Enigma Emmanuel Adebayor offers timely reminder of abilities

There are few footballers who can create frustration like Emmanuel Adebayor, for here is a player who on his day can be virtually unplayable but more often than not can flatter to deceive so much so that it is difficult to see how he has played for the clubs he has.

This has been a season where the man from Togo has struggled to look anything like a Premier League striker let alone one of the leagues best. This has been of particular frustration for Tottenham given that all season they have looked a genuinely quality striker away from comfortably securing their spot in the Champions League, yet now they find themselves as outsiders for the final qualification spot as we enter the final weekend of the season.

What will be of further upset is that Spurs have seen first hand how good Adebayor can be when the mood takes him, given that last season whilst on loan at the club from Manchester City he was one of the seasons best performing strikers not only in terms of goals but his overall contribution to the teams play. This of course is not the first time where he has looked supreme one year and lost the next, for example his Manchester City career started with aplomb yet fizzled out whilst at Arsenal his career was very much and down.

So far has Adebayor fallen this season that many have been questioning his place at the club next season which has inevitably stirred the African striker into life, given that he was inspirational in the draw at Stamford Bridge and scored a crucial winner at Stoke on Saturday. These displays only further outline though just how annoying he can be given that when he really wants to he can be near unplayable for defenders and he posses the ability to link up play as well as anyone else in his role.

Without question Emmanuel Adebayor is one of the greatest enigmas around the English game and many have questioned Andre Villas-Boas faith in him this season yet Wednesday in particular shows just why AVB has persisted with him. That said with the transfer window approaching the manager is unlikely to want another year of having to suffer game after game of wondering which Adebayor will turn up, so with that in mind the Togo man will most definitely need to find his best more often to keep himself in the first team plans and that might just be why we have seen such improved output over the last few games.