For a time, they were the most formidable full-back partnership in English football. Danny Rose and Kyle Walker’s rampant runs down the White Hart Lane flanks went a long way towards defining the Mauricio Pochettino story at Tottenham (well, chapter one of it, anyway…).
The right-back was never quite replaced following his departure for Manchester City, much as Kieran Trippier, Serge Aurier and Matt Doherty have tried. As for Rose, his exit bears no Premier League winners’ medals, no “told-you-so’s” and merely a lot of uncertainty about where he will be playing next.
If the former England international can boast any conceit about the way his career at the club has ended, at least many of his outspoken claims have been vindicated.
The interview he gave to The Sun in 2017 spoke of broken promises, fury at comparatively low wages, and a lack of willingness from Spurs’ hierarchy to show true ambition in the transfer market. It wasn’t popular at the time, but much of what he said now rings true.
Nor was it all talk, either. Determined to remain at a level where he felt he still belonged, Rose turned down moves to the glamorous pulls of Turkey and West Bromwich.
In Amazon’s fly-on-the-wall documentary at Hotspur Way, he was seen questioning Jose Mourinho’s team selections. Some feel it has been Rose’s willingness to voice his candid opinions which ultimately saw him exiled, axed from Tottenham’s 2020-21 Premier League and Europa League squads despite 14 years of service.
There can be no denying he is no longer the left-back he once was and a devastating knee injury four years ago effectively spelled the end of his very best form.
Perhaps where Tottenham went wrong was in supposing he had no more to offer. Elliot Thorpe was among the Spurs youngsters to pay tribute to Rose, the 20-year-old writing: “It’s sad that people will never know how much Danny did for all of us young players.
“The most professional and humble player I’ve ever met & a great guy I could go to for anything! Thank you Danny, you’ll be missed by all of us.”
Samuel Peter Cox, meanwhile, who plays for Hampton & Richmond Borough but also works as a coach at Spurs’ academy, added: “The side people don’t see of Danny Rose. Despite no involvement with the first team this season and playing and training with the u23’s, Dan has been nothing short of a role model for all of our young players, showing leadership, humility and a great attitude throughout.
“Even despite coming to the end of his contract, he still turned up to watch our young academy players last night at the stadium and give them some priceless advice after the game. A top professional and a top human being who will be missed. Love my brother.”
Clearly, there are those within the club who still value Rose highly, but just as with the failure to heed the defender’s warnings, the sacking of Pochettino, and the botched European Super League project, the board badly misread the room.
It would have been understandable should the 30-year-old have resented training with the U23 set-up this season, worthy of a testimonial, rather than a few half-hearted goodbyes. Yet he proved an invaluable voice behind the scenes and maybe even inadvertently displayed a surprise knack for coaching through his nurture of young players.
So Rose is finally gone, as is Paulo Gazzaniga. Here lies one of Tottenham’s modern greats, to be remembered for more than 200 appearances, a thunderous debut volley against Arsenal, and probably most noteworthy of all when the latest chapter of Spurs is written, for holding power to account.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3yO65Fy
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