Tottenham lost to West Ham 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham Hotspur are enduring a difficult season in the English top tier already, but what is already a miserable campaign came to a new low as the Lilywhites lost 2-1 against West Ham in front of their fans last weekend. And there were quite a few things that you can tick off to sum up the current state of the club. Among them was Crysencio Summerville’s performance and what he said afterwards…
The Hammers’ wide forward was a constant menace in his channel a few days back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He ended up finding the back of Vicario’s net after tormenting the Lilywhites’ back line throughout the game. Every time he received the ball, you could see a sense of panic in the defense deployed by Frank & Co. And it was a hesitation that Summerville saw and exploited again and again and again.
And this was not a one-off moment of brilliance. It was something that he was doing all game. He had confidence in his feet; he was looking like a player who knew where to pinch and how much to pinch to get in behind the Lilywhites’ defense.
Summerville comments highlights problems at N17
After the game, Summerville spoke to West Ham’s official media, and his comments should set alarm bells ringing in north London. He said:
“I think they knew that I’m dangerous in a one-on-one situation, so I took them on, took a shot and it went in. There was a deflection, but it’s my goal for sure!”
On the surface, it sounds like another standard post-match talk. But then you start reading between the lines, and it becomes much more worrying for Tottenham. Summerville is admitting that he felt confident enough to repeatedly try to isolate defenders and run directly at them. And then he highlights that he trusted himself that he would come out on top. And if you saw the game, you know that is exactly how it played out.
Time and again we were looking at the Lilywhites’ full-backs and center-backs backing off. It was more of a retreat towards the box, which gave Summerville that space to capitalize on. There was no aggression by the North Londoners’ defenders. Going against him, you could already feel that lack of belief in winning the duel.
And that lack of confidence translates fast into the backline and then into the structure.
Summerville goals highlights everything in one sequence
Let’s look at the goal that Summerville scored for a moment. The 24-year-old was allowed to receive the ball and drive forward. And then he shifted onto his stronger foot to shoot. He did all of this without being properly dueled into the sequence. While there was a deflection, the move should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.
For Frank, he needs to hope (and coach) that this doesn’t happen in Tottenham’s game against Dortmund today.
What do you make of the lack of confidence in Lilywhites’ defense against the Hammers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
