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5 players Tottenham must upgrade to compete in the Champions League

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur reacts after defeat in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur reacts after defeat in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund battles with Ryan Mason and Kevin Wimmer of Tottenham Hotspur (27) during the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund battles with Ryan Mason and Kevin Wimmer of Tottenham Hotspur (27) during the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /

4. Ryan Mason

This one pains me a little bit. I love the attitude and toughness that Ryan Mason brings to the Tottenham squad, but when Spurs go up against elite competition he looks out of his depth. In particular, his partnership with Tom Carroll in the first leg against Dortmund was an absolute train wreck.

In fairness to Mason, he did play much better at White Hart Lane. Still, he just isn’t quite good enough to be a key player against elite competition. If he were a little faster, a little more skilled or a little bigger it might be different. But as you know, if frogs had wings they wouldn’t bump their rears.

As it stands, Mason is a great squad player for Pochettino. He can be deployed in multiple positions and you know you’re going to get great effort out of him every time he steps onto the pitch. The strategy moving forward should just be to make sure he doesn’t step on the pitch against world-class opponents.

He has a better opportunity to play against good Premier League competition than Ben Davies, but Tottenham will be better off leaving him on the bench against the English league’s elite. He won’t necessarily hurt them against really talented squads, but a team with title aspirations should be purchasing a better option this summer. Axel Witsel anyone?

Next: 3. Tom Carroll

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