‘Said that about Liverpool’: BBC pundit hits back at Chris Sutton’s Tottenham Hotspur claim

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Micah Richards suggested on BBC Radio 5 Live (7:19pm, December 7, 2020) that Tottenham Hotspur could cope with injuries like Liverpool have.

The former Manchester City right-back made the comments when fellow BBC pundit and ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton said that injuries to Harry Kane or Son Heung-min could derail Tottenham’s title challenge.

Richards pointed out that Liverpool have coped with injuries to some of their best players.

Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live (7:19pm, December 7, 2020): “Spurs’ problem will be an injury to Son or Kane, who’s going to come in and step up? Because they are so reliant on them, it’s fair to say. They have got Vinicius in now, but you can’t say that he would fill Harry Kane’s boot, but who would?”

Richards responded: “We said that about Liverpool, though, didn’t we? And look at all the injuries that they have had. I think if you have got a manager who gives you that confidence and makes you believe in the system, obviously, you would want Van Dijk and Trent was back the other day, Henderson, they have had so many injuries, but if you have players who buy into that system and believe the manager, it’s being proven that actually as long as the manager gives you that, then it can work.”

Coping with injuries

Liverpool defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are long-term absentees, while Joel Matip and Alisson have also suffered injury problems this season.

However, the Reds are doing quite well despite those issues. Jurgen Klopp’s side are level on points with leaders Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table and have progressed to the Champions League last-16 stage.

True, Kane and Son are key players, but Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho is a very experienced manager who knows how to cope with injuries.

Gareth Bale is a valuable asset who has not yet started to fire at Spurs following his loan return from Real Madrid in the summer of 2020, while Carlos Vicinius remains a good option for Mourinho.