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Official Benoit Thread
- Thread starter papaspur
- Start date
Nutter-Naylor
Anthony Gardner
Assou-Ekotto has recently returned from a knee injury which ruled him out for four months and, having initially made his comeback in the FA Cup victory over Coventry, he was named on the bench against Manchester United on Sunday as Naughton started at left-back for the fifth league game in a row.
However, Assou-Ekotto replaced his team-mate in the 64th minute before delivering the left-wing cross which produced Tottenham’s equaliser – and he believes his natural advantages will prove decisive once he regains full match fitness.
“I’m not worried because obviously I can do stuff with my left foot that he [Naughton] can’t do,” said Assou-Ekotto. “He’s not a real left-back and I don’t think he has the same left foot as me, so I’m not worried about that.
“To come back in the Premier League is quite hard because it’s high-tempo, but sometimes it’s easier to play against Man United than against a team in the bottom half, so I think it was a good game for me to come back in.
“We can be happy with the result. We can have a positive attitude and say ‘okay, we got a 1-1 draw against Man United’ but at the same time we can be sad because we missed five good opportunities against them.
“But we did what they normally do to many teams – we scored in the last minute. If we see the game this way we can say that it’s a good point for us.”
Tottenham’s draw with the league leaders coincided with Arsenal’s defeat at Chelsea, but Assou-Ekotto says he and his team-mates have little interest in the Gunners’ fortunes.
“I don’t care, and I think we shouldn’t care about the other teams,” he said. “We have to be focused only on ourselves, and to have a target not to lose any games.
“Even if we only got one point at the weekend, maybe at the end of the season this point will be very important.”
However, Assou-Ekotto replaced his team-mate in the 64th minute before delivering the left-wing cross which produced Tottenham’s equaliser – and he believes his natural advantages will prove decisive once he regains full match fitness.
“I’m not worried because obviously I can do stuff with my left foot that he [Naughton] can’t do,” said Assou-Ekotto. “He’s not a real left-back and I don’t think he has the same left foot as me, so I’m not worried about that.
“To come back in the Premier League is quite hard because it’s high-tempo, but sometimes it’s easier to play against Man United than against a team in the bottom half, so I think it was a good game for me to come back in.
“We can be happy with the result. We can have a positive attitude and say ‘okay, we got a 1-1 draw against Man United’ but at the same time we can be sad because we missed five good opportunities against them.
“But we did what they normally do to many teams – we scored in the last minute. If we see the game this way we can say that it’s a good point for us.”
Tottenham’s draw with the league leaders coincided with Arsenal’s defeat at Chelsea, but Assou-Ekotto says he and his team-mates have little interest in the Gunners’ fortunes.
“I don’t care, and I think we shouldn’t care about the other teams,” he said. “We have to be focused only on ourselves, and to have a target not to lose any games.
“Even if we only got one point at the weekend, maybe at the end of the season this point will be very important.”
NewYorkSpurs
Steven Caulker
Couldn't have been what he said. There aren't any exclamation points, emoticons or lol's.
superfaisty
Nico Claesen
Fair point benny but I'd rather the competition from Naughton spur him on to raise his game!
And unprofessional
metalgear
Nayim
on the other hand he might comfortable with naughton to say something as cheeky as that just for fun.
BAE seems to be the easy going kind... the only person i suspect who'd get on his back would be the coach for exactly that!
braineclipse
Willie Hall
I don't see how being confident about winning your place back means that you won't benefit from the competition presented by a young player doing well.
Why exactly?
It's pretty obvious observation, I don't think Naughton is going to be insulted.
Imagine Lloris came out and said few months ago
'I'm much younger and can do things Brad can't - I see no porblem in becoming no.1'
braineclipse
Willie Hall
I wouldn't have had much problem with that. I assume that was what he was thinking when he signed for us. Again we see Ekotto actually answer questions somewhat honestly, it's refreshing to me compared to the bland cliches we get from most players. Also it seems to me obvious that this was said with a smile, not as some put down towards Naughton. He's our first choice left back, by some distance. What's wrong with him being confident about that?
There's a difference between your comparison and this situation though. That difference is that Ekotto has proven himself for us over years, Naughton has not. On the other hand Friedel was proven both in the league and for us.
A more apt comparison would be if say Townsend did well on the right if Lennon was out for a while and Lennon saying that he was confident in getting back into the side cause he could do things Townsend couldn't.
So - players should get into the team on past merit? - Isn't that exactly what AVB tried to eradicate, with the most vivid example being the Lloris fiasco - else Brad should have been dropped on day one. Plus BAE has been on the bench in our last 2 PL games, perhaps now that AVB's had time to assess him properly things might look a whole lot different.
Using your Lennon/Townsend example - in my view, it is completely and utterly degrading and arrogant to another team-mate (even one who's apparently inferior) to demean their abilities in any way whatsoever - especially so in public.
Going back to my Lloris example - this very board would have demanded blood and public stoning should he had said something similar (rememeber Barthez' comments and the subsequent reaction on here! - people were frothing) - yet BAE being a massive fan-favourite, it is being dimsissed as Twitter banter or similar. Sorry, not for me.
Using your Lennon/Townsend example - in my view, it is completely and utterly degrading and arrogant to another team-mate (even one who's apparently inferior) to demean their abilities in any way whatsoever - especially so in public.
Going back to my Lloris example - this very board would have demanded blood and public stoning should he had said something similar (rememeber Barthez' comments and the subsequent reaction on here! - people were frothing) - yet BAE being a massive fan-favourite, it is being dimsissed as Twitter banter or similar. Sorry, not for me.
africanspurs
Justin Edinburgh
#
you cant be serious. that is EXTREMELY unprofessional , even if naughton is cool with it, which i am not sure he would be, should be, or that i would even want him to be......especialy when thinking of the fact that its a competitive squad vying for playing positions
that is unprofessional
still love BAE though. top 3 to 5 left back in the country and a better DEFENDER than Baines
africanspurs
Justin Edinburgh
unprofessional as well. we may as well be okay with managers airing their dirty laundry in public, or saying what they really think about situations / players in public
braineclipse
Willie Hall
What part of my post made you think that this is what I think?
Spursalot
Jimmy McCormick
That's a completely different example.
Imo Bae is basically saying 'I'm left footed, and Naughton is not' and 'I'm a left back whereas Naughton is a right back'.
Absolutely fudge all wrong with that. It's accurate and it's not exactly an opinion, which the Lloris and Brad example is.
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braineclipse
Willie Hall
It's obviously a competitive squad vying for playing positions... Do you think what Ekotto said changes this in any way?
He's just confident about winning his place back in his team. He thinks he's better than Naughton at left back, and he's saying just that. He's even being rather careful about it just pointing out that he has a better left foot, something that is obviously fudging true. Naughton is right footed...
What part of this is the same as dirty laundry?
A player that has been first choice for us for years thinks that he's better than a young player who has done reasonably well playing in a position that isn't his natural position. This is the same as dirty laundry?