A favourite of Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou's has been branded one of the worst technical players in the Premier League by a pundit this week.
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A brace from Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon's strike and Fabian Schar's goal rounded off an afternoon to forget for Postecoglou, who is adamant that growth is "painful" and it's something which will happen to Spurs on more than one occasion as they continue to evolve and learn lessons.
“Newcastle were good, credit to them”, said Postecoglou after Tottenham's defeat to Newcastle. “We just didn’t really get a grip of the game at all. We never really wrestled control at any stage and we paid the price for that.
“We allowed them to dictate the way the game was played. We weren’t brave on the ball. A lot of it was self-inflicted. It’s the same as every other game. There’s no point sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. We’ve got another game in two weeks’ time.
Arsenal (home)
April 28th
Chelsea (away)
May 2nd
Liverpool (away)
May 5th
Burnley (home)
May 11th
Man City (home)
May 14th
“It’s not the first time it [a heavy defeat] has happened to us; it won’t be the last. It’s part of our growth. Sometimes that growth is painful. I was concerned with all of it. There was no one area that cost us today. We never got to any sort of tempo.”
Among the players who failed to have an impact was January arrival Timo Werner. The German, who has attracted praise from Postecoglou for his some of his performances since signing on loan, is being heavily linked with a permanent switch in the summer.
Bothroyd slams Werner as "one of the worst"
Tottenham staff are also said to be impressed by Werner behind-the-scenes. However, pundit Jay Bothroyd has now called Werner one of the worst technical players in England's top flight.
“I can’t help, but I have to be critical of Timo Werner," said Bothroyd to Optus Sport. "I’m sorry, he misses so many good chances. And those chances that he missed, they can change games. Technically, he’s one of the worst players in the Premier League. I’m going to say that, because I honestly believe that.
“He doesn’t cross the ball well, he hits it as hard as he can across the face of the goal all the time. He never picks anybody out. His finishing’s poor. His passing’s poor.
“And yes, you can say that he’s effective. But then I’m saying, okay, he’s an athlete. In this day and age, I look at him and I say he’s effective because of his athleticism. As he gets older and he loses that athleticism, how effective is he going to be then?”