Pundit Steve Sidwell insisted that three Tottenham Hotspur players didn’t follow Ryan Mason’s instructions yesterday.
Covering Tottenham’s game on BT Sport Score, Sidwell wasn’t impressed by what he saw from Spurs.
Aston Villa raced into a 1-0 lead thanks to young midfielder Jacob Ramsey.
The England youth international wasn’t closely marked enough by Pedro Porro and slotted past Fraser Forster in goal.
Douglas Luiz doubled the home side’s lead in the second half from a set piece.
Forster will think he could have done better, but Tottenham once again failed to turn up to an away game.
A late Harry Kane penalty gave Spurs hope, and Son Heung-min put the ball in the back of the net in the final seconds.
However, the South Korean forward was offside and the pass from Kane was poorly timed.
Sidwell insisted that all three Tottenham forwards weren’t playing how Ryan Mason had told them to.
He wasn’t impressed with how they set up and Unai Emery made them pay.
Three Tottenham players ignored Mason – Sidwell
Asked at the half-time break how the Spurs game was going, Mason said: “It’s been so easy for [Aston] Villa, as for Spurs, wow, they’ve been awful.
“Not getting tight, not getting near an Aston Villa player. No direction, I’m not sure how they’re playing, they’re front three are just playing flat up top. No depth to them.
Robbie Savage then asked: “He’s [Ryan Mason] set them up like that thought Steve?”
To which Sidwell replied: “Well no because normally with [Harry] Kane, Son [Heung-min] or Richarlison, there’s a little bit of fluidity, there’s a little bit of movement not just a flat three.
“They’re flat up front, normally one of them should drop deep or stay wide. There might be some changes to come.”
Tottenham’s faint chances of qualifying for the Champions League ended with yesterday’s defeat.
It’s hard to argue that the problems off the pitch at the club haven’t affected performances on it.
What may worry some Tottenham fans is Kane and Son being two of the three players not playing how Mason would have liked them.
They’re arguably the club’s most important players, and as was shown yesterday, when they don’t turn up they simply can’t win games.
Tottenham’s chances of qualifying for any European competition are still hanging in the balance with two games remaining.
There are certainly pros and cons of qualifying for the Europa League or Europa Conference League.
However, missing out completely may make it even more difficult to attract the right players and manager.
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