Mauricio Pochettino Is Set to Recall Andros Townsend for Spurs’ Upcoming Games
Andros Townsend is going to make his return to Tottenham Hotspur and back on Mauricio Pochettino’s bench.
After missing the past two games (R.S.C. Anderlecht and Arsenal), Mauricio Pochettino is set to recall Andros Townsend for Spurs’ upcoming games according to the Mirror. This is a smart move to make ahead of the January transfer window and it benefits both Tottenham and Andros Townsend for at least a month and a half.
Once the international break is over, there will be three games played in a seven day span to close out the month of November: West Ham United (11/22), Qarabağ FK (11/26) and Chelsea (11/29). After November, the month of December features six games in 23 days. All nine games leading up to January are important and without having a full week of rest until December 19 to December 26, between Southampton and Norwich City, Mauricio Pochettino must rotate his squad carefully.
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For Spurs’ upcoming three games only, here’s what Mauricio Pochettino should do.
Against West Ham United:
Andros Townsend has to start in left midfield and Ryan Mason needs to start in central attacking midfield. Even if Son Heung-min is recovering and had a good second half substitution appearance in South Korea’s 4-0 win over Myanmar in World Cup qualifiers, it’s best to rest him. Perhaps Son could be on the bench, but not starting with a much more important game on the horizon, Chelsea.
Against Qarabağ FK:
Rotation on certain positions: striker, left midfield, attacking midfield, left-back, center-back and right-back against Qarabağ FK in the Europa League will bode well for Spurs’ chances to get their second consecutive win over Chelsea at White Hart Lane. These changes will see Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min, Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker fully rested.
Granted half of the squad being rotated doesn’t give Spurs any room for error when a win will help them reach the Round of 32 in the Europa League. But with Chelsea being the last fixture of November, traveling 5,000 miles in 12 hours on a round-trip flight isn’t a good idea if Pochettino plays a very strong lineup to get a win in Europe.
Against Chelsea:
Mauricio Pochettino will need to play his strongest lineup — which is what he has done in both the Premier League and Europa League games. With Mousa Dembélé unfortunately suffering an injury, Son Heung-min will return to the number 10 role, as a central attacking midfielder, behind Harry Kane.
Andros Townsend and Ryan Mason can both be on the bench, but overall, this should be a Spurs victory regardless of Chelsea’s current form. Losing to Chelsea wouldn’t be the end of Spurs’ season but it will be a very bad way to end November with a possibility to continue climbing up the league table before January approaches.
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The amount of games played relatively quickly — with very important fixtures to end November — is why bringing back Andros Townsend into the squad is a good move despite what the 24-year-old did to fitness coach, Nathan Gardiner.
If Pochettino decided against bringing Townsend back into the fold, there’s a good chance that Christian Eriksen wouldn’t be afforded rest since he’s the only healthy left midfielder on Pochettino’s squad with Nacer Chadli still recovering from injury.
Now, while the same will be said about Harry Kane, who is the team’s only recognizable striker on the team and needs to play a majority of Tottenham’s games, that’s not necessarily true. Son Heung-min and Clinton N’Jie can take over in the number nine role as Spurs’ main striker for certain games, like Europa League fixtures. So there’s some leeway room for Kane to get rest when needed.
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With the international break going to end next week, Andros Townsend not only has to be restored on the bench, but he needs to start in at least two out of the three November games. Townsend’s inclusion into the starting eleven might not guarantee wins, but it will help the team in the long run with rest. It will also help Townsend build up his value should Spurs entertain the idea of selling him this winter or next summer.