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Spurs have rocketed back from their early season woes to find themselves comfortably in the top four of the Premier League, knocking on the door of the top two clubs from Manchester even at times.

Their attacking football has won plaudits aplenty, but the foundations for their recent success comes from the other end of the pitch.

Younes Kaboul, once much-maligned and already once previously sold by Spurs, has been a real rock for them at the back for much of the season and, though he established himself as a first pick almost by default as being the only fit centre-back left, he has unarguably gone on to take his chance in a big way.

Only Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs have a better defensive record this season than Spurs, and for all the talent they possess at the other end, it must be recognised that Kaboul has been imperious at the back for them and is a massive presence on the field.

He still has moments of his old nonsense, but they are becoming fewer, and his good moments are all the better for it.

Tottenham Hotspur, 4th

Top Performer: Younes Kaboul

Honourable Mentions: Quite a few again. Gareth Bale has been in fine form, scoring five and setting up four, while right-back Kyle Walker is one of the most in-form defenders around at present. Scott Parker has been a real presence in midfield, winning plenty of loose balls back for Spurs, and up front Emmanuel Adebayor, while not always a 90-minute player, has still scored eight goals in 12 games.

Disappointment: Roman Pavlyuchenko has gone from bit-part player to can barely-be-bothered-to-pretend-to-care player and obviously wants a route out of Spurs, but maybe the biggest disappointment is the injuries which have restricted midfield quartet Niko Kranjcar, Tom Huddlestone, Sandro and Steven Pienaar to just twelve league appearances between them—half of those for the Brazilian.