Can Andros Townsend adapt and thrive for Tottenham?

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.

When will Son Rise for Tottenham?

I have to admit that the International Break has taken a toll on me over the last two weeks. I've had way too much time without the opportunity to see our beloved Tottenham compete on the pitch. The time apart has caused all of us to spend way too much time dreaming of how our new signings can impact our squad for this weekend's match at Sunderland. Perhaps the most speculated upon player is new attacker Son Hueng Min. Simply put, I'm worried that two weeks of dreams commingled with YouTube views have blown our early expectations for the Korean forward way out of proportion.

Let me clear one thing up right off the bat: I'm optimistic that Son will prove to be a very good player/signing for Tottenham. He has an outstanding record internationally for South Korea and in the Bundesliga for both Bayern Leverkusen and HSV. What I am not convinced of is Son's ability to walk right into the squad and infuse life into what has been a moribund Hotspur attack.

The first thing about Son that gives me pause is his slight frame. He measures at barely six feet tall, which is no problem, but he weighs in at just 168 pounds. The Premier League might be the most physical league in the world and I worry about his slight frame being knocked off the ball easily. Certainly, slight players can make up for their lack of girth with skill and speed (ie Christian Eriksen) but it's the exception rather than the rule.

Secondly, I just worry that expecting a player to sign, go away on international duty, come back to training for a few days and be ready to start the next weekend is too much to ask for almost anyone. We could've signed Messi and I'd still worry that his talent would be significantly hidden by the lack of understanding he would have with his teammates. We can't really expect Son to mesh with our attack immediately. This adjustment will be made more difficult by the fact that we don't exactly have established continuity amongst our attacking midfielders. We don't know if Eriksen will be fit and the early returns from Chadli, Dembele and Lamela have been mixed at best. We cannot expect Son to come in and flourish in our unstable attack.

Maybe Son will come in and prove to be the anecdote for what is troubling the Tottenham attack. The much more likely scenario is that he will show flashes of ability as he becomes more comfortable with his surroundings, teammates and competition. Remember to be patient with him and hopefully we can avoid a Tottemhamesque meltdown on Sunday.