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Tottenham news: Mauricio Pochettino told he made major mistake with team selection
TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino made a major mistake with his team selection against Liverpool.
Tottenham: I don’t know what Eric Dier brings says Parlour
That’s according to Tony Cascarino who reckons the Argentine chief got his midfield balance all wrong.
The Reds cruised to a 2-1 win at Wembley and looked comfortable throughout.
Cascarino insists the north Londoners’ engine room was too defensive.
He wrote in The Times: “Mauricio Pochettino is rarely accused of doing wrong but he made a big mistake by starting two defensive midfielders against Liverpool.
Experience is experience but you need to apply it
“Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele do not offer much going forward, they do not score and rarely provide assists, meaning that Lucas Moura and Christian Eriksen, the creative players in front of them, were left with too much to do.
“Worse was that neither Dier nor Dembele offered enough protection to the back four and it was evident after 20 minutes that Spurs were in trouble.
“Harry Winks is young, has spent a lot of time out injured and may eventually be the answer to Spurs' problem but at present they lack a player who is capable of setting the tempo in midfield.”
Tottenham are locking horns with Inter Milan at the San Siro this evening.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Pochettino gave a bizarre analogy when asked if he was feeling confident.
He said: ”Experience is experience but you need to apply it, plus the hunger, plus the motivation, plus being clever.
“If you are not clever it is not going to help you in the future.
"It is like a cow that for every single day for 10 years sees the train cross at the same time and if you ask the cow what time the train is going to come, he is not going to have the right answer.
"Football is the same - motivation, circumstance, many things in football are so important.
“If you show the same hunger, same motivation, if you fight in the right way, there are many things that can keep you in the same way as the experience."
When quizzed on whether Spurs are serious contenders for the Champions League, he added: "I don't think we're realistic contenders in any single competition.
"That is my view if we show the same face we did against Watford and Liverpool, so difficult. If we show the face from some bits of Old Trafford, then maybe yes."
Spurs failed to make a single signing this summer.
The big move to their new stadium has also been put back due to construction delays.
Tottenham XI: Vorm, Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela, Son, Kane
Inter Milan XI: Handanovic, Skriniar, De Vrij, Miranda, Asamoah, Vecino, Brozovic, Politano, Nainggolan, Perisic, Icardi