Bored as hell so I'm gonna be a bore and rate all our first team players.
KEY PLAYERS
Hugo Lloris - probably just about our best player, which says a lot, cos I don't think he's been at his best this season but he has still saved us on numerous occasions. Gone downhill a bit but I'm confident he'll rediscover top form at some time soon. Wouldn't swap him for another keeper in the league personally
Emmanuel Adebayor - it's amazing how important he has become to us, I don't even think he's a top notch striker cos he's far too inconsistent and unreliable but he's had more good days than bad ones since returning to the team and it is unbelievable how much of an upgrade he is on Soldado and JD up top
Sandro - obvious issue is his injury proneness and he isn't the best on the ball but we are just so much more solid when he is in top form. Without him we are way too easy to penetrate. I well hope Sherwood and Sir Les were joking with their defensive midfield comments and that this guy gets back in the team shortly or we'll suffer
Christian Eriksen - another one who looks very inconsistent and bar the trip to Man Utd he has been poor in big games but his good performances have been very good and we can only hope he becomes more consistent with them over time, because he's our only player with an ounce of creativity
Kyle Walker - still think he's dumb at times, makes some poor decisions but credit to him for his admirable desire and I do feel he's improving albeit at a fairly slow pace, and the difference between him and Naughton playing right-back is huge
GOOD PLAYERS
Erik Lamela - have no idea if he'll ever get a chance here but he has ability. Maybe he just isn't cut out for England, which would be a great shame given his talent but you don't get much time to settle in this league
Michael Dawson - gets way too much of a hard time from our 'supporters' both at games and on here. Will always struggle against fleet footed, quick strikers but his leadership is vital to us and he isn't as bad a defender as some will have you believe
Aaron Lennon - been way off the boil this season but I love him so am always going to profess my love for him regardless! We don't have much quality on the flanks but on a good day he is better than our alternatives (besides maybe Lamela)
Vlad Chiriches - not a necessary signing but has done a decent job for us when he's filled in and time is still kind of on his side
Jan Vertonghen - controversial opinion alert! but I don't think Jan is as super as many of our fans believe, he gets bullied by bigger strikers quite a bit and struggles against pacey ones. He's really good on the ball which is a great asset but he's not as important, at least in my book, as many seem to think
MEH PLAYERS
Roberto Soldado - the ultimate meh player, I called it at the time of signing him that his goal record in Spain was inflated by his taking of loads of penalties and having a good, creative Valencia side built around him. Has zero pace, isn't very strong and clearly isn't as good a finisher as anticipated. Just the very definition of a meh player, which is annoying considering how much money we parted for him
Paulinho - likewise, another record signing of ours who just isn't what he was built up as. Is a coward in the tackle I've noticed a few times and he contributes very little to build up play. He's a very poor man's Lampard in that his only real purpose is to get in the box and score the odd goal like at Hull last week. Another who looks painfully unpredictable, which isn't what you demand in a midfielder
Nacer Chadli - the very epitome of a meh player, again. Has no standout skills for the wing, just an odd signing all round. Get rid in the summer please
Etienne Capoue - just decent, not quite as good as Sandro defensively but possibly a bit better with the ball. Think he would do better in a slower league like Italy or Spain where he'd make a good defensive midfielder cos they prefer his type of one
Danny Rose - I had high hopes for him after his spell at Sunderland but have been disappointed. His defending is often atrocious and, for all his endeavour, his end product is poor. Would make a decent backup left-back
Gylfi Sigurdsson - offers little but a good long shot from time to time. Get the feeling he's very selfish, just wants to boost his goal tally and probably only joined us over Liverpool to try and look good individually to earn a move to his boyhood club Man United. Well he'd certainly fit in with their mediocrity right now
Kyle Naughton - pretty average, can do an okay job as backup right-back but I never want to see him play LB again. Ever
Nabil Bentaleb - like Tommy Carroll last season, a few decent displays against pub teams where he passes the ball five yards and he's loved by all and sundry. Not buying it personally, think Tim puts him in the team to satisfy himself and he offers very little to us at the moment. Painfully out of his depth against top teams. May turn in to a good player but not half the player some build him up as at the game and online
OVERRATED PLAYERS
Mousa Dembele - what does he actually do? Definitely isn't a £15m player in my eyes. I know I'm going against the grain with this but I watch him every week and see some tidy defensive work, fair play to him for that but aside from carrying the ball a good ten yards he contributes so little to attacks. Wouldn't mind him as a rotation player but I get annoyed by his mentality, feels like he could do a lot more if he could be arsed but he's happy to settle for being just a solid player
Andros Townsend - I'm loathe to saying this cos I love us bringing local lads through but those two performances for England and that one at Villa Park against Antonio Luna for us have blinded so many people it's unreal. Seems having lots of pace and a hard left-footed shot is enough for some. Not for me, he lacks intelligence and movement so I never see him being a top player or anything. Having said that, he is a product of our academy so I hope we keep him around as a squad player for years to come, cos I think he could be particularly useful off the bench as an impact player like Javier Hernandez is for Man United
No mention of Kabs (dunno what his situation is, much as I like him), JD (leaving) or Brad (would be harsh to castigate an old man!).
