Spurs win over Aston Villa last weekend saw Rafael Van der Vaart once again grab the headlines for the home side, with his match-winning brace now meaning he has scored four goals in three games in all competitions at White Hart Lane.
The ex-Real Madrid man not only offers Harry Redknapp a boost in quality to his squad, his adaptability seems to be impressing the Spurs boss to such an extent that ‘Arry is even prepared to ditch his beloved 4-4-2 system in order to accommodate his array of attacking, creative talents. Redknapp spoke of this after the game, saying:
“It’s not easy to play with two strikers, it’s almost impossible really. Two out-and-out-strikers is difficult, because Rafa doesn’t play wide right, he floats off the line and Luka Modric does almost the same, so that leaves you very open.
You’re not going to keep two strikers on your team with Rafa and Gareth Bale. You have to change the whole shape of your team. It’s an attacking team that is very open to the counter-attack.”
In spite of this admittance, Spurs, nevertheless, began the game playing 4-4-2, with Peter Crouch partnered by Roman Pavlyuchenko up front and Van der Vaart on the right. The Dutchman is not a natural right-winger, and as these chalkboards shows, he continually found himself drifting away from the wing into the middle to look for the ball in the first half, leaving Spurs somewhat unbalanced on the flank.
With Aaron Lennon replacing the Russian at half-time, Van der Vaart took his place behind Crouch as a second striker, and -with Lennon taking over on the right- was given freedom to roam as Spurs went looking for the win.
A look at our OPTA Members Stats shows that Spurs, with 88 attempts, have the third highest number of shots at goal, but have managed to find the net just eight times. Compare this to Man United, who have 85 shots and a return of 16 goals or Blackpool, with 11 goals from just 63 shots, and you can see where the problems lie for Redknapp’s men.
As the table below shows, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko, Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane have 19 appearances between them this season, and from their combined total of 27 shots, the goal-shy strike force have found the net just once. Van der Vaart alone, on the other hand, has managed 17 shots in his four league appearances, scoring 3 times.
| Player | Appearances | Shots at Goal | Shots on Target | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Crouch | 7 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Roman Pavlyuchenko | 6 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Robbie Keane | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Rafael Van der Vaart | 4 | 17 | 9 | 3 |
| Jermain Defoe | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
Redknapp is more than aware of his prowess, beaming:
He’ll score goals. He gets on the ball, he always wants to receive the ball, he’s always looking to score. When the ball goes up to Crouchy he’s always around there looking for it. He’s got a real knack for scoring.
Perhaps the most unfortunate player to suffer from this lack of poor Tottenham finishing, in terms of Fantasy points, has been Gareth Bale. On Saturday alone, Bale had 6 Key Passes that led to goal attempts from team mates, but left the pitch with just 1 FPL point for all his toils. Bale’s total of 20 Key Passes is more than any player in the league so far but he has, incredibly, not a single assist to his name.
The average position map below, taking Van der Vaart’s (number 11) first half on the right wing into consideration, shows just how far forward he played against Villa and if Redknapp continues to play him in his second-half position against Villa, the £8m man could, conceivably, be regarded as an Out of Position forward in the FPL game.
A quick look at the two top-scoring Fantasy Premier League (FPL) midfielders sees Nani has 18 shots in 7 games and Florent Malouda has 19 shots in 7 games. Indeed, Van der Vaarts goal attempts per game is not just more in line with top forwards, it is actually, per game, the highest in the league so far.
| Player | Shots at Goal | Appearances | Shots per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimitar Berbatov | 23 | 7 | 3.28 |
| Andy Carroll | 22 | 7 | 3.14 |
| Kenwyne Jones | 21 | 6 | 3.5 |
| Didier Drogba | 21 | 7 | 3 |
| Rafael Van der Vaart | 17 | 4 | 4.25 |
While his away returns have been just (2,2) it’s hard to ignore his performances at White Hart Lane. Van der Vaart has scored (9, 15) picking up the 3 Bonus Points in both home games he’s played. He’s already risen 0.1m in price since Saturday’s game and, with the second two week international break of the season now upon us, expect plenty more managers take the plunge before Gameweek 8 commences.
