He is one of our own....been at the club since he was 9, he is a spurs fan, There is massive hope on my part that he makes the grade and more.
In my view he has already had the turning point for the better imo, on loan at qpr. being part of that group cannot have been easy and by the looks of things the team spirit looked non existent. At QPR he showed not only a willingness to play but the desire to be a game changer...he was their driving force a player who got qpr fans off their feet where more expensive acquisitions had failed.
Yes I will probably be scoffed at but I see similarities between Townsend and Bale in their development curve, and I hope Townsend can have a great season.
His no fear direct dribbling is a joy to watch....if teams sit deep and park the bus then we might not have the eye of the needle passer to make some headway.....but if we can negate that by having a dribbler who can beat a man or two then we solve the problem. The more he plays (high profile games) the better, I think some games he will frustrate as things may not come off but I trust our ability to improve his as time goes by.
As for playing centrally why not, if we have an interchangeable 3 behind the main striker that will be better for us in the long run. As you say it could take time but its worth pursuing even if he is more likely to beat a man rather than play a killer pass.
One of our own, we would regret selling him, I think he will have a big year, even if we sign another winger.
There are my thoughts.....suck it!