Tottenham youngsters win their spurs in fine style
The 20-year-old, making his first home start, starred for Spurs in the rout of Everton and put pressure on Jol to retain him for the trip to Manchester United tomorrow.
Philip Ifil, Reto Ziegler and Stephen Kelly have also made appearances this season and Jol believes more players, including young Republic of Ireland striker Mark Yeates, could push for selection.
“I’ve got three or four other lads - you don’t know Yeates yet, he’s terrific - I can’t use them all but we’re in a good position,” Jol said.
“On average, even when (34-year-old) Noureddine Naybet is playing, we have one of the youngest teams in the league.”
As a late replacement for Michael Brown, Marney scored the opener at White Hart Lane with a confident finish and sealed the win with a stunning individual goal from 25 yards. But he could still be dropped to the bench for the Old Trafford visit.
“We create our own options,” Jol added.
“We have Brown, (Rohan) Ricketts and Pedro Mendes who play there occasionally, so we make our minds up on Monday who will make the team. I said a month ago we had to improve from midfield and Browny did that against Norwich. We haven’t done anything particularly different, perhaps working on set plays more, but it’s getting better and better.”
Even if he does not feature against Alex Ferguson’s side this week, Marney’s emergence has made an impression on his team-mates. After Ziegler added a second against Everton, Marney had a hand in goals for Mendes and Robbie Keane before wrapping up the scoring with his solo effort. The build-up play for Keane’s goal was particularly impressive, nutmegging Alessandro Pistone before firing a low cross.
Keane said: “The players and the staff think very highly of Dean. His goals and the way he played, for someone making their full home debut, that’s what dreams are made of.
“He laid me on for a goal with a great bit of skill, full credit to him. It’s nice seeing young lads coming through and getting a chance, but also to deliver like he did today, that’s extra special.”
Marney spent a month at Coca-Cola Championship strugglers Gillingham earlier this season where he was played at right-back for three games - but his midfield performance against David Moyes’ side highlighted his attacking qualities.
“It’s about time I scored, I haven’t scored that many,” Marney said. “That’s one of my downfalls, not getting enough goals. It was something I dreamed about, to make my home debut and score two goals. We didn’t doubt our confidence and had the belief we would get three or four. To get five was a bonus.”
Everton gave themselves a chance to get something from the game when Tim Cahill made it 2-1 just before the break - but boss Moyes was not impressed with their performance.
James McFadden struggled to support lone striker Marcus Bent from midfield, and Moyes is now waiting to land James Beattie from Southampton to bolster his attack. But the Scot will not rush into the transfer market should he fail to sign the 26-year-old.
“Talks have already taken place but I’m not involved in talks,” Moyes said of the Beattie deal.
“We’re looking for players that can give us different options and different variation. My real feeling is that the players you would be interested in would not be available, so if we could we would - but I don’t think it will be possible.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
