A huge sigh of relief was breathed around White Hart Lane when the respective Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United squads were announced on Sunday afternoon. Fans were hopeful that William Gallas would be relegated from the starting XI and onto the bench and replaced with club stalwart Michael Dawson for the welcome of the Hammers.
Their prayers were answered around 45 minutes prior to kick-off. The Frenchman had been dropped and Dawson reinstated back into the starting XI and captaining the side. Against a physical West Ham side, it was pivotal that Andre Villas-Boas be re-called to the team.
Gallas may’ve skippered the side since the opening day defeat to Newcastle United, but he has begun to show his frailties in the back with a number of poor performances, especially against the Premiership’s more robust front-men.
Up against Andy Carroll, the former Chelsea and Arsenal centre-back would’ve been absolutely dominated by his English counterpart. However, Dawson came into the fray and performed astutely for the hosts, repelling numerous Hammers attacks as Spurs secured a comfortable 3-1 win.
It’s now up to the no nonsense defender to continue his impressive form in order to continue in the heart of the Spurs backline, especially with reports suggesting that Queen’s Park Rangers are again showing an interest in the England international.
There were those that had doubts over the influence of Dawson following the arrival of Villas-Boas over the summer, but credit to him he hasn’t kicked up a fuss, instead keeping his head down and working hard in training to force his way back into the starting XI.
It appears to have impressed Villas-Boas and hopefully this is the first in a long line of games for the defender, especially with Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul both still sidelined with injury.
Comments are closed.