Tottenham fan verdict: 'Duo almost transfer listed', Villa positives but finishing concerns

National World - LocalTV

Tottenham fan James Trembath discusses the Aston Villa defeat, the mounting injury crisis and what the future holds for two stars out of the starting eleven.

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00:00 James, yesterday in the Premier League Spurs succumbed to a 2-1 loss at home to Aston Villa.

00:05 It was a game when, in a similar fashion to when Spurs lost at home to Chelsea, they started

00:11 really well, got themselves ahead, things went a little bit wrong in terms of injuries

00:16 in this one as opposed to sending us off in that one. And then you have a couple of disallowed

00:21 goals as well and then Villa strike late on and it's a bit of a smash and grab win. Obviously

00:27 all credit to Villa but again for Spurs, is it just a lack of composure and a lack of

00:33 being clinical in front of goal that's costing you the reward?

00:36 Yes, I mean on paper, three defeats in a row, it's not good is it in terms of the form but

00:42 it certainly doesn't tell the full picture. Spurs were breathtaking yesterday for large

00:46 spells, the football was absolutely outstanding. We had three goals, goals, inverted commas,

00:53 that were ruled out for offside, we hit the post twice and I think that's the only concern.

00:58 The performance was excellent considering the fact we had 10 players out injured. We

01:02 lost Benton Kerr as well after half an hour, he was absolutely running the show. Spoken

01:07 before about Benton Kerr, he's a Rolls Royce and brilliant to see him back for his first

01:12 start in nine months and then devastating to see him go off with an injury. Nasty tackle

01:16 as well actually I think that by Matty Cash, so fingers crossed he's OK. But that aside

01:22 and obviously the result, the performance was excellent. We hit the post in the first

01:27 few minutes with Kulosevski, should have scored, Son, almost making contact with the header

01:32 from across, just couldn't quite get on the end of it. I think that is the concern that

01:37 when we're on top we're not finishing teams off. It was very similar against Chelsea,

01:40 we started off like a train, got the goal, should have gone 2-0 up, maybe even 3-0 up.

01:47 So it's a classic tale at the minute of results perhaps not telling the full story and I think

01:52 to be honest with you, the team that Spurs are fielding at the moment, no recognised

01:56 centre-back in the line-up yesterday, four full-backs, four wingers. It was a brilliant

02:02 performance and we were really, really unlucky on the day. Take nothing away from Villa,

02:07 they were superb in the second half, they got a bit of a foothold in, we tired, we ran

02:11 out of steam a little bit. And Villa are a good side, they're going to be up there and

02:16 Ollie Watkins is an obvious threat, he took his goal really, really well, perhaps a little

02:21 bit of slack from Spurs in terms of defending but no shame in losing to Villa with the team

02:28 that we were able to field yesterday. But it's the injuries that are the concern and

02:34 the lack of being clinical in front of goal frankly. Son, again slightly off it yesterday,

02:39 he was pretty poor at Wolves as well, perhaps he's missing his mate Madison but we do need

02:45 him to start firing soon and really finishing teams off. I've no doubt we'll be absolutely

02:50 fine, we just need to get through this period, really, really tricky with so many injuries.

02:54 But once we start getting those players back, we're playing a terrific round of football,

02:59 we just need to maintain it for 90 minutes, finish teams off and we really should have

03:04 had a couple of wins there. On another day we would have beaten Villa quite comfortably,

03:08 we would have beaten Chelsea a couple of weeks ago quite comfortably but for the sort of

03:11 debacle that followed with the send-ins off etc. So, we're in good shape and that's a

03:16 bit bizarre and sort of strange to say when we've lost three on the bounce but I genuinely

03:20 think we're going in the right direction and there was some real positives to take from

03:23 you yesterday. You mentioned injuries there and you mentioned Chins Madison of course

03:28 being a key injury. Is his spark and creativity in that little hole, sort of the number 10

03:33 position, something that's really missing for Spurs? Of course, Son is perhaps one of

03:37 those players who is good when he has someone else alongside him to link off and to feed

03:43 off whereas when he's not there it's more of an issue and of course with Madison missing

03:48 that is the problem, would you say?

03:50 Yeah, I mean obviously you take James Madison out, I think he's created 30 chances this

03:56 season for Spurs. He's been among the goals, lots of assists and his link-up play with

04:00 Son, they seem to have been a bit of a telepathic wavelength. The pair of them have been outstanding

04:05 but I think with Son as well, I've said this in the past, he is quite a streaky player

04:10 where he'll go on a run, I think he's got eight Premier League goals, started off the

04:13 season really, really strongly and then things just sort of weigh in for a few games and

04:18 then he'll come back with a bang, no doubt. He's a world-class player but I thought

04:23 Lasalle also played very well yesterday considering that's his first start in a Spurs shirt since

04:27 the final game in Nuno Espirito Santo's era, I think that was back in 2020, being out on

04:32 loan a few times. Never doubted his ability as a player, I think I've probably said before

04:38 but I went to watch Spurs at Burnley a couple of years ago and he absolutely ran the show

04:43 second half, he was really getting forward, driving force, eye to picker thread of a needle

04:48 pass and I think he's a really talented player. He's perhaps not had the luck and the run

04:53 and he's had one or two injuries at Spurs, changes in managers not helped him. So I think

04:58 there's a player there that can definitely fill in, obviously Madison's boots are huge

05:02 to fill, he's a quality player as we know and as I wax lyrical about him every week,

05:06 he's a huge miss for us but I do think it's more the defensive side of the game that we're

05:13 missing at the moment. Obviously Van der Ven, long-term injury, Romero with that silly sending

05:18 off against Chelsea, we're going to miss him again for one more match and there's a huge

05:22 gaping hole there. I think Rome wasn't built in a day, we always knew the first transfer

05:27 window of Posse Coglou was going to be a rebuild but it does make the decision to let Davinson

05:33 Sanchez go out now look a little bit silly if I'm honest. We really are light, as I say

05:39 Emerson, Rael and Ben Davies played yesterday, no Eric Dier which is interesting, that's

05:44 probably another matter. But it's the lack of depth that's in the centre half and the

05:49 luck we're having with injuries that's costing us at the moment. We need Madison back for

05:53 sure but I think equally important we need Van der Ven and Romero back as soon as possible.

05:58 You mentioned Eric Dier, you mentioned Heuberg as well and the fact that Spurs don't really

06:04 have any fit centre-backs. Is their omission yesterday quite telling to use in terms of

06:11 their position within the squad?

06:12 Well I think you'd probably say both are on the transfer list looking at that yesterday.

06:19 Heuberg can't get into the midfield when we've got so many injuries and Eric Dier likewise.

06:24 As I say he picked Emerson, Rael yesterday who was a full-back playing at centre-back.

06:28 Barring any injuries to the pair of them which I've not heard anything to the contrary,

06:34 then I would say that's them all but transfer listed. I think it's a little bit harsh perhaps

06:41 on Eric Dier, he's a bit of a Marmite character, he's been a good servant for Spurs over the

06:45 years but he was at fault potentially for at least one of the goals at Wolves when we lost

06:50 their 2-1 in the 97th minute. Obviously Postakoglu went yesterday for the full-back treatment

06:57 didn't he with four full-backs and they did okay to be honest with you. I think Eric Dier's

07:04 days are numbered, his contract's obviously up in the summer, I won't be surprised to see him

07:06 go out on loan even in January or a nominal fee elsewhere. There's been links with Bayern Munich

07:12 which is interesting because I think he can play that holding role in midfield. So I think his

07:17 days are numbered. I think Heuberg again, he's been a good player for Spurs, he again divides

07:24 the fan base but you saw when he came on yesterday he's just not got that progressive passing in him

07:29 that Benton Kerr has. Benton Kerr, the variation in his passing yesterday, the quick feet, the

07:36 ability to turn out of trouble and really set players on the way with intricate passing,

07:41 Heuberg just hasn't got that. He did okay when he came on, a few nice little balls out wide and

07:46 obviously nearly scored with a really tremendous effort from the edge of the box but I just don't

07:51 think he fits the Postakoglu system and that's not to say he's a bad player, I think certainly

07:55 he's a good player to have around the squad and he's one of the leaders in the dressing room.

07:58 But again I wouldn't be surprised if not January, certainly in the summer I think because I'm not

08:04 convinced he's part of the long-term plan either. And finally if we just mention Terry Bennebels of

08:10 course, sadly passed away yesterday, former England's Furs and Barcelona manager, he was the

08:17 last manager to guide Tottenham to an FA Cup victory in 1991, Gary Mavitt was the captain.

08:22 James, just a few words on his passing and the legacy he'll leave.

08:26 Yeah I mean it really really sad news yesterday when that came through, you know it was very very

08:35 emotional inside the ground, I think the news broke just an hour before kickoff and the minutes

08:39 applause was really very emotional and pulled on the heartstrings. I mean Terry Bennebels,

08:44 the last manager to win the FA Cup for Tottenham, that unbelievable run with the Gascoigne free kick

08:49 in the semi-final and the win over Nottingham Forest after extra time. He then went on to manage

08:55 England in the Euro 96, always stands out, it was a brilliant memory that for me, we did so well in

08:59 that tournament, we probably should have got over the line bar for a Gareth Southgate penalty miss

09:04 but you know he goes down as one of the greats, played a terrific round of football and he was

09:09 just a great character, really infectious kind of character around the dressing room as well and

09:14 you know he's going to be sorely missed and will be by many Spurs fans alike.

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