Tottenham Hotspur are having a terrible season, and it’s been tough to not feel sorry for certain Spurs players this season.
Indeed, Micky van de Ven has been terrorised by injuries, while Lucas Bergvall was given stick at the weekend for a mistake he made at the age of just 19.
However, perhaps the most sympathetic figure at Spurs this season has been Archie Gray.
Gray has done a good job this season, but he’s had to play wildly out of position for most of the campaign.
Indeed, Gray was signed as a midfielder for Spurs, but he spent most of this season at centre-back.
Speaking on The Dressing Room Podcast, Carlton Cole has been discussing Gray’s situation at Spurs this season, and he’s been left utterly baffled.
Carlton Cole baffled by Archie Gray playing at centre-back
Cole struggled to get his head around the fact that Gray has been playing at centre-half as when he coached him at youth level at England U17s, he was actually playing as a striker.
The pundit has been baffled by this situation, questioning why this is happening.
“Archie Gray. Yeah. Why is he playing centre-half? When I coached him for England under 17s, right? He was up front,” Cole said.
“I’m seeing him in the Premier League he’s playing centre-half.
“I’m thinking, what’s going on here? Why are you ripping the boy’s dreams?”
Archie Gray’s positions at Tottenham
Gray has had a terrible first season at Tottenham.
On a personal level, the £40m man has played quite well at times, but this has not been a useful environment for a 19-year-old looking to develop into a top player.
Spurs’ squad has been devoured by injuries this season, and the manager has been under massive pressure too.
All of that has meant that Gray has had to play out of position pretty much all season long, as the stats show.
At the age of 19, you want stability, you want to develop and you want to figure out who you are as a player, but Gray hasn’t had that opportunity this season.
Cole asks what has gone on with Gray this season, but the real question is, what has gone on at Tottenham this season?