If you didn't know, Tottenham Hotspur are a bit of a wreck. We've just added Rafael van der Vaart to the injury list, and we will be without the Dutchman for our English Premier League match against Blackpool. That means we'll probably be throwing Jermain Defoe out with one of the bigs, doing it up old-school Harry style, and playing 4-4-2.
AHH! I SAID THE SECRET WORD OF THE DAY! 4-4-2!
Okay, so a lot of us really don't like the 4-4-2. I was pissed when Harry was married to it for the entirety of last year. However, there is a time and a place for everything. We could conceivably play Luka Modric at the top of a midfield three, but we really need to get Jermain Defoe out of this slump. While VDV is injured, I'm down with Defoe and a big dude up top.
However, Blackpool aren't your typical relegation battling team just promoted from the Championship. They play some pretty nice football, and Charlie Adam is at the center of this. It's very possible that Blackpool could out-possess England's ultimate "Do f--k all with 60% possession" team, Tottenham Hotspur, if that team plays with two central midfielders.
I am, of course, making assumptions here. I'm assuming that Sandro isn't going to do all three of: Start the game, play 90 minutes, and look like a rabid animal who is so freaking incredible that he does the job of two players. Because, like, dude's young and hasn't played that much. He can't really put in a second Milan performance. CAN HE?
Seriously, who saw THAT coming?!? I watched a lot of Sandro's games with Internacional and always rated him highly, but at no point during last year's Copa Libertadores did he dominate a game to the extent that he did at the San Siro. That performance was absolutely astonishing, and if he can be 75% of that player on a regular basis, we have a serious gem on our hands. I sincerely hope that with VDV and Tom Huddlestone injured, on top of him having a week's rest, Sandro gets a start against Blackpool on Tuesday.
It will be a slightly makeshift lineup for Spurs again and the bench will be very thin, but the starting XI is still going to be very strong and should be able to get a good result. However, Blackpool essentially have a full strength team and they will not be easy to beat by any stretch of the imagination.
Projected Tottenham Hotspur starting XI (4-4-2): Gomes; Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, Gallas, Hutton; Modric, Jenas, Sandro, Lennon; Defoe, Crouch
Projected Blackpool starting XI (4-3-3): Kingson; Carney, Evatt, Cathcart, Eardley; Varney, Adam, Vaughan; Grandin, Campbell, Harewood
Prediction: Blackpool 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur