Adel Taarabt: Time for Tottenham Starlet to Finally Shine Under Harry?
Harry Redknapp has wasted no time bringing Tottenham’s forgotten stars back into the first team fold this week. Redknapp has given squad numbers to 5 players Spurs fans felt would have felt would never play for the club again. By reinstating the likes of Kevin Prince Boateng, Paul Stalteri, Ricardo Rocha, Hossam Ghaly and Adel Taarabt he immediately increased his choice of options and more importantly may have opened the first team door to one of the most talented players at the club. If there is any manager that can rescue a player’s career then it’s Harry Redknapp and in the case of French starlet Adel Taarabt we may finally get a chance to see the talented youngster shine in a white shirt.
Ask the majority of Tottenham fans their opinion of the young star and generally speaking they will say he hasn’t been given much of a chance at White Hart Lane. He was used sparingly by Martin Jol and virtually ignored by Juande Ramos despite the teams indifferent end to the 2007/08 season when the team failed to perform following the Carling Cup win. If ever there was an opportunity to give the youngster a run of games then this was it but instead Ramos decided against it and even stripped him of a first team place in the summer in an effort to drive him from the club.
Despite joining in January 2007 the hugely gifted 19-year-old has yet to start a League game for Spurs after making just 8 substitute appearances. Unfortunately he has not even been given an opportunity to start a match in the cup competitions either (1 FA Cup & 3 in Uefa Cup). As the confidence drained from the Spurs players following every poor result there was a rough diamond with the belief in his own ability kicking his heels in the reserves. Ok, so Taarabt is not the finished article by any means but the youngster dubbed the ‘New Zidane’ has shown glimpses of his precocious potential in his short appearances in a Spurs shirt and surely should have been nurtured rather than discarded.
His first appearance for Spurs came in a 4-3 League win against West Ham at Upton Park in March 2007. Despite coming in the 87th minute his immediate impact led to an incredible comeback from 3-2 down. His trickery and confidence in winning the free-kick that led to Dimitar Berbatov’s equalising free-kick suggests Spurs had a new star on their hands but his involvement since has been limited. Despite starring performances in a number of pre-season friendlies, the Frenchman has not been called upon and was linked to a failed loan move to West Brom in the summer.
Taarabt has superb technical ability and draws comparison with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo when he first arrived at Old Trafford for keeping possession of the ball more than he should, but surely this can be coached out of him. After all, the natural ability and utter confidence he possesses can’t.
The ability to beat a player with a piece of trickery is a rare talent in the modern game and hopefully the arrival of Harry Redknapp will give Adel Taarabt the chance to finally prove what he’s undoubtedly capable of at White Hart Lane. If anyone can coax the best out of a player then surely it’s Harry and I for one feel the forgotten youngster has more than enough to offer!
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Tags: Adel Taarabt, harry Redknapp, Tottenham
October 29th, 2008 at 13:15
Quality youngster never saw why he wasn’t given a chance. He has confidence and ability, you can coach bad habits out of him!
October 29th, 2008 at 13:15
Get him in Harry he could be a legend
October 29th, 2008 at 13:18
good article couldn’t agree more
October 29th, 2008 at 13:18
I never understood Ramos reluctance to give him a chance when Lennon was so poor last year
October 29th, 2008 at 13:21
im not a redknapp fan but will give him a go…. i immediatly thought that Taarrbat and KPB would be back in squad and im happy - they are good players with lots of potential! also thought - BOSTOCK! get him in the squad! your never to young to be on the bench and i think by end of season he will be coming on! he will be awsome in few yrs! COYS - nice draw tonight will do me!!!!!!
October 29th, 2008 at 13:23
agree completely with the article and all the responses - a quality player, just needs the right sort of manager to get the best out of him and improve his ability further… and we now have that in redknapp!
October 29th, 2008 at 13:24
Bobby C why stop at lennon was poor last yr!!! he annoys me with his arrogance - when J O’H got sent off against Udinese - he didnt track back and was just lazy! he needs a good kick up the arse!
October 29th, 2008 at 13:24
Couldn’t agree more with all of you the lad looked quality in the glimpses we saw last season. Give him a run of games and see what he can do!
October 29th, 2008 at 13:25
Perhaps, the reason he doesn’t get games, is aside form his dribbling skills, he has absolutely NOTHING else to offer. I’ve seen him play several times, and he’s rubbish, believe me. Last time was a reserves game, and his teammates, as well as the fans, were screaming at him to pass the ball. He didn’t. Please lads, don’t go pinning your hopes on someone who clearly aint the real deal. Bostock, however, is another matter entirely. I’d start blooding him now.
October 29th, 2008 at 13:50
superb article, nice to see a journo who knows his stuff…the boy is so talented just give him a chance, he is every bit as good as giovani
October 29th, 2008 at 13:58
Time to encourage these youngsters rather than sign them then give them away
October 29th, 2008 at 13:59
He is just another overhyped Spuds player destined for the Championship
October 29th, 2008 at 15:52
Adel is a young star and if he can start delivering a final ball will be a great addition to the side. name me another player under the age of 20 who can shrug off essien and makalele, and nutmeg both fabregas and sagna. As for hoggin the ball there are no complaints from me on that one, even though clive allen has said on many occasion after a match adel does it too much but then will inevitably change the game by either scoring or assisting.
October 30th, 2008 at 05:15
he is too selfish to be team player..
football is a team game
October 30th, 2008 at 11:26
What a load of rubbish. For a player that made one half decent run against West Ham leading to a free kick from 20 yards he has managed to get one hell of a fan base. The best things I’ve ever seen him do are his little tricks in the warm up before the game. Otherwise he has done absolutely nothing to warrant this new Messiah crap everyone comes up with on these sites. Lennon may not be the finished article but at least he makes some kind of effort to cross the ball. Ever seen Adel do that? All he does is run down blind alleys. Wish everyone would stop this. He may have been called the new Zidane by a couple of people when he arrived but has done nothing to warrant that since.
October 30th, 2008 at 11:35
You obviously don’t recognise skill when you see it. He is 19 give him a chance, coach him right and he could be top drawer.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:59
An undoubted talent, who could, given the right motivation become a real crowd pleaser and team player….But he needs his chance…Remember he is still a kid, there is room for development here.
October 30th, 2008 at 20:29
Not too impressed by the clip shown. He has potential to be on the level of Modric but his decision making is very very poor. However, it’s criminal how Juande Ramos ignored him. He needs to be put on the training ground along with the first team players and that should help him find his game.
January 2nd, 2009 at 16:41
He is a worldclass player, he is selfish yess i agree but it is still a youngster, look to C ronaldo his first year with Man utd , a bad year and he was selfish but with a good trainer look now he is one of the best player of the world