Tottenham Hotspur won last night at home to Maribor, thanks to a Jermain Defoe hattrick, but the goal they conceded in the first half had everybody talking.
The Slovenian side’s goal in the first half had a touch of calamity about it. Kyle Naughton played him a suicidal backpass and instead of clearing first time he dallied for just half a second and got caught out by Aston Villa target Robert Beric.
The French number one attempted to take it round the striker but was tackled, and the forward had only a simple task to pop the ball into the empty net. You can watch it here.
It was the last thing the goalkeeper needed at his new club after a controversial start. Upon arriving at White Hart Lane, a furore has been caused by the fact 41-year-old Brad Friedel is preferred instead. A row caused by his French national team coach Didier Deschamps before the goalkeeper had even completed a month at White Hart Lane.
Friedel too is Mr. Consistent, and we certainly wouldn’t expect to see him commit the same type of error. But sympathy must be given to Lloris, who faces an intense spotlight every time he steps onto the pitch, and you wouldn’t blame him for being nervous.
The error caused a stir on Twitter, so much so that ‘Lloris’ was trending worldwide as fans had their say on the ‘howler’ – and not all blamed the goalkeeper. Here is a selection of them.
@cmac_86: Howler from Lloris, don’t try to be fancy son #safetyfirst #thfc
@spursfan1996: Lloris is lacking matches. Full confidence in him he’ll become a brilliant GK for us.
@hotspurkeeno: I hope Lloris doesn’t turn out to be the french version of Gomes! I’m not sure my heart can survive all that again lol. #COYS
@lewisspurs: Anyone else want to see Lloris get a solid run of games so he can pick up his form? Nothing against Brad though
@finbarhas1: Lloris has talent and he’ll be a star of the future for us but he has a few things to learn from Brad yet.
@gale89: Lloris, why are you taking touches in that situation. God damn send it!
@mattelnor: lloris makes a mistake cause he never gets played. too much pressure.
@chrille_spurs: Lloris need to play more games in a row! Not Easy to play on game in 2 weeks and do a good one.
@shaunh27: Not his best game tonight but I’ve got no doubt lloris will be one of the best keepers in the world during the next ten years…
@howlindavies: Kyle Naughton back pass put Hugo Lloris in trouble, but WHY didn’t he just clear it?!
@conornagle: Can’t understand AVB’s Lloris ‘strategy’. Goalkeepers thrive on certainty, habit and reassurance – not intense competition. #thfc
@oscarkrumblez: Lloris over Friedel anyday. Nevermind that early error.
It is great to see so many Spurs fans backing the goalkeeper despite the error. Too often the modern day football fan’s kneejerk reactions write off players after a single mistake but supporters are rightly seeing the bigger picture.
The points raised about a lack of game time are perfectly valid, and with right-footed Kyle Naughton playing at left-back it wasn’t exactly a settled defence Lloris had in front of him to adapt to.
What Spurs have to do, is find a way to manage the situation in the short-term to keep Lloris happy. Does that mean continuing as they are, or promoting him to the first team and saying ‘sorry Brad’.
What do you think the solution is?
image: © mr-football
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