Tim Sherwood was critical of Newcastle United duo Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark, who were ‘all over the place’ on Sunday, as he told Premier League Productions (17/10/21 at 5:55 pm).
The duo started at the heart of defence for Newcastle yesterday and Sherwood claims that they were ‘run ragged’ by their opponents.
Even though Steve Bruce’s side opened the scoring, in what was a vibrant atmosphere in the North East, it quickly turned sour by the time they were back in the changing rooms.
As soon as Tottenham got warmed up, they started opening up the Magpies, with Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son all scoring first-half goals.
Former Spurs boss Sherwood was critical at how Newcastle defended and just didn’t do the basics right.
“From Ciaran Clark or Lascelles point of view,” said Sherwood. “You have to identify him (Ndombele) early – Lascelles doesn’t block anything. All he does is block the goalkeepers view. He really hampers his vision. Poor, poor defending.
“It’s poor from Hayden, he pokes it through to Harry Kane and Son now knows that he is going to score because he knows Harry Kane is going to put it on a plate for him.
“But Clark and Lascelles were all over the place. They were run ragged by the three forwards, who were coming to life. You can’t keep good players down.”
Newcastle just can’t stop conceding goals, despite having a defensive-minded coach in the dugout and they can’t win a game either.
It’s a big, big worry that can turn very problematic during these coming months if the tide doesn’t change.
Bruce won’t be in charge by the time the January transfer window comes along, but the club’s new ownership seriously need to dip into the market for quality, so they can change the direction in which the club is going.
Off the field. it’s all rosy because of the new Saudi-led ownership, but on the field of play, they are heading towards the Championship, as things stand.
But they have enough time to get their house in order.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
