Football.london’s Rob Guest criticised Emerson Royal for his ‘sloppy play’ in Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 victory this weekend.
The north London side didn’t have it all their own way at the City Ground, but still managed to take all three points thanks to Harry Kane’s brace. Things could have been even better for the England international but for Dean Henderson’s penalty save.
The win against Nottngham Forest makes it 10 points from a possible 12 for Antonio Conte’s side, who have dropped points just once so far this term. All in all, even if the performances haven’t been convincing at times, they will consider that a good start to the season.
Even in the victory, Guest expressed his concern over Royal, giving him a 6/10 in his player ratings piece and saying: “Some sloppy play on a few occasions but had a few runs forward and didn’t really have an impact in the final third. Defended well when called upon.”
TIF Thoughts on Emerson Royal…
Spurs cannot afford weak spots in their backline if they are to compete on all fronts this season. But it seems as though Royal is that exact weakness with his performance against Forest.
Royal lost possession a team-high 17 times as Spurs laboured to victory, which may suggest he is unreliable on the ball, and on another day, he could have paid the price for it – with Forest hitting the target with just one of their 17 attempts.
With respect to the Reds, it must be said that if that same sloppy play came against a top-six side, Spurs could have been in trouble. As it turns out, the defender got away with it, but he must cut out those sloppy moments throughout the remainder of the season as Spurs look to hit greater heights.
All in all, the Forest result will be seen as a positive, but it was far from convincing from Spurs.