Danny Murphy has intimated that the likes of Harry Kane lacked a little bit of leadership for Tottenham Hotspur in midweek.
Spurs were sent tumbling out of the Europa League following a shock defeat by Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
Despite bringing a 2-0 first-leg lead with them, Jose Mourinho’s side crumbled in what was absolutely the low point of Tottenham’s all-round campaign so far.
Not that it’s a valid excuse but the quality of the playing surface didn’t seem to suit the style of football that the Lilywhites were set up to play by their Portuguese coach.
And Murphy has claimed that the likes of Kane and Eric Dier should’ve berated goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for consistently shooting his side in the foot by trying to play out from the back.
He wrote in The Mail: “There were poor decisions and little communication. Hugo Lloris kept playing out from the back on a dodgy pitch. Why wasn’t Kane, Eric Dier or other senior pros shouting at him to be more direct?”
Lloris, a £12 million signing in 2012, is Tottenham captain and therefore perhaps the overriding responsibility lies with him.
In fact, this defeat lies with Mourinho because the buck always stops with the manager, but the North Londoners certainly do have enough senior players in the first XI to show some game management at crucial times and maybe, just maybe, the team lacked that.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
