Paul Merson has taken aim at the Tottenham squad, insisting that they are getting off easy amidst the criticism aimed at Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy.
Who is to blame for Tottenham’s mess?
There has been a lot of debate on social media about why things have gone so pearshaped for Spurs this season. Supporters are seemingly divided on whether it is Daniel Levy or Ange Postecoglou who is primarily responsible for the mess.
Speculation over Postecoglou’s future continues, with the man himself even being asked this week whether a defeat to Aston Villa would lose him his job.
However, Levy is not being spared from criticism, with Tottenham fans regularly chanting for the chairman to leave. The supporters are even planning a big protest against him ahead of the club’s next home game against Man Utd.
Paul Merson points finger at Tottenham squad
Merson has now asserted that the Tottenham players are hiding behind the manager and the chairman and are refusing to take responsibility for their own performances.
The former Arsenal man was appalled by what he saw from the Spurs side in their 4-0 defeat at Anfield next week, labelling the display as ‘shocking’.
Merson told Sky Sports: “Everybody is hiding behind the manager and Levy now, that’s what I feel. There were some experienced players out there [against Liverpool]. There were a lot of caps out there and for me, it wasn’t good enough. It was like ‘if we get beat it’ll be down to Ange and it will be down to Levy’.
“I thought it was shocking. “There are ways of losing. Everybody loses football matches, whoever you may be you [can] lose a football match, but there are ways, this is a semi-final, dig in.
Merson claims Ange Postecoglou is now confused
It was certainly not a typical Tottenham performance at Merseyside, with the away side deciding to sit back with men behind the ball for large parts of the encounter rather than try and go toe-to-toe with the league leaders.
Merson believes that the approach was down to Postecoglou being confused over whether to play on the front foot or make his side more compact defensively.
The pundit added: “I think Ange is caught in between [the Devil and] the Deep Blue Sea now. They neither attack nor defend. At least before it was gung-ho, it was like we’ll have a load of shots and we might get well beat.
“But now it’s like they are not really defending but they’re not attacking neither It’s a horrible watch. It’s a horrible watch at the moment.”