Sports
Spurs must sell flop who lost the ball every 3.9 touches
Tottenham Hotspur needed a last-minute Cristian Romero goal to help secure a point away at relegation-threatened Burnley earlier this afternoon.
Thomas Frank’s men took an early lead at Turf Moor, after centre-back Micky van de Ven volleyed home past Martin Dubravka after the hosts failed to deal with a set-piece.
However, goals from Axel Tuanzebe and Lyle Foster handed Frank’s men a scare, with Romero’s late effort scoring a much-needed point for the Lilywhites in the Premier League.
Many supporters will no doubt have expected more from the clash in Lancashire this afternoon, with the final scoreline ramping up the pressure on the Dane.
The 52-year-old even utilised a back-three system during the clash this afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to prevent numerous players from failing to deliver during the draw.
Spurs’ poor performers against Burnley
As a result of the change in formation, full-back Djed Spence was asked to operate in a somewhat unusual attacking role off the left-hand side, which no doubt contributed to his struggles.
The 25-year-old featured for the entirety of the contest at Turf Moor, but was only able to create one chance for his teammates, whilst completing just 43% of his crosses.
He also made just one tackle when tracking back to fulfil his defensive responsibilities, with such a position taking away his best asset in making marauding runs.
Spence wasn’t alone in struggling during the draw, with striker Dominic Solanke often running off limited opportunities within the final third of the pitch.
The Englishman only registered a total of 39 touches of the ball throughout his 90-minute performance, with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario managing more.
He also failed to complete any of his two attempted dribbles, whilst winning just one of his four aerial battles – highlighting his lack of impact against Scott Parker’s men.
The Spurs star who needs to be sold after Burnley draw
This afternoon’s draw with Burnley moves Spurs up to 13th in the Premier League, but it’s still way below the expectations of the hierarchy following Frank’s appointment in the summer.
The Lilywhites are now winless in each of the last five league matches, which has no doubt seen them struggle to gain on the European places for the second season in a row.
After such a result, there’s no doubt there’s still huge pressure on the 52-year-old, with his future undoubtedly still massively up in the air in North London.
However, after such a showing, questions will no doubt be asked about the players, with the aforementioned talents failing to extract their best levels of performance.
Pedro Porro was another starter who struggled to adapt to the demands of Frank’s new-look three-back system, with the Spaniard chosen to play in a right wing-back role.
His struggles were evident throughout the majority of the first half, which led to the manager replacing him with Destiny Udogie at the break, with the scores level.
However, his underlying stats from his 45-minute performance highlight his struggles, with the 26-year-old potentially needing to be sold if he carries on in such a vein.
His more attacking role gave him license to get forward and create problems for the opposition, but Porro struggled in that regard – as seen by his tally of zero chances created.
He also failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles, whilst also failing to find a teammate with any of the crosses he whipped into the opposition’s 18-yard box.
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Pedro Porro – stats against Burnley |
|
|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Tally |
|
Minutes played |
45 |
|
Touches |
55 |
|
Possession lost |
14x |
|
Dibbles completed |
0 |
|
Crosses completed |
0 |
|
Duels won |
1 |
|
Fouls committed |
2 |
|
Pass accuracy |
70% |
|
Stats via FotMob |
|
The Spaniard’s wastefulness with the ball at his feet was further reflected in his tally of 14 times possession lost, which meant that, given his tally of 55 touches, he lost the ball every 3.9 times he touched it.
Out of possession, he was just as poor, as seen by his tally of zero tackles won, whilst also managing to win just one of the five ground duels that he entered.
As a result of his performance, Porro was handed a measly 5/10 match rating by Football London journalist Alasdair Gold – further showcasing how poor he was at Turf Moor.
He’s struggled to match the heights he’s set for himself in recent years, with Spence’s emergence at right-back only making competition for places even tougher.
It would be a surprise to no one if the Spaniard was moved on in the near future, with his performances continuously failing to catch the eye of the Spurs faithful.
If the club are to rise up the Premier League anytime soon, the club need to be brutal with their decision-making, with the departure of Porro, one action that needs to be taken.
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