Kaboul is back on fire

On a wet and blustery night in Newcastle, Tottenham centre back Younes Kaboul made what should be considered his league debut for the year. Yes, he played in three previous matches starting one and coming off the bench in the two others but the French defender was just a shadow of himself due to an assortment of muscle injuries. After many weeks of rehab the athletic and physical Kaboul was clearly showing signs of his old self and all that he has to offer which has been missing at Tottenham since the 2011/2012 season when he made 33 league starts.

Kaboul was a presence against Newcastle with a defensive stat line of eight effective clearances, three tackles, three interceptions and one blocked shot. Now he obviously needs more match time and needs to stay healthy (which is a big if at this point in time) but we saw glimpses of what Kaboul can do and what made him who many thought was our best back-line player when he was last healthy two seasons ago.

[linequote]Kaboul was a presence against Newcastle with a defensive stat line of eight effective clearances, three tackles, three interceptions and one blocked shot[/linequote]

Having a player of his all around athletic ability in the back-line should be a major boost to the club as Spurs approach the final 12 games of the league and the knockout stage of the Europa League. Michael Dawson before the Newcastle match played every minute of each league game while captaining the side.

While he has taken a fair amount of criticism Dawson has played well overall rating as the top Tottenham defender in defensive production according to the stats geeks at Squawka. Dawson plays with heart and desire but he lacks the power and athletic ability that Kaboul possesses. This offers Tim Sherwood a very difficult selection dilemma for the rest of the season, does he stick by his captain or does he insert Kaboul into the starting XI with Jan Vertonghen as his partner?

Or does he bench Vertonghen (or move him to his less preferred left back position) and pair Dawson with Kaboul?

Both partnerships could be effective under the right circumstances and I’m guessing we will see a combination of centre backs depending on the strengths of the opposition. This doesn’t even take into consideration the potential impact of the now injured Vlad Chiriches who has had a solid start to his Tottenham career which could complicate matters even more.

[linequote]Dawson plays with heart and desire but he lacks the power and athletic ability that Kaboul possesses[/linequote]

I know what partnership I would opt for in most of the remaining fixtures, Kaboul and Vertonghen. The powerful and gap-toothed Frenchman passed the eye test for me in Newcastle and should be a key cog in the back-line as Tottenham challenge for Champions League qualification in the fixtures to come.

I understand this would be harsh on Dawson but with each game left on the schedule being so critical not only for the club but Sherwood himself as he attempts to keep his job long-term tough decisions must be made. More often than not I believe a fit Younes Kaboul is a better player than Michael Dawson. The only question is what does Sherwood and his coaching staff think?