The cautionary tale of this fallen Tottenham star
The rise and fall of Andros Townsend is a tale any young English footballer, especially those who play on the wing, should always bear in mind.
Indeed, the Tottenham talent and the short-lived arc of his international career is preceded by many; Stewart Downing, Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson and Shawn Wright-Phillips to name a few. Yet, recalling Three Lions internationals who have endured rises so sudden as the Lilywhites wideman, and falls so equally inevitable, proves a near impossible task.
On New Year’s day 2013, just eighteen months ago, Andros Townsend was a relatively anonymous name to the majority of England fans, standing out only for its unique Cypriot twist. Eight loan spells in the Football League, ranging from Yeovil Town in 2009 to Birmingham City in 2012, had brought the winger little closer to the first team at White Hart Lane, let alone the Three Lions seniors.
A loan stay with relegation-bound QPR in January that year, later labelled a transfer masterstroke by former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, quickly changed all that. Compared to the immense number of Premier League mercenaries compounded at Loftus Road, the then-21 year-old’s fearless approach, committing defenders and taking upon himself the responsibility to score goals, quickly caught the attention of his parent club and Roy Hodgson.
England hadn’t possessed a dynamic winger like that – so comfortable in jinking his way past defenders, so confident in attempting to find the net from long range – for generations, since the marauding displays of Chris Waddle. Redknapp compared him to Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben, a likening that in the long-run, has proved impossible for Townsend to live up to.
The rise in stock at QPR, combined with the limited quality available to Hodgson out wide, amalgamated into Townsend playing an important role in the latter fixtures of England’s World Cup qualifying campaign. The defining moment; a Man of the Match display upon his competitive debut, typified by a low, swerving shot from outside the area that exploded into the back of the net, sealing a 4-1 win against Montenegro.
It remains one of the most aesthetic England goals in recent memory – not a robust challenge, hit-n-hope cross or scuffed finish in sight. The open-armed, rosy-cheeked effigy of Townsend celebrating was strewn across the back pages of every tabloid and broadsheet the following morning, the Tottenham youngster hailed his country’s newest hero, a shining example of the loan system working to full effect and England’s future not being so bleak as many were suggesting.
Yet, scoring his first international goal at just 22 years of age will most likely forge the highest point of Townsend’s playing career. Fast forward to the present day, a year on from that worldly strike against Montenegro, and the one-time prodigy is more commonly discussed as a bargaining chip in Tottenham’s transfer plans. A Townsend-plus-cash swap deal for Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez was mooted regularly by the press throughout the summer.
So where did it all go wrong for the Lilywhites winger? In the space of twelve months, he’s gone from England hero to Tottenham zero, a regular target of criticism from the Spurs fan base and overtaken in the Three Lions fold by the likes of Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana.
Injuries have unquestionably played their part. I’m sure we all remember Townsend lying unconscious in a photographer’s pit after crashing into an advertising board, also spraining his wrist, and in April this year, the Spurs hot-shot picked up an ankle injury that ruled him out of the World Cup. But for the winger, Hodgson, England and their fans, this was probably a blessing in disguise.
The prevailing issue being that within the time between Townsend’s goal against Montenegro and his World-Cup ending injury, the level of improvement shown at club level was minimal, in fact, the Spurs youngster had arguably regressed.
We all knew about Townsend’s pace, we all knew about his ability to test ‘keepers from long-range. In his first season in the Tottenham starting XI however, these were the only two traits the England winger appeared interested in demonstrating, no matter how ineffective they proved to be.
He took 56 attempts at goal last term, 49 from outside the box, yet Townsend’s only contribution to Tottenham’s goal tally was a solitary mishit cross, which somehow looped it’s way over Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan. That gave him a conversion rate, fortuitously considering, of just 2%. It also made his 2.7 dribbles per match, the fourth most of any player in the Premier League last season, rather redundant.
Have we been too harsh on Townsend? Perhaps so. In other countries, young wingers are allowed, or even expected, to be greedy in the hope that it will eventually hone their skills to a more effective and consistent level. But the Premier League is a difficult training ground for developing players; often pressures are so intense and results so important that even youngsters are expected to be somewhere close to the finished article, regardless of the amount of games under their belts.
Yet in my opinion, as is now a recurring, sinister trend amongst young English players, Townsend’s fifteen minutes of fame came too soon. Had Hodgson been patient in letting the 23 year-old create a role for himself at Tottenham before exposing him to the inevitable higher scrutiny placed on England internationals, perhaps there wouldn’t be such a dark cloud of disappointment lingering over him now.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Another, possibly more popular, explanation, would be that the Lilywhites starlet was always punching above his weight; a mixture of decent form and youthful enthusiasm making him stand out amid the dearth of exciting young quality in the England set-up at the time.
Either way, the captivating performances spawned from Townsend’s self-centred style of play was always unsustainable. Failing to adapt his game to compensate for this inevitability remains the youngster’s biggest crime, but one must consider what effect overconfidence, created by an excessively premature inaugural England call-up, has had on Townsend’s mindset over the last twelve months.
Unfortunately, although the rise and fall of Andros Townsend is an extreme case in terms of highs, lows and time scale, it is very much a typical saga for young English players.
It could be worse Nando, you could be one of these guys…
[ffcvideo file=”TopFiveVideosoftheWeek” type=”mp4″]