Jamie Carragher did not hold back when offering his assessment of Tottenham’s woeful 1-0 defeat against Chelsea on Saturday evening.
Spurs have a tricky relationship with their London rivals, having not won a match against Chelsea since February 2023, and welcomed the Blues to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against the backdrop of a lacklustre run of home form.
While the visitors could only find the back of the net once via Joao Pedro, Enzo Maresca’s side looked dominant for huge swathes of the tie, with Spurs registering their lowest xG (expected goals) metric – 0.10 – since records began in 2012-13.
Carragher’s Sky Sports colleague Jamie Redknapp was among the first pundits to offer his verdict on the match, calling it one of the ‘worst performances’ by the club that he has ever seen.
Manager Thomas Frank admitted that he had been ‘frustrated’ and did not attempt to sugarcoat the nature of the defeat.
But Carragher suggested why the performance could prove a troubling one among the Spurs hierarchy when considering their decision to appoint Frank in the place of former manager Ange Postecoglou.
Jamie Carragher did not mince his words when discussing Tottenham’s level against Chelsea
In a blunt attacking performance the hosts failed to record more than 0.10 xG – their lowest amount since records began
‘It is worrying, and I’ve seen (Frank’s) press conference today ahead of the Champions League,’ Carragher began. ‘And he may be looking at this (result), and saying, “I don’t know where this is coming from.
‘”We’re doing well in the league, going into the weekend we’re the highest scorers in the league”. But a big problem for Thomas Frank and other managers who make that jump from one of the smaller teams to one of the big boys is actually bringing the football to these teams.
‘When you watch the game at the weekend, and the home games that the supporters have seen, that was like watching a League Two game against a Premier League team in the FA Cup.
‘There was a huge contrast with the ball, and that is the biggest problem for any coach making the jump to one of the big boys.’
In his analysis of some of the match’s flashpoints, Carragher also repeated his claim that he believed that Spurs were playing with a ‘lack of courage’.
As well as lacking the backbone to seize the game by the scruff of the neck where possible, Carragher singled out one star – Xavi Simmons – for playing with a ‘lack of confidence’ too.
Looking at the build-up to Pedro’s goal, in which Simons played a ‘lackadaisical’ pass that was feasted on by Chelsea just outside the box, Carragher continued: ‘Simons, really poor throughout the game, he was’.
Simons joined Tottenham in the summer for a £52million fee from RB Leipzig, but has failed to make his mark yet in the Premier League.
Thomas Frank moved from Brentford this summer following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou
Xavi Simons is another new recruit in north London but the Netherlands star is yet to announce himself in the Premier League
Initially not part of Frank’s starting XI against the west London side, Simons was quickly brought on when Lucas Bergvall was substituted as a precaution after suffering a head injury.
The 22-year-old was then forced to bear one of the greater indignities in football when he was substituted off again in the second-half as Spurs continued to hunt for an equaliser.
Redknapp had deployed more colourful language in his Tottenham takedown after full-time, by comparing the match to a boxing contest.
‘That was as easy as it gets,’ the 52-year-old said. ‘If it was a boxing match, they’d have stopped it. Tottenham were so poor, they never laid a glove on Chelsea. They made it so easy.
‘Tottenham just looked paceless today. They didn’t really have an idea of how to get up the pitch. And it just looked too easy for (Chelsea).’
But the most damning verdict on Frank’s managing may have come from two of his own players, with the Danish head coach blanked by Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven as they made their way off the pitch and down the tunnel.
Daily Mail Sport reported exclusively that Spence is believed to have told Frank: ‘I ain’t doing it… go away’ – but it is not clear what the England international was referring to.
‘The players are of course frustrated,’ Frank said when asked about the pair. ‘They like to do well, like to win, like to perform well, so I understand that.
‘We can be consistent in good times and bad times – that’s why I went around to the fans as I did. It’s more fun when we win, I can tell you that.
‘I understand why you’re asking the question but I’d say that’s one of the small issues. Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence are doing everything they can. Everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way. I don’t think it’s a big problem.’
Tottenham will look to recover their form and start fresh in Europe, as they welcome Copenhagen to north London on Tuesday evening in the Champions League.
