Tottenham Hotspur’s season has hit crisis point in March and talkSPORT’s Danny Kelly has hit the nail on the head with his remarks this weekend.
What’s he said?
Jose Mourinho’s side were beaten in a five-goal thriller by Wolves on Sunday, making it three successive defeats – but the wider picture is that they are now five points from the top four and have it all to do in Germany as RB Leipzig carry an away goal in their Champions League tie.
Speaking on Simon Jordan’s Final Word after the match, Kelly slammed several key figures ranging from chairman Daniel Levy, former boss Mauricio Pochettino and their current Portuguese chief.
He said:
“The barometer – and there’s no other word for it now – the mess that Spurs have got themselves into and I include Daniel Levy in that, Pochettino to some extent for his ridiculous comments before the Champions League final that he might quit if they won it and subsequently the panic to get Jose Mourinho in there.
“Spurs were in the Champions League final nine months ago. Think about Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid – the kind of teams that make the Champions League final. Today [Sunday 1st March], they started with two players who started in Madrid – Harry Winks and Dele Alli.
“So the team has through injury, departures, and strange selections been absolutely blown up. Whether by circumstance or by choice of management – you have a situation where Wolves’ front two, [Diogo] Jota and [Raul] Jimenez are as good as anybody away from Liverpool’s as of right now and he [Jose Mourinho] chooses to leave out his most experienced defenders, sling Eric Dier whose form since his illness just makes him look like he isn’t a professional footballer anymore, against [Japhet] Tanganga who’s trying to make his way. I don’t know what he’s thinking of here.
“I tell you what he’s thinking of actually – I’m gonna say it and he can sue me if he wants – he’s thinking I’ll keep all these fresh for Norwich during the week because I need to win a trophy here and the FA Cup is my best route to it.”
Amounting issues
Spurs’ troubles just don’t seem to be ending anytime soon, which is surprising considering they had been unbeaten in seven matches until their European first-leg last month.
Kelly is right to blame Levy – his lack of investment has contributed to their downfall substantially, and potentially most of all. Yes, he sanctioned moves for Gedson Fernandes and Steven Bergwijn, but it wasn’t enough – they needed that backup striker.
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Heung-min Son joining Harry Kane on the treatment table has shown just how poor a decision that has been.
Pochettino’s comments before the UCL final were simply baffling too as if that was going to motivate players in any form – “here guys, win this and I’m leaving” is not a good look at all.
Meanwhile, Mourinho has hardly helped himself with his chopping and changing of team selection and tactics, and he could probably be braver in selecting teenager Troy Parrott as at least he’s an out-and-out striker and not a midfielder or winger playing as a makeshift centre-forward.
Money talks: How much did Levy pay for each of these Spurs stars?
And in other news, Spurs witness what they have been desperate to see for first time in 85 days…
