‘It’s terrible’ – Liverpool legend launches scathing attack on Tottenham’s style of play

Steve McManaman has hit out at Jose Mourinho’s negative approach to matches following Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat to Leicester City on Sunday.

Plenty has been said about Tottenham’s negative tactics over the last few weeks but Spurs fans certainly didn’t mind as long as their side were beating the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as sitting at the summit of the Premier League table.

Even after the 2-1 loss at Anfield last Wednesday, where some labelled Mourinho’s approach as ‘anti-football’, there was arguably still enough to take from the performance, with the Lilywhites missing some gilt-edged chances in that game.

However, there were no positives to be taken from Tottenham’s defeat to the Foxes on Sunday. After a drab and uninspiring first-half performance, Mourinho’s men failed to break down Leicester after the interval despite throwing plenty of bodies forward.

McManaman questioned why Tottenham did not push their full-backs forward and take the game to Brendan Rodgers’ side.

After Spurs’ 2-0 loss, the former Liverpool midfielder told Premier League Productions (via HITC): “If that was the white of a Real Madrid shirt he [Reguilon] would be running forward.

“He’s all of a sudden in the white of a Tottenham shirt and his principle thought is get back, get back.

“If we are talking about Tottenham threatening to win the league, going into second place, this performance is just terrible. It’s terrible.

“If they are going to try and keep their players happy they have to go forward. It’s so negative. Backwards. Backwards. Every thought is backwards – if you are a Tottenham fan at home watching this. Are you happy with the way they play?”

Spurs Web Opinion

I do not think we got our game plan particularly wrong in the first half as we finished the half the better side and seemed to be knocking on the door. It was unfortunate that Aurier made a poor challenge and conceded a penalty just before the interval.

However, what was concerning was our inability to create any chance of note (apart from the Son chance which came from a corner) in the second half despite having so many attacking players on the pitch. That suggested that we might have problems breaking down teams who defend in a low block.

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