Tottenham Hotspur center midfielder Archie Gray should be one of the biggest talents in England right now, but he's being actively held back by subpar coaches who keep on playing him in weird positions that aren't midfield.
Count Igor Tudor in as the latest in the line of Ange Postecoglou and even Thomas Frank to mistake the fact that just because a young player can play anywhere in a pinch, it doesn't mean you should force them to, especially when you have other options.
Case in point. Tudor saw that Djed Spence had picked up another minor injury - to this calf, this time - just before the big game against Fulham. Instead of calling upon the young and talented Souza to start at left back, Tudor decide to shoe horn Archie Gray on the left side of the defense.
Archie Gray is clearly no left back
The result was unsurprisingly disastrous for Spurs, who were losing 2-0 at the time Gray was finally hooked off for Souza, who came right in and showed why he should have been starting at left back the whole time anyway.
Gray did nothing all game at left back, as he was overrun defensively and contributed nothing going forward in that position. It was only until later in the game that he got an assist playing in a right wing position (another issue), but the damage had already been done in the 2-1 defeat to the local rivals.
Nobody blames Gray for playing poorly at left back, as Tottenham fans are a sensible bunch. No, the ire is entirely directed at Tudor for such a silly, basic error that no Premier League manager should be making. In no universe is Gray a left back, and when every game means so much in the relegation fight, an easily winnable match against a mid table team like Fulham is not one where you should be experimenting with playing a young, promising prospect out of position.
Souza is more equipped to play at left back and just as much of a prospect as Gray is. So give him his licks at left back, let him sink or swim, and then benefit from playing Gray in the middle of the park over an inferior option like Conor Gallagher, who was the worst player on the pitch yet again. Tudor can't continue to be part of the larger problem at Spurs, and that is below par coaches coming in and derailing player development by trying to get too cute with playing players in weird positions.