bench warmer?
A general response lacking in much excitement seems to have been the reaction to Spurs “winning” the signature of Steven Pienaar from Everton.
£2.5 to £3 million seems decent enough for a reasonable player, £75 grand a week is on the steep side, especially when you hear Chelski baulked at such a number but where and when will he “earn” this figure?
Many seem him as a wide player but he can cover pretty much any attacking midfield position. So he won’t be replacing Palacios then, or taking Sandro’s place in the subs. He certainly isn’t going to be making ‘Arry drop Modric to the bench, then of course Huddlestone will be back at some point so that’s another player he’ll be behind. On the wings again you certainly can’t see ‘Arry bringing him in for Bale or indeed for Assou-Ekotto and dropping Bale back to left-back or even Lennon, straight off. He can come off the bench for them though, so you basically see him as back up for injuries and late in game substitutions.
Now with Bentley on loan to Brum, with a permanent move more likely than him staying at Spurs – talk about him not putting it in training so not getting a game and 3 goals and 4 assists nice layout for £15million – there’s a place on the bench and well I’d be very happy if Pienaar was ‘Arry’s first choice to come on instead of Jenas – can’t we sell him now ‘Arry?.
And then there’s Krancjar who quite frankly has been a huge disappointment of late. Such a bargain buy a season and a half ago, he fitted straight in and was a pretty good stand in while Luka was injured but this season has seen less playing time and when he has featured his play has been lacking so much. Would be nice if certain Chelski rumours were true, a nice £5 mill profit, would cover the outlay on Pienaar.
Now with a fullish contingent of midfielders wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a striker who scores easy chances on a regular basis…