Wasted: Two good men

MAN CITY v TOTTENHAM

Hart is City's leader in Kompany's absence Joe Hart could see as much of the ball as Roberto Soldado on Sunday night.

Hart is likely to start on the bench. Soldado might as well be on the bench.

When Manchester City host Tottenham at their imperious Etihad Stadium, talent will be squandered.

Playing potential will not be maximised.

Two good men may be wasted.

On talent and experience alone, Hart and Soldado warrant automatic selection for their respective clubs.

But the dramatic combination of a sudden dip in form, nervous managers pushing panic buttons and a formation that doesn't play to a striker's strengths have penalised both performers.

Hart's catalogue of mistakes is proving to be a meaty read, but his England efforts against Chile and Germany proved what Manuel Pellegrini already knew.

England's No. 1 remains Manchester City's No. 1.

Costel Pantilimon is an able deputy - and mostly ticked the right boxes against CSKA Moscow and Sunderland despite conceding three goals - but Hart contributed as much as Sergio Aguero in the 2012 title triumph.

His saves were worth at least 10 points that season and Pellegrini now finds himself in the awkward position of choosing between potential and pedigree. He has every reason to recall Hart and no reason to drop Pantilimon.

Key Man

But the English goalkeeper knows the way to silverware.

His recent mistakes have muddied his reputation a little, but his resume remains pristine.

Apart from his feline-like flying saves, Hart also brings leadership, the rarest of commodities within City's defence. Vincent Kompany's absence leaves City with a malleable backline.

Matija Nastasic, Martin Demichelis and Joleon Lescott can display all the fortitude and resilience of fluffy toys. With Spurs above City in the standings, the penalty box is no place for a teddy bear's picnic.

City's defence appears muted without the foghorn voices of Hart and Kompany.

Tottenham's visit offers Pellegrini the perfect opportunity to ease Hart back into the side.

Soldado is an audience member of Spurs' orchestra

While Joe Hart has been undermined by an uncharacteristic loss of concentration and confidence, Roberto Soldado has gone missing on Andre Villas-Boas' whiteboard.

The Spurs manager's infatuation with inverted wingers does increase his side's possession and shots on goal, but Soldado's numbers do not add up. He's a passenger on his own pitch.

Tottenham average the most shots per game in the Premier League (18.7), but 22 other EPL players take more shots per game than Soldado.

The play is going on around the striker. Villas-Boas is putting together quite an attacking orchestra, but Soldado isn't a participant.

He's an audience member.

Tottenham signed a prolific striker from Valencia and then denied him the chance to strike. Soldado is creating more goal-scoring opportunities at Spurs (one every 51 minutes) than he did in Spain (one every 81 minutes), but scoring fewer goals himself.

Villas-Boas has bought a sheepdog and then ordered him to follow the other sheep around the pen rather than lead the way. Soldado has been so lost it's a wonder little Bo Peep hasn't been sent to find him.

AVB expressed his delight at buying an experienced, reliable striker in Soldado.

But then, inexplicably, Soldado was tasked with the sort of fetching and carrying usually delegated to the men behind him.

Pavarotti was never asked to bang a tambourine in an orchestra pit.

The inverted-wingers policy effectively penalises Soldado. Rather than leaving trailing centre backs on their backsides, he's invariably left showing his own to the goalkeeper. He's not going to score many with his back to goal.

But Soldado rarely gets a cross coming his way; he gets a dribbling Andros Townsend instead.

AVB has turned his forwards upside down. In the 10 EPL games featuring both Soldado and Townsend, the winger has attempted twice as many shots as the striker.

Just Hype

And neither is scoring nor creating particularly much. Despite the hype, Townsend has failed to register an assist in 26 of his 27 EPL appearances. His dribbling gets bums off seats, but it seldom gets balls past goalkeepers.

On the other side, Gylfi Sigurdsson is yet to create a single chance for Soldado in open play. This is not a system of inverted wingers, but merely an inverted system; a failing system. Soldado cannot fly without wings.

In a World Cup season, he will relish AVB's laboured, plodding possession strategy as much as Hart enjoys being mothballed with the other City subs. Soldado deserves the right service.

Hart deserves to be selected.

Both men are blessed with the requisite talent to win trophies. Both men have pivotal roles to play in fixing Spurs' attack and City's defence respectively.

If Soldado and Hart underachieve this season, so will their clubs. They can't win silverware without them.

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