For a long time now Tottenham have looked bad in defence. There are some fans that continue to sing the teams praises, but the issues do not and will not disappear.
Lets look at the culprits at the back Walker and Vertonghen. Both seasoned internationals and both have completely letting the entire team down and how either of them are selected for their respective international teams is beyond me.
Walker was analysed on MOTD and it was clear that the defender has no idea of what he is doing at the back. So much so that he has managed to injure Lloris in a completely unnecessary tackle. His positional awareness is that of a deaf bat. He does not look for his man and when he does its his sheer pace that saves him. Against opposition with pace he is left looking like a Tyro league newbie. You know what it is like the ball is hit up in the air the all run looking into the air and crowd, much like a moth to a flame. his tackling is unpredictable and don't even get me started on his set-peice play.
Now we come onto the big talking point Jan the Spam (formerly the Man). His defensive play is likened to Walker. He is incapable of making a decent decision. Even simple things like heading the ball seemed to be a MAJOR task for this one season wonder. Yes I said it and I would love for someone to prove me wrong. In his first season (for most he was asked to play out of position), was his best season. The following season was bad, but with his first season as an example it was taken as simply a bad one. However this year is just as bad, if not worse. He has failed to consistently lead the line and given that he is playing for Belgium with Kompany at the heart of their defence you would expect so much more. He is breaking forward and leaving young Dier at the back to fend for the entire team as Walker and Rose Bomb forward. I'm not sorry to say it but he should go in the summer (he has not provided any evidence to show that he even wants to play for the team).
So a CB and RB that should be sold in the summer, but it doesn't stop there. We have accident prone Kaboul and Chiriches. Kaboul let's face it is not the same since his injury hit seasons. He has come back slow and unreactive, Chriches was bought as a youngster with great promised and delivered .... well nothing. Don't even get me started on that supposed TOP defender Fazio. Is clumsy as he is slow and that combination is a match made in HELL for any team. So we need to sell 3 CB's and have a RB that cannot last another season. Thats 4 players to get out and we would HAVE to replace them (can't do without). For me you cannot keep any of those 4 around without causing more harm than is good for the team.
Dier has come in and done fantastic, with a leader at the back we could see him grow into a great defender. However we have not got that in anyone and so he will continue to learn how to be clumsy, ignorant, unaware and tactically inept.
Rose is starting to look like a good player, but he must learn to cope with his defensive duties a lot better. However his failings are highlighted as Walker and Vertonghen have our back 4 all over the place.
Now I have to ask you, is anyone happy with that? Is anyone happy that Tottenham have the worst defensive record in the Premier Leagues top 11? Anyone happy that 13th down the 17th have better defensive records? If Tottenham could only keep their nerve you would have seen a team in the top 4 and capable of challenging for the top spot. Instead we have a team in Tottenham that has a great young goalscorer and a midfield that is stuck in transition as we get the old out and bring in the young.
Don't get me wrong there are plenty of other issues, like for example how Chadli looked worse than Gazza on a 7 day bender against Leicester, but yet Townsend was subbed off, but for me the big big issue is that Vertonghen is not leading the line and the rest of the back 4 are following his lead, down the toilet!
As always sports fan's my opinions are not just made up of make believe fairy dust, seasoned professionals have raised concern, highlighted the same issues that I talk about and until these are addressed, don't expect to see Tottenham ever push for a top 4. Its the harsh reality that must be understood.
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