Glenn Hoddle says Harry Kane and Son-Heung min were ‘totally off it’ and their performance during Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa on New Year’s Day was ‘the worst’ he has seen them play, as he told Premier League Productions (01/01/23 at 4:00 pm).
Tottenham were hoping to start off 2023 with a bang and look up in the Premier League table, instead, Antonio Conte watched Harry Kane take 14 minutes to take his first touch of the football against Villa.
When one of your star players is that slow to get off to the mark, then the issue clearly just doesn’t lie with the player, but with how the team sets-up.
Given that Villa were the away team, Emery set up his team in a defensive manner and he didn’t allow the front three, nor the wing-backs, any breathing space.
Other than Kane watching a half-hearted header getting cleared off the line in the first half, there weren’t any clear-cut chances created by the home team to suggest they deserved a goal, never mind any points.
Nonetheless, Spurs and England legend Hoddle shared what was wrong with Tottenham’s performance during the game, and after the full-time whistle.
AT HT on Tottenham’s midfield: “When Spurs win it, especially in the defensive or the middle third, that’s where Spurs have been poor,” said Hoddle. “The two in midfield, Bissouma and Hojbjerg. They have to be able to turn quickly and get the ball forward – don’t look square and don’t look back. Tottenham have been too pedestrian and I have seen them doing it a lot this season.”
On Son and Kane’s performance after FT: “If you sum up their best two players – Son and Kane – it’s probably the worst I have seen them playing together, in the same team. They just looked totally off it. I think the whole team were.
“The shape didn’t change. Conte plays that week in and week out. But there was no urgency in their passing. They looked like a team that had chains on them. There was a lack of confidence there.”
SAME OLD TOTTENHAM
New year, but it’s the same old Tottenham. Going behind, dropping valuable points, questionable style of play, Conte wanting new players and a lack of forward direction from the top.
The biggest issue Tottenham have is that Conte hasn’t signed a new deal yet, whilst Harry Kane’s own contract is running down.
At the rate Spurs are going and the signs they are showing, both of them probably won’t renew. If they do, then it’s easier to plan forward and steam ahead.
Come the end of 2023, it will be very interesting if Conte is still in the Tottenham dugout because, for some, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they are backing him to be out of the door, however which way.
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