New signings will be a big hit - ex-Spur Gower

Ben Davies and Michel Vorm have been given a glowing reference from one of their former Swansea team-mates who came up through the ranks at White Hart Lane.

Mark Gower, who started his career in N17, played alongside our new left-back and goalkeeper at the Liberty Stadium before returning to London to join Charlton Athletic at the beginning of last season.

Our former midfielder, who played for the first team in our League Cup-winning run in 1998-99, popped in at our Training Centre last Tuesday and lavished praise on both Ben and Michel, the pair having arrived at the Club from the Swans last month.

“I played with Ben and Michel for a couple of seasons at Swansea and they’re great players,” said Mark, who represented Barnet and Southend United after leaving the Lane in 2001.

“Ben sort of came from nowhere to everywhere. Neil Taylor looked like he was going to hold down the left-back spot for a long while but got a nasty injury and to be fair to Michael Laudrup - who was Swansea’s manager at the time - he gave Ben his opportunity and he hasn’t looked back.

“In his first season he was talked about as a candidate for Player of the Year. It was unbelievable for a kid who had hardly even trained with the first team. He settled in so well and it’s lovely to see him get a move like this because he’s such a great kid and I think he’ll cope well at Spurs.

“He’s a similar character to maybe Joe Allen, he’s very laid back, very grounded and humble. He’s had a good upbringing, his parents have kept his feet on the ground and I know a move like this will spur him on and make him want to work even harder, so I wish him all the best.

“Michel came to Swansea with a good reputation. He was fantastic for us and his reflexes, shot-stopping and agility is probably the best I’ve seen.

“We had some good keepers at the club but some of the saves he pulled off, not just in matches but in training day in day out, were first class.”