Tottenham Hotspur went into the mode of defensive calamity in the second half as they lost 3-2 against Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday at the Amex Stadium.
Despite taking a 2-0 lead at halftime, Spurs lost the game, and pundits were not impressed by how the north London club defended.
While it was a thoroughly entertaining game, Spurs fans will be really disappointed to lose the game in such a manner.
Marton Keown has been left unimpressed by Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven. The 23-year-old defender is often praised in the media for his speed, but Keown says that he didn’t see the toughness about him in the second half.
What Martin Keown said about Spurs defender Micky van de Ven
Speaking on talkSPORT alongside Simon Jordan and Jim White, the former Arsenal defender noticed that Brighton forward Yankuna Minteh troubled the Dutch defender a few times during the game, leaving “question marks” about Tottenham’s approach.
Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist were also not impressed by two Tottenham fullbacks, Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, although they were brilliant going forward.
Keown said: “Van de Ven is getting all the credit for being a speed merchant flying forward, but I didn’t really see a toughness about him in that second half.
“Minteh went past him a few times, it was question marks and you’ve got to ride the storm.”
The debate about Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou’s style
There has been a lot of noise about players lacking mental toughness, and to be fair, they need to take a share of the blame, too, along with the manager.
Postecoglou is a different kind of manager than Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho. He is adventurous and loves to play attacking football, and he is ready to put his neck on the line with his high-line defence.
For the neutrals, it is thoroughly entertaining, but fans want to see results more than anything else. In a league where every point matters, Spurs fans will be happy to see their team carve out a victory by playing ugly, but Postecoglou has his own style of approaching the game.
What should frustrate the Spurs boss is that they should have killed the game in the first half, where they created plenty of chances.
