OneFootball
Dan Burke·5 October 2019
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Dan Burke·5 October 2019
After their humiliating 7-2 defeat in mid-week, Tottenham were in desperate need of good result at Brighton in Saturday’s early kick-off.
What they got was the complete opposite, however.
Here’s what we made of Mauricio Pochettino’s nightmare by the seaside.
Seven days after being fortunate his blunder didn’t cost his side against Southampton, Lloris committed another howler when he dropped a routine catch straight into the path of the grateful Neal Maupay for the game’s opener.
Unfortunately for the Frenchman, his mistake didn’t just cost his side a goal but also the use of his left arm for the foreseeable future, as his sickening landing appeared to cause an injury which is likely to keep him out for a number of months, if not the rest of the season.
Lloris has been a fantastic servant for Spurs during his seven years at the club, but a team with ambitions of challenging for major silverware cannot do so with a goalkeeper who makes so many unforced errors.
Paulo Gazzaniga will now get an extended chance to stake a claim for the No1 jersey (although this game wasn’t the best audition from the Argentine) and the Lilywhites will surely have to think about dipping into the transfer market for a new goalkeeper, either in January or next summer.
As bad as the visitors were in this game, they were made to pay for their poor performance by the brilliance of hosts Brighton.
The Seagulls have looked a different proposition since day one of Graham Potter’s tenure but until today, their results have not matched their performances. In fact, this is their first win since the opening day of the season.
But they were excellent in all departments here. Mathew Ryan made some decent saves when called upon, Aaron Mooy buzzed around enthusiastically in midfield, and Maupay made life extremely difficult for the Spurs back four all afternoon.
But special praise must be reserved for Aaron Connolly. The 19-year-old scored twice on his first Premier League start and his second goal was particularly excellent.
The young man looks like he has a very bright future ahead of him and his first senior Republic of Ireland call-up surely won’t be far away.
It feels bizarre to be saying this less than five months after he guided the club to the Champions League final, but Pochettino has taken Spurs as far as he can.
The Argentine has cut a frustrated figure since the back end of last season and it seems his mood has now rubbed off onto his players.
The squad don’t seem to be playing for their manager any more and if that mid-week defeat to Bayern Munich could have been written off as misfortune, this dismal display at the Amex looks like carelessness.
Spurs’ problems seem to be terminal at this point and it’s probably in everybody’s best interests to rip it up and start again.
Because Pochettino is in danger of doing severe damage to his own reputation if he isn’t careful and as an act of self-preservation, he should probably jump now, before he’s pushed.