The Kyle Naughton Appreciation Thread

[LukeBB]

I agree completely with this, I think he's proved his place in the squad this season and tbh he's been no worse than any other player and even at 25 I still believe he has potential to grow as a player.

Besides I'd rather we keep him and keep our home-grown quota up instead of spending millions (which could be spent on a new LB) on a new player who faces the risk of being slagged off every week for "not knowing the language", "hasn't adjusted to the PL" and hasn't "gelled with the rest of the squad".

 

[Tucker]

Completely different player at right back, it was playing him on the wrong side that has soured people against him.

 

[Flashspur]

good OP. I think the lad deserves better.

 

[Geyzer Soze]

I agree completely with this, I think he's proved his place in the squad this season and tbh he's been no worse than any other player and even at 25 I still believe he has potential to grow as a player.

Besides I'd rather we keep him and keep our home-grown quota up instead of spending millions (which could be spent on a new LB) on a new player who faces the risk of being slagged off every week for "not knowing the language", "hasn't adjusted to the PL" and hasn't "gelled with the rest of the squad".

He's 25 now??

Shame. At 25 he should about be at the peak of his powers.

 

[absolute bobbins]

Looks like Carlton Banks and is better than Arron Lennon, what's not to like?

 

[Cavehillspur]

Agree with OP.

More than held his own at right back for the second half of the season, pretty solid to be honest bar the 2 howlers against Saints, he went someway to making amends that game and set up our first goal iirc.

Really good squad player and has improved massively this season.

 

[Gbspurs]

Meh. I was finished with Kyle Naughton after the Southampton game TBH. Walker you can forgive as he is exciting in other aspects but Naughton isn't great going forward and with catastrophic fuck ups like that at the back makes him a bit pointless to have around.

Keep him if he is happy to be benched, but for the benefit of his career he needs to move to someone like Villa.

 

[TheHoddleWaddle]

Most of the vitriol seemed to start when the lad was put as left back. To be fair, really quite dreadful in that position at times. However, as a right back, he has improved with more game time and looked decent to me. I think he has been criticised, like a lot of other players, when they have been played out of position. As a RB, he looks good defensively.

Good player to have when Walker is injured imo. Long may he continue to improve.

 

[EastLondonYid]

Some people dream of a 5 bedroom house in the country, with a brand new Porsche in the drive...

Others just settle for a Studio apt and a Skoda.

 

[whitesocks]

I like that he is always looking up to see who is available for an early cross.
His crosses are usually excellent and the 2 against arse at home were the highlight of that game sadly.

Walker looks more dangerous as he powers forward, but has no end product.

Walker is normally better defensively, but after that header back to goal from the halfway line against chelsea,
you have to wonder about his football brain.

 

[Metalhead]

He's definitely cut out for the PL just not the upper echelons of it. He'd be great for Villa, Newcastle, Sunderland etc. he's just not quite top 7 starter material.

It's kind of funny in a way because he'll still be facing the same teams if he goes to one of those clubs although I guess that more allowances would be made.

 

[Ndombers]

Hes got a decent cross on him, better than walker and rose

 

[The Scarecrow]

An honest assessment of Naughton is he's not good enough for a top tier team in the PL however he's a game lad who put's in everything he has, though it's not good enough for for what we're aiming to be.

Is he really that much worse than the back up RBs in the teams above us? He's not good enough to be first choice, sure, but who are we to demand that every member of our squad is world class?

 

[Rocksuperstar]

I agree with the OP - if time machines existed, the me-before-this-season would be utterly shocked at that too.

He came along as a make-weight and never made a real impression as anything more than capable cover for if our full backs were injured, so I, along with many other fans, wrote him off pretty early as another average youngster who would either live on loan to a Champ side or be gone within a couple of terms.

He can't have missed that opinion either as it was pretty widespread, so i give him even more respect for having the long-term fortitude that compliments his short-term drive, as demonstrated in the Southampton game.

Got a lot of respect for this lad, he's worked bloody hard and has made some serious ground up on Walker who, in comparison, hasn't really developed much at all since he joined us. Hope it continues.

 

[whitelanefever]

Is he really that much worse than the back up RBs in the teams above us? He's not good enough to be first choice, sure, but who are we to demand that every member of our squad is world class?

I was judging him as a first team player & to be honest I never mentioned demanding world class however a professional footballer should be able to use his left foot & it's worrying that Naughton crumbles when he plays Lb, straight away that tells me he has poor positional sense.
Look at his age he needs to play every week, so for his own sake he should leave & good luck to him if he does.

 

[sparx100]

Still needs to improve, but I think he is better with the ball at his feet than Walker, can pick out a pass, can cross the ball and has improved positionally since he has had a lot of games at right back. Unfortunately Walker is the supreme athlete which gets him out of jail a lot more.

Unfortunately, I don't think he is going to make it as a first teamer at spurs, but I would be happy for him to stay in the squad or if he moved on, I would clap him. The other thing that I like about him is that he genuinely looks grateful for the opportunity and he acknowledges the fans.

 

[Riandor]

Always gave the lad credit when it was due.
Has performed well this season in tricky circumstances.
Report card: B-

Glad he is challenging and providing capable back-up. If he is happy, keep him. There are worse first 11 full backs out there and this is a squad game. Good squad player (and that's not meant to sound mean).

 

[thinktank]

Needs to be sold.

Just the way it is.

 

[The Scarecrow]

I was judging him as a first team player & to be honest I never mentioned demanding world class however a professional footballer should be able to use his left foot & it's worrying that Naughton crumbles when he plays Lb, straight away that tells me he has poor positional sense.
Look at his age he needs to play every week, so for his own sake he should leave & good luck to him if he does.

Well, he's not a first team player, is he? Walker's been injured a lot in the second half of the season, but normally, he's one of the players who spend the least time at the physio's office. And why is it som worrying that he can't play on the keft? Do we expect all our players to be two footed and capable of playing on both flanks? Are any of our other full backs in that category?

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

WC Standby. Would be nice if he ended up making an appearance.