If you've had a chance to watch Jake Livermore during preseason, he has come across the natural back up for Wilson Palacios.  He's strong, physical, with a touch of pace, able to get forward and displays a good sense of the short pass.  He's the defensive midfielder we were clamoring for before we finally bought Palacios.  And I believe he's the reason we haven't pursued the likes of Lorik Cana or Toulouse's Étienne Capoue. 

But wait, you might say....what about Viera.  Viera was always wanted not for his ability, which is lacking these days, but for the winning mentality he would have brought to the clubhouse.

Harry doesn't seem inclined to play with a double pivot, so his central midfield should typically be a runner and holder: Jenas and Wilson.  Cana or Capoue would have expected to start and that would have meant playing without a box-to-box midfielder to complement our wing play.   So while we are still after Moussa Sissoko, Capoue's midfield partner in France, who is box-to-box, we have shown little interest in any other DM.   Because I believe that Harry sees Livermore as Prem ready.  He's not ready to start everyday, but he is ready to fill in.

And fill in, he will indeed do.  After all, one of the reason's we love Wilson is due to his combative nature.  This naturally leads to a lot of bookings.  Wilson missed a few matches last year due to red card infractions and yellow card accumulation.  I think we would be foolish not to expect the same this year.  Livermore provides a backup for those games.   

Our success hinges on Palacios.  Just look at our form before he arrived and when he missed matches after he arrived.  We have never lost a game, he finished.  And for all of his attributes, one part of Wilson's contribution to Spurs is the role he plays.  Last year, we had nobody who could play that role when he was out: Huddlestone isn't physical enough and Zokora was a headless chicken.  With Livermore, we may be able to breathe a little easier in games Palacios misses as he can do the exact same job, albeit with a loss of experience and talent.

Jake isn't ready to be the go-to guy for us, but he is definitely ready to start gaining the vital experience that will make him a solid contributor to the club.  And it's his showing this summer that has me feeling confident that when the ref reaches into his pocket, we won't have to write-off the next game automatically.