How much did we miss Huddlestone and Dawson?

[Boots]

For THudd I feel his passing ability and size gave us a real threat in the middle of the park, he also can pass and feel foolish for having to even bring up that shooting ability of his, definitely a miss. Dawson I feel was a miss as he is willing to dive in front of shots and gives us height at the back, but I feel he can't really read danger all that well and since he lacks some pace can't recover from those mistakes. To be fair to these players the middle of the park was never that safe as in possession the mid-field two usually were always at the edge of the opponents box trying for a goal leaving the center backs exposed, but that's an argument for a different day.

 

[Locotoro]

Hopefully they'll come back next season and HR will rotate more.

What are the chances?

 

[beats1]

We definitely missed Huddlestone he seems to find the players on the wings better than anyone else in the team and players like lennon play better with him in it, also modric was pretty poor at times during the season with his playmaking

I think Bale would have a better season with Hudd in it as there are times that the two wide players make runs and they are never found whereas Hudd was great at switching play instantly whereas with modric it seems alot slower and allows for the team to regroup. Other than VDV i think we have been lacking the killer ball imo.

Dawson on the other hand, I don't think anyone would argue Nelson and King(since his new injury) would be better than Dawson

 

[maglajz]

His scoring record is very poor for a good striker of the ball.

But the threat is there and defenders have to come out to close him down, leaving more space in the box.

 

[vegassd]

I think they both would have made a positive difference at corners, both offensively and defensively. There were a few times when we could really have done with an ugly goal, and they may well have given us that option.

I'm not sure they would have improved our overall play though, so maybe the negatives would have balanced the positives.

 

[BPR_U16]

Hard to call - would have meant more numbers in squad, a different option from the bench perhaps but overall not sure how much either would have played the way H tended to keep the same team. But just 1 pt would have made a difference.

Daws would probably have got a few games instead of Ledders with his bad knee in those last few games of his (hope he gets some sort of contract for next year because not the way I want him to bow out).

As other posters mentioned, Huddlestone spreads the ball better than any other player we have - actually might have stopped Bale coming infield so much.

But most teams can say this though - if only, what if..... That's why it's always said that a season truly reflects

 

[faze_coys]

definitely missed the hudd

 

[spursontheloose]

Thought about this the other day.
We missed both. Daws for defence rotation and goals from midfield supplied by the Hudd!

 

[sloth]

It would have been interesting what he would have done with Huddlestone.

I am an advocate of the 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 and I think Hudd would be perfect as one of the 2 sat in midfield. I guess though that Redknapp would have probably kept with a 4-4-1-1 and marginalised Hudd to the by playing Parker and Modric as the CM's. And Hudd would probably have asked for a transfer in January.

And where would Sandro have fit in I wonder?

 

[ultimateloner]

I don't think we miss Hudd at all because he isn't good enough to start for us and we have better options even in his favoured CM role against inferior opposition.
In contrast we missed Daws in CB, especially when Kaboul gets injured.

 

[dspursusa]

No option for would have won the league??

 

[SpursSince1980]

Games when teams defended deep and relied on set pieces is where they were both missed. Case in point, Norwich at home.

 

[SugarRay]

Certainly missed both but every team gets injuries. If we had them fit does this mean the scum would have had that gobshite Wilshire fit too?

I look forward to both being available next season. Both would have played their fair share this term if they had not suffered injuries.

 

[NovTHFC]

Huddlestones ability and vision to pick out passes with either foot is unbelievable, whether it be it short or long range. He would of been excellent at unlocking defences in the games we dropped points in such as Wolves + Norwich and too many other games to name.

 

[Black]

I love the way some of you forget how valueable hudd is. We would not even have played CL football if he didn't not come on at half time with an injury.

No one in our team can pass like him.

Can't wait for next season

Sandro/Parker

Hudd----luka

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

I think we missed Dawson a lot. Even if he isn't as talented as King or Gallas (no where near at their best) but both King and Gallas have struggled with injuries and fitness and have either played half fit or not been able to play consecutive games. I think having Dawson fit to be able to play alongside Kaboul and have a consistent partnership would have been a big plus.

 

[not_tenth-again]

Both missed. St farcenal day if either had been fit in the last half of the season

 

[$hoguN]

We missed them a lot as both are squad players Redknapp is happy to use. So their availability would have allowed us to rotate more than we did

 

[Gilzeanking]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion , especially on an interesting speculation like this . With Dawson ,I think we did miss him a bit . Seeing Leds hobble around with gritted teeth while ordinary forwards outmuscled him was a sad thing , Leds was clearly extra injured and Daws would have had the nod for some crucial recent games .

With Hudd , I think we have a classic case of absence makes the heart grow fonder here . Someone said we miss his goals !..til its pointed out he doesn't have good goalscoring figures . Everyone talks about his passes , but long ,precise wing to wing passes aren't what we need . We require inch perfect quick thinking, defence splitting passes . I've not seen evidence Hudd is particularly gifted in this area .
Chucking out Sandro for Hudd...good idea ? no ?...chuck out Mods ?..Parker ? .

I've not started on Hudd's obvious shortcomings in the defensive side of things . Anyway , overall I'm not sure we've missed him . If he comes back next season and has developed his game then great . If he can do wing to wing inch perfect passes then surely he must be able to do inch perfect shots . But its a delusion to suggest we've seen much evidence of this so far .

 

[talkshowhost86]

Huddlestones ability and vision to pick out passes with either foot is unbelievable, whether it be it short or long range. He would of been excellent at unlocking defences in the games we dropped points in such as Wolves + Norwich and too many other games to name.

See I don't see this with Hudd at all. He actually very rarely 'unlocks a defence'. He rarely creates scoring opportunities with his passing and he's certainly not going to go past players. Whilst his passing is undeniably impressive, it's often long balls sideways which don't actually progress us much up the pitch. I'd much rather see the intricate passing and moving that we've seen this season and Hudd is too slow, both in mind and body, to play in that sort of system. The only way he'd fit in is if we were to play him as one of the defensive midfielders in the 4-2-3-1, but then I don't think he has the defensive capabilities to play that role. I've always thought he'd be a great player in some other European leagues where the closing down isn't as intense (although this distinction isn't as big as it used to be) but in England I don't think you can effectively play a player like Hudd without making alot of sacrifices.

As for Dawson, for all his limitations I'd rather have seen him in the team than an injured Ledley and an ageing Nelsen so we did miss him in that respect. As others have said though I think he's going to struggle to get back into the team next season.