Over the previous two weeks in goalless games against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, no single player drew more ire from the Tottenham Hotspur faithful than Mathys Tel, who started both matches on the left wing with Omar Marmoush in the middle and both Mohammed Kudus and James Maddison still working through fitness issues.
Tel was a turnover machine in both matches, even more egregious than on Matchday 1. And unlike in the Brentford game, Tel was not creating chances or beating defenders; he was just losing the ball. Tel could not craft shooting opportunities for himself and others, and many specifically blamed the promising Frenchman for Omar Marmoush struggling badly at the center forward position.
So Roberto De Zerbi did listen and make a change, and even though he is a fan of Tel's, especially over the long term, he started another player he really likes in Dominic Solanke. Fans, of course, are not as high on Solanke overall, but they were willing to see something new and also ascertain whether or not the move would benefit Marmoush on the left wing and Savio on the right wing.
Dominic Solanke was Tottenham's worst player vs. Everton
In the end, Tottenham Hotspur had the same result, failing to score a single goal and drawing Everton 0-0. Marmoush was poor once again on the left wing, but Big Dom was somehow even worse. He was literallly the worst player on the entire pitch, turning the ball over more frequently than anyone else with six unforced errors while creating zero chances, winning zero dribbles or fouls, and failing to get into the box for scoring situations.
Mathys Tel was a problem for Tottenham against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, but Dominic Solanke was somehow even worse. He was so much worse that Spurs fans who no longer wanted to see Tel in the starting lineup and were interested in a front three of Marmoush, Solanke, and Savio are rapidly changing their tune on the Frenchman's prospects in Roberto De Zerbi's best starting 11 right now.
Because while Tel has his issues, at least he offers some explosiveness and can create a shot for himself. And at least he is postiive on the ball. Solanke is such a negative playr, and even though he drops deep a lot as a 9, it's not like he is offering much in terms of his passing or carrying - and the ball security people rave about was nowhere to be found against Everton either.
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