Tottenham Hotspur are represented in the latest Premier League team of the week that has been selected by BBC pundit Garth Crooks.
Actually Garth is now down as a ‘Football Analyst’ these days, a posh term for a pundit then!
The performances by Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli in the two nil victory over Chelsea on Wednesday at White Hart Lane was enough to earn them a place in the side alongside the other, in the opinion of the former Spurs striker anyway, most impressive performers in the topflight over the latest weekend.
I think we’ll already know ourselves, and not just based on the latest performance, why Crooks, we’ll also not argue with it, selected the Duo as part of his team but explaining his choice he told the BBC.
Alderweireld:
‘They say revenge is a dish best served cold. White Hart Lane was red hot against Chelsea but, let’s not kid ourselves, Spurs have waited some time to pay back the vitriol they received at Stamford Bridge when their title ambitions evaporated in a 2-2 draw at the end of last season. I was at that game and Spurs have clearly grown up a great deal since then. Alderweireld has been central to that development and was outstanding against an out-gunned Chelsea. Spurs have done Liverpool, Manchester City and, dare I say it, Arsenal a massive favour. Chelsea will just have to lick their wounds and get over it.’
Alli:
‘What a performance by Dele Alli. It has been some time since I’ve seen a Tottenham midfield player show so much composure in front of goal. I have always maintained that I’ve only seen Alli perform in games of lesser importance rather than the really big matches. However they don’t get much bigger than Spurs against Chelsea when the Blues are going for a record number of victories and to cement their lead at the top of the table. This was not only a great performance by Spurs but, for me, the birth of a special player.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, and well played to both for their recognition, but the most important thing about the weekend was of course the three points.
Full Team:
Lee Grant (Stoke City), Angel Rangel (Swansea City), Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion), Gael Clichy (Manchester City), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Ross Barkley (Everton), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal).
