ON Thursday night, after covering Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Tottenham, I pulled into a service station on my way home and bumped into a big group of Spurs fans.
It was nice of them to say, but to me, that is embarrassing.
Fans of a club like Spurs think a retired 36-year-old – who has never played at a club at that level – is what is needed.
I was briefly linked with a move there in 2020 when Jose Mourinho was boss. It never materialised.
But do I think I could have made a mark on that club, those players? Yes, because I don’t pussyfoot around. It doesn’t matter if it is Jose at Spurs or Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
I know I wouldn’t be a starter, but I could impact a culture, by training to the best of my ability, calling out people who are late to meetings or not pulling their weight.
I would get in that dressing room, shut the door, and take a sledgehammer to it – metaphorically, of course – to show them what we need to do.
Losing a Carabao Cup semi-final – one that was so important to the club – in that manner is entirely on the players.
In games gone by with Spurs, you can blame the boss Ange Postecoglou, his tactics, the set-up is too gung-ho. But at least then they have had a bit about them.
At Anfield, I was speaking to a few ex-Spurs players – proper legends. I asked them: Are you seeing what I am seeing? I thought I was being too harsh in my analysis.
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One of them turned to me and simply said: No character, no fight, no chance.
As captain, Son Heung-min was null and void. At 0-0 – and 1-0 up on aggregate – the team looked nervous but there was no belief they were ever going to win.
When it goes to 1-1 on aggregate, the same thing. No reaction, gone into hiding, doing the opposite of everything you should do in that moment.
After Cody Gakpo’s goal in the 34th minute, while all the Liverpool players were celebrating, I would have got everyone in and told them: The next 10 minutes, we kick it into the corner and solidify until we get to half-time.
Instead they self-imploded. They played quickly from kick-off before everyone was set. They conceded a stupid corner. No one took responsibility.
I would get in that dressing room, shut the door, and take a sledgehammer to it – metaphorically, of course – to show them what we need to do.
That midfield of Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr is meant to be a decent trio, but not one of them put their foot on the ball and said: Don’t worry, I’ll keep things ticking over.
It was left to the kids to show a bit of leadership in Djed Spence and Archie Gray – a bit of quality, fight, determination. They weren’t great, but at least they didn’t quit.
Anyone who has played the game will tell you most of those Spurs players quit, gave up. Not on each other or themselves, but quit on the manager, the fan base, everything.
I made headlines by once saying Arsenal lacked ‘cojones’, but just look at this Tottenham team. They bottled it. They collapsed through fear.
If that group look at themselves in the mirror and say: ‘We gave it everything’, then they’re liars. They’re lying to themselves and they’re lying to the fans.
And that’s why they are where they are.
How many of those players will admit any of that performance was their fault? I’ll tell you: zero.
Where are the leaders? I was in the tunnel at full-time around all the post-match interviews. I only saw one player do one, and that was Son. Other than that, Ange did all of them.
That to me says it all. One of the experienced lads should have taken a few of those off the manager’s hands. Take ownership.
If you’re an average player and get the chance to move to Spurs, you would be buzzing. You get paid extremely well, really nice stadium, good fans and there’s no pressure to win anything. Perfect, right?
They beat Brentford last week and celebrated like they had won the FA Cup. They beat Swedish minnows Elfsborg in the Europa League and were posting on social media about ‘togetherness’.
Where are all those posts now? You know what they do? They run, they’re scared. This is the problem, not just with Spurs, but with the new footballer.
They only want to hear the good stuff. They want to be pally-pally.
When people talk about Tottenham now, what do they say? Oh what a lovely set-up. The training ground, the facilities, the stadium is world class.
In other words: Weakness. Softness. Comfort.
I played with Richarlison at Watford. He is naturally a rough and ready bloke. A ‘you’re going to get it’ player. He would run over you to get the ball. A scrapper. The same when he left for Everton.
Spurs then bought him for £50m to change their culture, but because everything is so nice and laid on, you subconsciously become that type of person. It creates weakness.
I remember talking to a rugby friend of mine at Saracens. He said when they went away with England, they would stay in a four star, not a five, purposely to make them a little bit uncomfortable.
That will make you strive for more. What are you striving for at Spurs?
If you’re an average player and get the chance to move to Spurs, you would be buzzing.
It’s the best place to be. You get paid extremely well, really nice stadium, good fans and there’s no pressure to win anything. Perfect, right?