By AARON CRANFORD
DeAndre Yedlin had to wait for months to get his chance, but he finally made his English Premier League debut for Tottenham on Saturday.
With an early goal from Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke being the only breakthrough for either side, Tottenham called on the 21-year-old U.S. Men’s National Team defender to help produce some chances late on at White Hart Lane.
Yedlin has made appearances for Tottenham’s reserve sides in the past few months, but in the 79th minute, the former Seattle Sounders Homegrown Player entered the English league fray to a loud applause from the Hotspur faithful.
He had little to do, much to the delight of another USMNT teammate Brad Guzan, as Tottenham could not find any successful combinations going forward toward the end of the 1-0 match.
Yedlin completed all five of his passes on the day, and avoided any mistakes during his brief appearance. He did have a memorable shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Christian Benteke, and raced in on an Aston Villa counterattack to help force Fabian Delph to his weaker foot for a shot that Michel Vorm deflected with a quality save.
Yedlin’s appearance also likely means he will not be called in for the USMNT friendly against Mexico on Wednesday. The match is not on a FIFA date, meaning teams aren’t obligated to release players for it, but there was some belief Yedlin would be called in if he still wasn’t featuring in Tottenham’s first-team plans.
How do you think Yedlin’s first appearance went? Think he will see more playing time in the next few weeks?
Share your thoughts below.
remember that one kid who used to play in MLS that went over to an English club and had to wait all year to play in his first season? Who was that again?
Oh, right. Clint Dempsey. How did he turn out?
Stop freaking out people.
+1
if my teammates act like they’re fighting then why waste time getting involved. If they really about fighting then I’ll help.
Not a great debut but good to see he is on the first team radar.
I wouldn’t read too much into that. It’s just one photo.
Are you kidding? Clearly Yedlin is disliked by his Spurs teamates. He is too cowardly to fight and support his teamates. His time in England is done, finished over.
Maybe his whole career is in peril, LOL.
That picture makes him look pretty weak as a teammate. They are all standing up for each other and Yedlin is looking at the ground not supporting his team.
He does look a bit lost, doesn’t he? Although I think if you want a more positive spin on this photo is that it was ridiculous that Spurs were wasting time fighting with Villa players with only a minute left, and Yedlin is looking for the ball wanting to get on with the game.
+1
Ever thought about what your photo says about you?
The game is almost over, Tottenham needs a goal, and Yedlin is looking for the ball to continue play. Whether Yedlin did the right thing depends upon your perspective. Defending your teammates is important, but isn’t that wasting time playing right into Villa’s hands?
I was surprised to hear this. This is great news.
What an absolute joke Spurs are, same old story, NO quality, No passion, No desire and No idea, we will have an empty 56,000 stadium if they keep playing like that.
“We”?
Motion seconded on “we,” I’m a supporter as well. You do understand “We the People…” that there are supporters of teams on this soccer blog. Its not too hard to follow, is it?
Is the sky still falling since he played in a match? Can we blame Jurgen for something? Landon Donovan?
I’m freaking out.
He should’ve stayed in the MLS until he hits at prime at say 28 or 29. I don’t know about this Pinochio guy but Sigi Schmid is an expert at developing top draft picks. I hear they’ve been doing two-a-days all week in Seattle.
Bill,
You have untapped potential
LOL!
Good to see him out there. As far as making an impact, he didn’t have too many opportunities. The article is perhaps a little generous about his role in the Delph chance late in the game, as he basically came back to help and fell over. Would have been nice to see him get into the attack a little more, but Spurs seemed pretty intent on giving the ball away in the middle of the park.