I bided my time on the subject but thought it is time to weigh in on the allegedly flawed Dawon Corluka right sided partnership. Judging by the responses its safe to say Gareth has a very different opinion of the partnership, which he is completely entitled to. However I would like to put the issue to bed once and for all. Firstly I understand where Gareth is coming from, that Dawson and Corluka both lack pace, which makes them more prone to being skinned, and therefore a flawed right sided partnership, and this would be entirely true if pace was the only factor CB’s were judged upon, but they are not.
For the first 13 games of the past EPL season Dawson and Corluka did not start together, King, and Bassong where preferred, and until Woodgate got injured Harry tried putting him in the side wherever possible, unfortunately he was then injured and hardly featured. After this Harry definitely had a preference for the Dawson, Corluka right sided partnership, as they played together the next 13 games in a row unchanged, the partnership was then only broken for one game until, it was broken again due to the injury of Corluka who didn’t play another game during the season.
Once the partnership began after the first 13 games, Dawson and Corluka started alongside each other 17 times our of the next 18 games of the EPL season and the partnership was ultimately a successful one, and was paramount to the clubs success and top four berth. Out of 17 games Tottenham won 9, drew, 6, and lost only 2 games, with 8 clean sheets, and amazingly only 11 goals conceded out of 17 games.
That being said we still have some great defenders, in Dawson, Bassong, King, Bale, Assout-Ekotto, Kaboul and Corluka, and they all crucially played their role and did what was needed for the club, the main weakness is the depth at CB, King once again be played intermittently, it is unclear whether Woodgate will play again, so we have a total of 3 fit Centerbacks, if either Dawson or Bassong are injured we will be forced to play people out of position, we have some great versatile players, but this really will be our Achilles and could majorly be our undoing this season after all last years hard work, especially with such a grueling schedule, even more games this season particularly if we make it to CL group stages, so strengthening this area and adding another quality CB, must be our priority, and with Woodgate and King, in the latter years of their careers, we should start grooming replacements for both.
If Harry can't find a better replacement then Gallas, then we should except him with open arms, and forget who he has played for, the important factors to consider is what can he do for us, his experience in CL and the EPL is very positive, however I have reservations over his wage demands as he definitely isn't worth breaking the wage structure for, despite being a bosman., and getting such a player is he is closer to the end of their career also with age comes proneness to injury, we don't want another geraiatric with a walking stick. If Gallas can remain fit, and take a pay cut then this would be an ideal move for us, but they are big questions that need to be answered. At last resort if we could not get any one else in I would definitely say yes.
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