Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Pavlyuchenko to Play a Role?

With news coming out of the England camp that Darren Bent has withdrawn from the squad with an injury, the nightmare of the club vs. country debate comes to a head for the club once again. Granted, Bent has been one of my whipping boys this season, but he had just started to look like a real footballer again, and while I don't know the extent of his injury, it certainly jeopardizes his chances to be in the lineup versus Blackburn on the weekend.

Getting injured on the training ground for your club is one thing, but it hurts so much more when it happens when your players are on international duty. There is no greater pride than your country winning a World Cup, but for me, I'm going to have to settle for Spurs accomplishing something since the US have little to no chance of winning the World Cup in my lifetime, so I'll still be upset when one of our boys gets hurt on international duty.

Will this injury to Bent give Roman Pavlyuchenko the chance he's been waiting on since the Boro game at the beginning of March? Much has been made about his appearance with the reserves and his lack of playing time this month, with Russia and Chelsea boss Gus Hiddink ready to make an offer for him, if you believe the papers. Roman has had to make several statements that he believes his future lies here at the Lane and he wants to fight for his place. I have been one to voice my support for Roman, but it seems my voice and others like me keep getting shouted down, and Harry has not exactly instilled confidence in the Russian.

If Roman is going to settle at the club, he needs to seize this opportunity this weekend. A mediocre performance will only make the doubters of his ability howl even more, and give Harry more and more reason to believe he needs more striker cover in the summer. A strong performance might not hold off Bent or Jermain Defoe in the run-in to the season, but it could give him a huge boost of confidence, and convince Harry he's worth keeping around.

So Roman, you've been granted your wish, your fate is in your own hands. Go out and show us what you've got son, or else don't be surprised if Harry looks elsewhere.

No comments:

Post a Comment