Andros Townsend made his season debut for Tottenham earlier today against Sunderland and made a very positive impact. The English International looked confident, assertive and even unselfish on the ball. Could his brief substitute appearance be a definitive sign that Townsend has turned over a new leaf?
Before this season began I would have been happy to see Townsend sold to any of a number of his alleged suitors. Instead, while wide man Aaron Lennon was shipped off to Everton, Townsend remained at White Hart Lane. His Tottenham career may have even be saved by the mild injury he picked up that delayed his season debut. Now, after just one substitute appearance that did not see him score or assist, I'm bullish on his chances at being a key part of this team.
My criticisms of Townsend are pretty basic. He can be a very selfish player whose focus on scoring can blind him to the presence of his teammates. His errant shooting can be a danger to anyone within the first thirty rows from corner flag to corner flag. There is a fine line between self belief and delusion and by my standards Andros frequently falls on the delusional side. While these deficiencies can be maddening, they are also infinitely correctable. If Mauricio Pochettino could reign him in and make him a creator as well as a finisher, then we could have a brilliant young player.
The winger we saw come on as a substitute and mauraude down the right wing was not a selfish player. He balanced his forays equally between heading down the flank to cross the ball in for Harry Kane and cutting inside in search of shooting opportunities. He created multiple chances for others and could have easily seen his subtle ball to the back post converted by Kane. In all honesty, he deserved an assist and on most days, would've seen Kane bury the chance. He found the perfect balance between looking for his shot and looking to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. It was as if Mauricio Pochettino and the coaching staff had managed to provide Townsend with a brain transplant. If he continues to play with this attacking balance be might be the answer to Tottenham's attacking needs.
The real question is whether or not this was an isolated change or a harbinger of a new Andros Townsend. If it's the latter, there is certainly ample opportunity for him to find a place in the starting XI. Given Nacer Chadli's lack of impact against Sunderland, Townsend could certainly impress Poch enough to get a start in his stead. While we all wanted to see Son and N'Jie infuse pace and creativity in the Tottenham attack, Andros Townsend may have been the solution right under our collective noses.
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