Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea: Jamie Redknapp calls defeat ‘one of Spurs’ worst performances’ | Football news
Aerial sports Jamie Redknapp believes Tottenham’s 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea was “one of Spurs’ worst performances”, as boss Thomas Frank played down being snubbed by some of his full-time players after they were booed.
A toothless Tottenham suffered a fifth successive defeat to London rivals Chelsea as they managed just one shot on target in a dismal defeat.
The desolate Spurs were loudly booed by their own fans as Joao Pedro’s first-half winner compounded Spurs’ woes at home, with Frank’s side suffering a 12th defeat in their last 19 league matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Footage has since emerged on social media showing defenders Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence ignoring Frank’s request to applaud the fans.
Speaking about the incident, Frank said in his post-match press conference: “All the players are, of course, frustrated. They would like to do well, win, perform well, so I understand that.
“I think that’s a part that’s difficult, of course, to be consistent in good times and bad, that’s why I addressed the fans, the way I did. It’s more fun when you win, I can tell you that.”
When asked if their behavior was acceptable, he replied: “I understand why you ask the question, but I think it’s, how should I put it, one of the little problems.
“We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence who are doing everything they can. I think they have performed very well so far this season.
“Everyone is frustrated. We do things differently, so I don’t think it’s a big problem.”
Frank on a xG record: it hurts a lot
The defeat against Chelsea saw Tottenham record the lowest expected goal (0.05xG) by a Premier League team this season and the lowest ever since Opta began collecting Premier League xG data in 2012/13.
Asked about the record xG, Frank said: “I would say, of course, it hurts extremely.
“I’ve never been in charge of a team that created so little in one game, ever. So of course I’ll look at what we can do to improve it, but I think it’s one thing.
“I think it’s all a bit linked. And today we didn’t reach the level.”
This abysmal performance angered the home support, who showed their frustration throughout.
Asked if he understood the boos, Frank replied: “Yes, 100 percent. I think we all feel the frustration and the emotions that are part of football. It’s extremely painful.
“It’s part of the job to face yourself now and answer the really good questions, when you’re burning inside and you like finding solutions, watching the game, seeing what went wrong, all that. But I think it’s about trying to stay calm in general.
“I think Chelsea were good. We were definitely second. We played badly. I think we lacked energy and intensity. That freshness, we didn’t have it.
“Then I think the high pressure that they caused, I don’t think we’ve resolved it well enough, even though we’ve worked on it, so we have to continue to work on it.
“Our pressure, we lacked a little bit at the beginning until we managed to get it under control. Then they went up 1-0, then we kept going, and it was just a bad circle – chasing, delay, intensity, energy, bad decisions.”
Redknapp: Tottenham were so poor
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Spurs boss Thomas Frank says he understands his home fans are booing after his side’s 1-0 defeat to London rivals Chelsea.
Tottenham failed to have a shot on target in the second half and created no big chances in the defeat to the Blues.
This display led former Spurs midfielder Redknapp to label him one of the worst ever.
He said Aerial sports: “It didn’t seem difficult [to play against Spurs] This evening. It was as simple as possible. If it was a boxing match, they would have stopped it.
“Tottenham were so poor. I actually thought they would really try their luck tonight, but it was one of the worst performances I’ve seen from Tottenham.
“They won three home games last year, and I would probably put that first because if you compare some of the other games, like last season where they lost 4-3, at least they had a real chance.
“They went after teams, it could have gone either way, and it was exciting.
“Today they never laid a glove on Chelsea. They had no idea what was going on, they had no understanding and they were missing the challenges. They made it so easy for Chelsea.”
