Ex-Spurs player pins the blame on this man for Liverpool defeat

Tottenham slumped to their second successive defeat in the Premier League with a 2-1 loss to Liverpool on Saturday.

Michel Vorm and Christian Eriksen both made key mistakes that led to the first Liverpool goal, with Kieran tripper letting his man go in the build up to the second.

The likes of Dier, Dembele and Winks were also all extremely loose in possession all game, and in general very few players performed anywhere near their top level.

However, former Spur Danny Murphy has blamed the defeat on Mauricio Pochettino, arguing that his change of tactics, and refusal to switch things up ultimately led to the defeat.

Murphy had this to say in his Daily Mail column: “I didn’t have a particular problem with Mauricio Pochettino trying something different and setting up with a midfield diamond on Saturday.

“What shocked me — because I’m a huge fan of the Spurs manager — is that he didn’t alter the system after it quickly became clear it wasn’t working. When Spurs came out the same way for the second half, I knew Liverpool would win the game.

“Pochettino set up the 4-4-2 diamond to counter Liverpool’s 4-3-3. Fair enough. It hinted at showing ‘s side too much respect, but managers are entitled to try to solve problems their way. But a pattern emerged straight away of Spurs being ripped apart playing like that.

“Harry Winks and Eric Dier as the wider players in the diamond were caught in no-man’s land, chasing Liverpool’s central midfield players and wingers and getting close to none of them. Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose pushed upfield as normal and were caught out when Liverpool attacked.

“I’ve heard it said that players, not systems, win matches. Utter rubbish — and I told managers that if they ever came out with the cliche in the dressing room. Yes, you need good players but the way you set up is important, too. How do you think Leicester City won the Premier League?

“I love Pochettino but he has to take responsibility for this defeat. He could have changed it after 20 minutes. Mousa Dembele was isolated at the base of the diamond.”

The substitutions of Erik Lamela and Heung-Min Son made a big difference to the game, with the former scoring a late goal to pile the pressure on Liverpool.

Sonny also had a big penalty shout in the final minute, but nothing was given, and unfortunately the substitutes were not deployed early enough to make more of an impact.

Was Pochettino at fault for the loss?

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