Chadder View: Recent performances prove Tottenham defender Ben Davies deserves more credit
Matthew Chadder is a lifelong Tottenham fan who grew up just down the road from his beloved club in North London. He’s now putting his passion for Spurs into words with a daily fan view for Tottenham News…
Ben Davies has not been shown the respect he deserves by us Tottenham fans throughout his years at the club.
No, Davies is not Paolo Maldini or Alessandro Nesta, nor is he at the level of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, but Davies is a good footballer and a reliable defender, which is not how some Spurs fans have treated him throughout his career.
I have been in many conversations with Tottenham fans across the past few seasons where I have heard the Welshman’s name lumped in with some of Spurs’ least popular names.
‘Oh, Tottenham will never kick on until we replace players such as Eric Dier, Hugo Lloris and Davies, those players just aren’t good enough.’ For me, I have never understood why Davies has been included in these lists, and I have often felt that he is an easy scapegoat, a lazy cop-out when Tottenham aren’t playing well.
The correlation is clear, when Tottenham are playing well, Davies plays well and rarely puts a foot wrong. Yes, he had some moments to forget under Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, but which Tottenham player didn’t?
When he first arrived, he was a solid left-back and a reliable deputy for Danny Rose. Then, under Mourinho and Conte he featured as a centre-back, showcasing his versatility, before now once again filling in as a central defender for Ange Postecoglou.
All this while very rarely making a complaint or public disturbance about his position within the club. He has happily filled in when needed, always made himself available and is rarely out injured. He is someone that can be relied upon, and he deserves much more credit for that fact.
And this is not recent bias based on his performances against Newcastle and Forest, although he was brilliant in those games. When Eddie Howe’s side came to town, had Davies not gotten a toe to Anthony Gordon’s first-half cross, the match could have gone a very different way, while against the Reds I feel as if he was one of the best players on the pitch, and instrumental in Spurs keeping a clean sheet.
But still, this is an opinion I have held for a long time. If I asked Spurs fans to make a list of five high-profile mistakes Davies has made across his almost 10-year Spurs career, I think most would struggle.
He is by no means a spectacular footballer who catches the eye, but that doesn’t matter. Every club needs a locker room leader who can be trusted, and that is what Davies is to us. The criticism is therefore unwarranted and uncalled for.
With 18 months left to run on his Tottenham contract, I would be offering him a new deal. And before any fans reading this scoff at that suggestion, sit and ask yourself, when has Davies ever let us down?
In other Tottenham news, it is time for the club to cut ties with Giovani Lo Celso after his most recent injury setback.