Source: Daily_Mail
Rafael van der Vaart's roaming leaves Harry Redknapp in a right quandary
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is facing an 'impossible' conundrum - what to do with Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart. [LNB]With only five games remaining this season and the race for fourth place back in Manchester City's hands after Spurs dropped two points against West Bromwich, Redknapp has a selection headache.[LNB] Bit of Raf: Tottenham's Rafael van der Vaart has given his manger a selection headache[LNB]Does he play two strikers, drop Aaron Lennon and employ Van der Vaart on the right? Or pick one striker, play Van der Vaart just behind and select wingers Lennon on the right and Gareth Bale on the left? [LNB]The problem is Van der Vaart and a 4-4-2 formation just do not mix. You have to mould the team around the former Real Madrid man. [LNB] In the Baggies: Peter Odemwingie gave West Brom the lead with a sumptuous finish[LNB]Redknapp said last week he thought Van der Vaart was most suited to the right. But he added: 'If you want to play two strikers at home, I'm not being funny, but if you can come up with a formation of playing two strikers and Rafa, Gareth and Aaron Lennon...[LNB]'I don't think there is a system where you can get them all in. It's impossible. If you play Gareth wide left and Aaron wide right, you have to pick two midfielders who can play there, as Rafa can't play central midfield. So play one striker and play Rafa behind. [LNB] Roman conqueror: Pavlyuchenko hauled Spurs level with a well taken goal[LNB]'That is the dilemma you face. Do you play one up and Rafa behind him? Or do you play him off the right with two strikers? I went with an attacking team (against West Brom). I went with two strikers.' [LNB] Jermain man: Defoe hit his third of the season, his 100th Premier League goal[LNB]Defoe joins Premier League 100 clubJermain Defoe scored his 100th Premier League goal and reached a century of strikes for Tottenham on Saturday. It was also the club's 1,000th goal in the PL.[LNB]The striker, 28, had been stuck on 99 since March 6 but became only the 20th player to reach a Premier League century when he scored Spurs' second in the 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion.[LNB]How Defoe notched his tonTottenham 67 goalsPortsmouth 15 goalsWest Ham 18 goals [LNB]Inside box 77Outside box 15Penalty 8[LNB]P.S. Whatever happened to that T-shirt Defoe wore underneath his kit when he hoped to reach the 100 landmark against West Ham last month? [LNB]'It's in the boot,' he said. 'I didn't want to tempt fate. You can't really take your shirt off anyway because you'll get booked!' [LNB]And, for a change, they both scored. Tottenham's three front men - Roman Pavlyuchenko (eight), Peter Crouch (four) and Jermain Defoe (three) - have contributed only 15 goals between them this year. Van der Vaart has 12 on his own.[LNB]But playing him on the right wing did not work on Saturday. For a start, he spent barely any time there and, when he did receive the ball on something approaching the right, he cut inside. This left a huge gap for West Bromwich left back Nicky Shorey to exploit and forced Spurs to attack down the centre or left.[LNB]The need to accommodate the club's top scorer is pressing, but Redknapp has to sacrifice one of his strikers - one of the players he desperately needs to play himself back into form.[LNB]Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone said: 'We went different to how we have been playing, with two out-and-out strikers - which did us well last year - but there was just a little bit of spark missing.[LNB]'It was very disappointing, but we probably didn't deserve the win anyway. We didn't create as much as we usually do. West Brom were very organised and made it difficult for us to play our usual game.' [LNB] [LNB] Tottenham 2 West Brom 2: Redknapp's bid to rejoin elite draws to a closeRedknapp finds the right position for match winner Van der VaartQualifying for the Champions League? Spurs fans should see it as a bonusAll the latest Tottenham news, features and opinionPremier League match zone: All the stats, facts and fallout from Saturday's action[LNB] Explore more:People: Nicky Shorey, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Peter Crouch, Harry Redknapp, Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe, Tom Huddlestone
