Hotspur HQ
Fansided

Tottenham Player Ratings on Another Disappointing Day in BPL

By Aaron Coe

Tottenham Hotspur's Welsh striker Gareth Bale (L) runs away from West Ham United's English defender Ben Johnson (R) during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at The London Stadium, in east London on February 21, 2021. (Photo by Clive Rose / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE.
Tottenham Hotspur's Welsh striker Gareth Bale (L) runs away from West Ham United's English defender Ben Johnson (R) during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at The London Stadium, in east London on February 21, 2021. (Photo by Clive Rose / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
West Hamm Tottenham
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Jesse Lingard of West Ham United runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Tanguy Ndombele (R) and Erik Lamela of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium on February 21, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Neil Hall – Pool/Getty Images) /

Tottenham Midfield

Well Tottenham essentially rolled with a two-man midfield and got dominated in the center of the park for it. While Spurs controlled the lion share of possession, the 50/50 balls in the middle of the park – particularly in the first half – all went the way of West Ham. Lingard and Bowen space to run and operate as Spurs were overrun at times in the first half as Tomas Soucek was as good as predicted.

Simply put  Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice physically manhandled Pierre Højbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele

Pierre Højbjerg – 5

Outside of spending and inordinate amount of time in the ear of Craig Pawson – which is not helping by the way – it is hard to say what contribution to the match the Dane brought. Pierre Højbjerg has not been good for over a month – nor anyone in the back of the midfield. Some changes in formation and shape have to be made as Spurs are losing badly in the most important part of the park when it matters most.

Tanguy Ndombele – 5

Like Pierre Højbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele completed the vast majority of his passes. However, like the Dane, the vast majority of the Frenchman’s passes were backwards, sideways, or extremely short. Ndombele likes to play with pressure on his back but that consistently cost Spurs possession in the first half as Ndombele jogged around the pitch. He was noticeably more active in the second half, but the damage had been done and scoring multiple goals against lines of 5 and 4 seemed unlikely. Cannot simply just give a half away.