Kaboul gone to pot!

By: Gary | August 11th, 2008

Where did it all go so drastically wrong for Younes Kaboul?

Just a year ago, he was the £8 million answer to our defensive worries. He was the next ‘Marcel Desailly’.

Now he will be beginning his second Premiership season in Portsmouth colours.

And that is the end of his very short-lived spell at White Hart Lane. But he is hardly the kind of player we will forget in a hurry.

He will go down as one of the most memorable to have come and gone from N17.

But why? Because of his hype. Because often kamikaze defending. Because of his rash words in the press. Because he wore his heart on his sleeve. Because of his rapport with the fans. Because he marked the club’s 125th year anniversary with a final minute equaliser in a 4-4 against Aston Villa. And believe it or not, because he actually possesses masses of quality.

For all his critics, and there are plenty of them around, I actually feel fairly sorry for how life at Tottenham turned out for Kaboul.

In my honest opinion, the Frenchman was never a signing for last season. He was always intended to be one for the future. Yet injuries saw him flung into the deep end far too early.

He is a long way from his best I’ll admit but just maybe a few years down the line he will transform into the top quality defender we were promised.

In actual fact it was Spurs’ inability to blood him smoothly into the side last season which saw the worst of Kaboul emerge.

This is what triggered his Tottenham exit. Maybe he would never been Juande Ramos’ cup of tea, but he was hardly given the greatest of opportunities being forced into the role as one of the squad’s higher ranked centre-halves probably years before he was ready.

Good luck Younes.

What’s gone is gone and his departure leaves Spurs looking slightly light at the back. Ramos will need to step up his chase for a new defender. Manchester City’s Vedran Corluka as quoted in the press could prove the ideal replacement after earning rave reviews in his first season in the Premiership last year.

Mark Hughes’ reluctance to let the highly-rated Croatian leave could prove the major stumbling block in pushing for a quick deal.

But we will have to move fast though with the big kick-off now just five days away.