‘They don’t understand the game’ – Glenn Hoddle blasts two Tottenham stars

Glenn Hoddle had some harsh words to say about Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso this week, insisting that neither player understands the game.

Both Ndombele and Lo Celso arrived at Tottenham in the summer of 2019 with plenty of expectations on their shoulders after impressing for Lyon and Real Betis respectively.

However, neither have really managed to settle down at the North London club. While the Frenchman and Argentine have both had flashes of brilliance, they have struggled to string a run of consistent performances together.

Lo Celso and Ndombele are now playing under their fourth different manager (discounting Ryan Mason) at Spurs and Tottenham fans will be hoping that Antonio Conte is the man to get the best out of the pair.

However, Hoddle revealed that he is not convinced by the two midfielders despite their obvious skill on the ball. He asserted that neither Ndombele nor Lo Celso is the answer to Spurs’ lack of creativity in the middle of the park.

The legendary Tottenham midfielder told The Evening Standard: “There are players there that are so-called (creative players). Lo Celso and Ndombele have to improve.

“For me, I don’t see them as an overall player that’s going to be consistent or is going to create that knows the game. They don’t understand the game in many ways, as I see it.

“Ndombele, particularly the way I see it. He has wonderful skills. But he is a player that is too much off-the-cuff. He does some wonderful things with the football, but we all used to do that in the playground, didn’t we?”

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One obviously has to respect Hoddle’s take as he certainly is a big authority on midfield creativity, being one of the most blessed midfielders in Tottenham’s history. However, there is a reason that he has not been involved in coaching for a while.

The game is evolving at a fast pace and is completely different to when Glenn was a coach, let alone a player. Players are now given fixed roles in a system and their responsibilities on and off the ball are made very clear.

That is especially true under someone like Conte who relies on automatisation rather than relying on players to assess situations and make their own decisions.

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