BBC pundit Danny Murphy has held Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino responsible for his team’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.
Spurs suffered their second defeat of the Premier League season at the hands of the Reds at Wembley, but Murphy believes that their poor showing was all down to one man in particular.
He claims that the Argentine could have switched things up after 20 minutes when it looked like it would be a bad day at the office for the Lilywhites, especially as midfielder Mousa Dembele was looking isolated in the 4-4-2 formation.
“I didn’t have a particular problem with Mauricio Pochettino trying something different and setting up with a midfield diamond on Saturday. What shocked me — because I’m a huge fan of the Spurs manager — is that he didn’t alter the system after it quickly became clear it wasn’t working,” he said in his column for the Daily Mail.
“I love Pochettino but he has to take responsibility for this defeat. He could have changed it after 20 minutes. Mousa Dembele was isolated at the base of the diamond.”
OPINION
This is a bold claim to make by the well-known pundit. Even though Pochettino could have switched things up after 20 minutes like Murphy pointed out, it is hard to agree that he should be held accountable for this defeat. He plays a large part in taking the blame for the defeat, but the players must also be held responsible for their actions. They were incredibly poor for some periods of the match, and this definitely is not Pochettino’s fault. If they are feeling tired, then they should make the decision to opt out from being chosen to start, as that was ultimately Spurs’ downfall. Everyone in the team is to blame for his showing, and it is rather unfair to pin it on one person. Yes, he did not recognise that things needed changing, but that will now be a lesson learned – and hopefully they do not replicate the same when they come up against another team from the top four.