Glenn Hoddle has revealed that he was shocked by the lack of off-the-ball movement from the Tottenham players when Eric Dier and Cristian Romero were in possession on Sunday against Chelsea.
Sunday’s derby against the Blues started very encouragingly for Nuno Espirito Santo’s men, who dominated proceedings in the first half.
However, it ended up being a day to forget as Chelsea went up a couple of gears after the interval and blew the home side away 3-0.
While conceding three goals at home will be a matter of concern for the Lilywhites, who started the season with three clean sheets, the lack of chances they created going forward will be an even bigger worry.
Hoddle believes it was the lack of movement off the ball that hampered Tottenham from being able to hold on to the ball and play their way through the opposition.
The legendary Spurs midfielder claimed he had never seen Tottenham’s centre-backs have such limited options in possession as they did on Sunday.
He told Premier League Productions (19/09/21 at 6:55 pm): “I have never seen a Spurs side, off the ball, have no movement. They were like manikins. There was no movement, at all.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“The back players, Dier and Romero had nowhere to go. They had nowhere to pass. Every white shirt was standing still, for long periods.
“In the end, I felt sorry for who was in possession of the ball. We have all been in teams like that, where it happens like that and they are going through a lack of confidence.”
Spurs Web Opinion
In the first half, we used the ball well and played through Chelsea’s press repeatedly.
However, things changed after the introduction of N’Golo Kante at half-time as the Frenchman ensured that the away side dominated the midfielder battle.
What we needed at times in the second half was an out-ball but our forwards got no purchase out of the Chelsea defence all evening.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
