapp has clearly been delighted with the impact of a player he has not been shy in making it known was his primary transfer target in the recent window. After the QPR victory, he even went so far as to liken Parker to the legendary Spurs midfielder Dave Mackay.

Those who watched the Scotsman in his heyday would maybe scoff at such a comparison. But it is hard to dispute what Parker offers to the Tottenham cause does have some parallels with Mackay.

Like Mackay, Parker is a midfielder that combines tough defensive play with an intelligence to make the most of possession when he has won the ball. If the latter is not quite matching in overall class with his predecessor of 50 years ago, the key element of being a leader by example and conviction is definitely worthy of comparison.

The season's opening two losses against the Manchester clubs—particularly against City—made the subsequent impact made by Parker especially startling.

His determination and effort have characterised a growing solidity in the team that was generally lacking in those games, and it will be something that stands Tottenham in good stead as the season progresses.

But as the inexperience of Jake Livermore and then more notably an overwhelmed Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar gave way to those marauders in Mancunian colours, it was not solely the absence of a sleeves-rolled-up grafter like Parker that was missing, but just a defensive midfield presence in general.

It is a neglected fact that Sandro, the star of the latter half of Tottenham's 2010/11 campaign, was injured at the beginning of this season. Because like Parker, the Brazilian is a great blend of smart defensive positioning, excellent timing in the tackle, and not inconsiderable intelligence going forward.

The Brazilian would probably not have meant Spurs beating Man City, but he would undoubtedly have stopped them being slaughtered as ruthlessly as they were.

That Sandro cannot currently break into the Tottenham midfield says it all about the continued strength in depth of the position at White Hart Lane. But with a long season still to come, there is already evidence of the contribution he can make to situations that will sometimes require something different to Parker-Modric.

There was his second-half cameo in the 2-1 win against Arsenal—an introduction that helped Tottenham regain the midfield impetus in a game that had been delicately balanced at 1-1.

Perhaps more pertinently, the first-half against Wigan gave us our first look at how a more defensively-inclined unit of Parker-Sandro might work. If that was not the optimum game to deploy such a combination, then a more difficult midfield contest against a Manchester City or Chelsea might well be.

The level of quality provided by Luka Modric means it will be a rare occasion when he does not play.

The Croatian long ago demonstrated the toughness to be a legitimate Premier League central midfielder, as he did the ability and vision that makes him a player so influential in making his team tick.

His versatility, though, does make sure that he can be incorporated elsewhere to good effect should Tottenham need to employ a more defensive outlook.

The idea of Modric being deployed out wide again does not initially seem like one Spurs are likely to use often if their main wingers Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon keep playing as well as they did against QPR.

But already this season, there has been success in using a variety of players in wide positions, a lesson in flexibility that the coaching staff would do well to keep in mind if they want to avoid the staleness that plagued the club's wing-play late last season.

Before getting injured, Niko Kranjcar was staking a claim for contention with strong creative displays against Wolves and Liverpool. Against Wolves especially, the Croatian's penchant for moving inside to link up with his forwards aided the fluidity of Tottenham's passing game a great deal.

Kranjcar's injury couldn't have come at a worse time for a player gaining in form, but his example of the way movement can influence games has certainly been picked up by Bale and Lennon. The Welshman's two goals against QPR were as a result of both venturing into central areas to pick up the ball and proceeding to link up smartly.

We all know of their speed out wide, but restricting such an attribute to just attacking opposition full-backs seems foolish with the evidential havoc it can cause when they play with that amount of freedom.

The heartening thing for Spurs is that, outside of Bale and Lennon out wide and the aforementioned central midfielders, there are others showing every sign of stepping in and filling a role in midfield without it being of detriment to the flow of the game.

Jake Livermore and Tom Carroll are looking better with every game in the Europa League, and their confidence will grow. Giovani Dos Santos and Andros Townsend too have shown an adventurousness in keeping with Tottenham's way of playing right now.

It is easy to forget too that Tom Huddlestone and Steven Pienaar have been injured, and both are extremely capable midfielders.

By the time of Tottenham's next league game at Fulham, we won't even be a week into November, so Spurs would be wise not to rest on their laurels just yet. But the signs are good if the White Hart Lane club can continue to make the most out of a talented and varied squad.