Jamie O’Hara compares Tottenham defender to U-15s player in rant after Brentford draw

Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga compared to U-15s player after Brentford draw

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Japhet Tanganga does not have a fan in Jamie O’Hara. That is safe to say after the former Spurs player’s latest rant.

O’Hare tore into Spurs defenders after their 2-2 draw against Brentford. He criticised Eric Dier and lamented Cristian Romero’s absence, but saved his most scathing comments for Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez – with the latter being a player he has notably criticised in recent months.

Romero was unavailable to feature against the Bees following Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup win against France in the final on 18 December. This led to manager Antonio Conte starting Tanganga in defence.

The 23-year-old Englishman had a tough time in defence, winning just one out of the four aerial duels he contested. He was notably being troubled through the aerial route – something that O’Hara took note of.

He told Stadium Astro:

“Eric Dier shinning the ball out of play, Lenglet not marking, not good on the ball. Tanganga, the timing of a header is like under 15s. He’ has had to bring on [Davinson] Sanchez just so he could win a header… and Sanchez is one of the worst players in the squad. It is nowhere near good enough.”

A bit harsh and a bit extreme, but someone has to get the message across that we need at least one new world-class centre-back, if Conte doesn’t know that already. This was Tanganga’s first Premier League appearance this season.

He had a tough game, that can’t be denied. He lost the header to Ivan Toney in the final third which culminated into Vitaly Janelt’s opener.

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Tanganga was then flat-footed as Brentford scored from a corner kick early in the second half. He was hooked in the 67th minute and it is hard to see him getting meaningful playing time once Romero is back – whenever that is.