The Crystal Palace winger came up against his former Tottenham Hotspur teammate recently.
England’s Danny Rose and Andros Townsend during training
Tottenham Hotspur full back Danny Rose will be hoping to add to his seven England caps when the Three Lions take to the field against Slovakia on Monday, and for former teammate and current Crystal Palace star Andros Townsend, speaking to Sky Sports, there is no-one better in that position in the country.
Both Townsend and Rose were in the news lately as they came up against each other in the Palace winger’s first return to White Hart Lane since leaving earlier this year.
Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend
It was a tough game for both players, though Townsend’s day was sullied somewhat by Palace’s defeat, as well as Erik Lamela’s nutmeg on him late on that left former teammate Rose with his hands on his head in disbelief.
“To be honest, the player I like playing against the most is Danny Rose,” Townsend told Sky Sports. “He’s probably the best left-back in the country in my eyes.
“In training at Spurs we used to go at it in the sessions and we’d kick each other a lot so I do enjoy playing against him.”
Having come up against him in training for so many years, the Eagles star certainly knows better than most the quality the Spurs man possesses, and now he is very much being recognised at international level.
Tottenham’s Danny Rose in action with Southampton’s Shane Long
Townsend’s peers certainly seemed to agree with the England winger, at least last season. Rose was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the first time, a reward for his fantastic season with Spurs.
The 26-year-old was integral to Tottenham’s title challenge throughout the 2015-16 campaign, helping the defence in particular complete a remarkable turnaround from worst goals against record in the top thirteen sides to the joint best in the league.
Both Spurs fullbacks excelled in Mauricio Pochettino’s second season in charge, but arguably Rose made the greater progress considering Kyle Walker was selected in the Team of the Year earlier in his career.
England’s Eric Dier and Danny Rose during training
Rose also responded superbly to Tottenham’s purchase of quality competition in Wales left back Ben Davies. Many thought the ex-Swansea man would seize the number three shirt after his move from the Liberty Stadium, but he has only driven Rose to improve his game further.
This season Rose is at it again, and he has already helped Spurs to a point against Liverpool with a super equaliser.
Mauricio Pochettino undoubtedly has a lot to do with both the club’s defensive improvements, but no defender has developed more under the Argentine that the former Leeds academy player.
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