Iconic Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was baffled by the inclusion of Ivan Perisic and Pedro Porro in a new look ‘back four’ during the 6-1 Premier League hammering at Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.
Say what you want about Antonio Conte’s three-man backline, at least it suited the players at his disposal. You certainly could not say the same of the system Cristian Stellini debuted at St James’ Park.
Pedro Porro and Ivan Perisic were brought in from Sporting Lisbon and Inter Milan respectively to the run the line on either flank; wing-backs signed for a wing-back-loving manager. Cristian Romero, meanwhile, arrived from Atalanta having been named the 2021 Serie A Defender of the Year while thriving in Gian Piero Gasperini’s own three-man backline.
And it’s hard to imagine a worse place for Stellini to introduce an all-new defensive set-up than St James’ Park. Tottenham arrived at one of the Premier League’s most aggressive, most unforgiving sides with three of their back four playing out of position; Porro and Perisic about as comfortable as a spotty teenager at a school disco in orthadox full-back roles.
Romero, meanwhile, lacks the composure and the poise to be relied upon in a back four; David Luiz-ing his way through a humiliating opening 21 minutes on Tyneside.
Tottenham Hotspur lose 6-1 at Newcastle United
“The left-back (Perisic) is a left winger really. The right-back (Porro) is the same,” a baffled Redknapp tells talkSPORT (24 April, 9am).
“They were very open, but (the poor tactics) doesn’t excuse the players. The lack of effort, it was abysmal to watch.”
Porro, Romero and Perisic were all at sea without a life raft as Newcastle cruised into a 5-0 lead with just over 20 minutes on the clock; Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy scoring twice as Joelinton also got his name on the scoresheet.
Perhaps the most damning indictment of Stellini’s tactics is that Conte’s long-time assistant appeared to totally give up on them 23 minutes in at St James’ Park. In the 67 minutes Davinson Sanchez was on the pitch – Spurs switching back to a more familiar 3-4-3 – the score finished 1-1.
Then again, that was probably the result of Newcastle taking their foot off the gas than any game-altering intervention from a man who appears to be shrinking in the Spurs hotseat.
‘A joke’
“Stellini is a joke. He should have gone with Conte,” former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara explains.
“They are a disgrace. They’ve got no leaders. They don’t want to be there. They’ve switched off, and they want to be on holiday.
“You’ve sacked Conte and hired his assistant. You don’t want top four. Everyone just wants to get to the end and start again. I was just ashamed of being a Spurs fan.”
“People are going to accept you being average,” O’Hara adds. “What people cannot accept is you not showing heart and passion
“The only people I would really want to keep; (Harry) Kane, (Heung-Min) Son, (Pierre-Emile) Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pedro Porro because he’s a new signing.
“Oliver Skipp, I like him. He lacks quality but he’s got passion for the club. The rest of them, get rid. Even Romero. You never know which Romero is going to turn up. He is all over the place.”
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