Robbie Mustoe was appalled at how open Tottenham were against Fulham on Saturday and opined that Radu Dragusin is simply not at the same level as Micky van de Ven.
Dragusin would have been relatively confident ahead of his first start for Tottenham at Craven Cottage, particularly given the impressive display he delivered in the second half at Villa Park the previous week.
However, it proved to be a day to forget for the 22-year-old and his Tottenham teammates, with the Lilywhites being ripped apart by Fulham, who emerged deserved 3-0 winners.
The Romanian international and Destiny Udogie struggled to cope with the home side’s attacks down their right and were exposed time and again.
Dragusin compared to Micky Van de Ven
Many pundits have pointed the finger at Van de Ven’s absence as one of the main reasons for Spurs’ defeat, with Tim Sherwood pointing out that Tottenham would have conceded the first goal had they had the Dutchman playing instead of Dragusin (Premier League Productions – 16/03, 7:45 pm via HITC).
That is an opinion shared by Mustoe, who insisted that the former Genoa man is not of the same class as the Netherlands international.
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He said on The 2 Robbies podcast: “Fulham could have had three goals in the first half. I think I text you goofing around, this should be 7-0 to Fulham.
“We know that Spurs can be open when the football’s not right, because they’re so in advanced areas to make their game happen. When the football isn’t good, they are wide open. Players just running through. Dragusin’s nowhere near [van de Ven]. But that doesn’t explain the performance.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Van de Ven is quite unique and there is no doubt that his presence at the back gives Tottenham massive insurance. However, it would be unfair to be too critical of Dragusin after just one 90-minute performance.
The 22-year-old will only get better as he gets more game time under his belt and gets used to Spurs’ system and Premier League football.
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