Tottenham fans would have been left bitterly disappointed by the team’s opening day defeat to Everton last Sunday.
A lacklustre performance from Jose Mourinho’s men drained a lot of enthusiasm that had previously accompanied the start of the Portuguese coach’s first-full season in charge.
It appears that, like many fans, former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara was incensed by the performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Tottenham academy graduate, who went on to play over 50 times for the Lilywhites, insisted that among the current Spurs squad, he would only start Harry Kane and Heung-min Son if he was the manager.
The 33-year-old also pointed out some tactical flaws with the way in which Spurs were set up against the Toffees and suggested that Mourinho did not have the right personnel at the back to execute his game plan.
When asked who would be good enough for his Spurs team if the appointed boss, O’Hara told talkSPORT breakfast: “Harry Kane and [Heung-min] Son – that’s it.
“We need centre-backs with pace. We’ve just signed Matt Doherty from Wolves who has been playing wing-back for years; he’s not a right-back, he’s a wing-back.
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“So if you are going to play him that high up the pitch you need two centre-halves who are very, very quick and very, very good one-on-one defenders, because they are going to get left exposed.
“You need to squeeze up the pitch and be brave and press high up. If they get done in behind or done over the top, that’s on me – I’m the gaffer.
“But I guarantee over the course of a season you will condense a pitch enough to win the ball back more in high areas and be closer together so you’ll be able to control football matches.
“They are so stretched, it’s unbelievable. I mean, anyone could play against Spurs! Only two of them are world-class [Kane and Son].
“You go through that team: Davies, average; Alderweireld, average; Dier, below average; Doherty, just signed, decent; Hojbjerg, average; Winks, decent; Alli, average; Son, brilliant; Kane, brilliant; Lucas Moura, touch and go.
“The rest of them…They look like a bunch of spoiled kids! Get some leaders and characters in the camp and pull your fingers out; this is Spurs Football Club you are playing for.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The reaction to the Everton defeat from many Spurs fans was overblown and O’Hara is also guilty of overreacting. While the performance certainly left a lot to be desired, it was our first game of the season, with several of our players (like Kane and Doherty) not having any pre-season under their belt. In fact, reflecting back, I do not think we were particularly bad in the first half and Jose’s game plan seemed to work. If we had put away one of our early chances, the game would have been completely different but we seemed to lack the required fitness to really push towards the end after going a goal down.
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