Tottenham Hotspur have been taking some verbal hits for their 1-1 draw at Leicester City on Monday night.
It’s how they dropped points at the King Power Stadium and against the newly promoted side that is resulting in them getting so much stick.
After half an hour, James Maddison was wheeling away in celebration because he had just assisted Pedro Porro for the opener and Tottenham were all over their opponents.
At a minimum, it should have been three or four to the London club, but they left that door open and Craig Burley thinks he knows why.
The former Scotland international felt that the Spurs players – and two in particular – were taking the mick out of Leicester by thinking it was ‘so easy’ and the game had been won.
Tottenham’s same issues from the last campaign reared its ugly head and that’s missing big chances and then getting punished.
But Burley was sure to call out Maddison, alongside captain Son Heung-min, for their actions because he thought after less than one game, they were being ‘arrogant’, as he told ESPN.
Dominic Solanke was making his Tottenham debut, but he couldn’t convert any of his chances, even if he had opportunities to score.
Before the old veteran Jamie Vardy scored his and Cristian Romero was dubbed a ‘shambles’ for his Tottenham defending.
In the end, Spurs were lucky to get out of that stadium with a point because Vardy proceeded to miss a one-v-one chance.
Son Heung-min and James Maddison slammed for taking it ‘easy’
“It smelt to me that one or two of them were taking the mickey, it was too easy,” said Burley.
“I could sense that a little bit with some of the passing and the finishing. And the way that they were so chilled about a bad pass.
On who was guilty: “I thought Son and Maddison. The lot of them in the forward department. It smelt that they just feel that there is no way they could lose this game. It’s so easy. Almost bordering on an arrogance of ‘we are outplaying this team so much that this second goal is going to come’. Rather than, when players are getting a little bit chilled on the ball and making bad passes, somebody getting onto them and saying ‘that is not good enough’. That game should have been a minimum three or four at half-time. And it was embarrassing. That’s something the bigger teams do. The best teams across Europe when they have you like that, genuinely, they smash you to smithereens.”
Dominic Solanke debut
It has been mentioned that Maddison is going to find it a ‘dream’ to play with Solanke because of the goals he will score.
At this moment, he has made a steady start and he will be hoping to be running as soon as possible, with Everton up next.
Everton have major problems following their 3-0 opening-day loss, so three points should be delivered here.
