‘Ange Postecoglou worried Tottenham flops don’t back him after shocking loss’
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will now be worried that his players are giving up on him during their poor run of form, according to Paul Merson.
Spurs went into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final match against Liverpool (6 February), up 1-0 on aggregate.
Lucas Bergvall had put Tottenham in the ascendancy in the tie, but Postecoglou was forced to watch his team fall to pieces against a rampant Liverpool at Anfield.
Antonin Kinsky gave away a penalty against Liverpool, and Tottenham’s midfield was criticised by Jamie Carragher, with the Red’s legend calling them a “disgrace”.
There was yet more bad injury news for Spurs aswell, as Richarlison went off injured against Liverpool just before half-time.
Following Liverpool’s 4-0 victory on Thursday (6 February), Merson criticised the Tottenham players for “hiding behind the manager”, and failing to work hard enough for their boss.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, former Arsenal midfielder, Merson, said (8 February, 12.45pm): “Everyone’s hiding behind the manager and Levy now. There was some experienced players out there [at Liverpool], there was a lot of caps out there, and for me it weren’t good enough.
“It was like ‘if we get beat it will be down to Ange and it’ll be down to Levy’. I thought it was shocking, there’s ways of losing… this is the semi-final…
“Ange is caught in the deep blue sea now, they neither attack nor defend. At least before it was gung-ho… it’s a horrible watch.
“I played for Arsenal but I don’t want to be biased, I felt sorry for the Tottenham fans going up there. I thought it was a big let down, but everybody then goes ‘it’s Ange’.
“These are Premier League footballers. You can go ‘oh they’ve got injuries’, there’s a lot of experience out there, and the other players are Tottenham players, so when you get your chance you come in, you work hard, you run around, you leave everything on the pitch…
“How many of them could have sat there in the dressing room after and gone ‘you know what I couldn’t have given any more, I’m exhausted’? There ain’t many, and that’s a big worry. That would be my biggest worry.
“I think on the way home on the coach that would be your biggest worry. You’d be thinking ‘how many of these are behind me?’ That would be the worry for me.”
Ange Postecoglou caught in a transitionary period at Tottenham
Football Insider Verdict
Postecoglou finds himself at an awkward period at Tottenham, stuck between the era of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Heung-Min Son taking Spurs to a Champions League final, and a new era spearheaded by players like Archie Gray, Mikey Moore and Lucas Bergvall.
Chairman Daniel Levy is clearly trying to move away from the past as Son and Ben Davies are the only players at Spurs who were in the squad to face Liverpool in the Champions League final in 2019.
That has been showcased with the concerted recruitment attempts to build a younger squad. Having signed teenagers Bergvall, Gray and Wilson Odobert in the summer, and despite missing out on him, they targetted Stefanos Tzimas in January.
Six years on, and whilst Levy builds for the future, Postecoglou is struggling to make a success in the present.
Whilst Tottenham are suffering a horrendous injury crisis, Postecoglou may have to contend with the fact that he is merely an intermediary to any future successes that Spurs could have, and trophies are likely to follow his time at the club, rather than be earnt by the Australian.
Tottenham look to Europa League win to guarantee European football
Sitting 14th in the league, Spurs are currently in more danger of being in a relegation battle, rather than fighting for European qualification.
However, all is not lost just yet, as Tottenham will still be able to feature in Europe in some capacity next season if they can win either the FA Cup, or the Europa League.
It seems far-fetched at this current moment in time, but with many of the players who make up a long injury list expected back soon, Spurs should see a resurgence in their form as they get to the business end of their cup campaigns.