‘Worst I’ve seen’ - Harry Kane and Son slammed by Tottenham legend as boos ring round after Aston Villa defeat

Boos rang round the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after sorry Spurs kicked off 2023 with a defeat to Aston Villa.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were singled out for criticism by one Tottenham legend after the lacklustre display which meant that Spurs faied to make it back into the top four.

The home side were outfought and, for large parts, outplayed by Villa, who were difficult to break down under the stewardship of former Arsenal boss Unai Emery. Villa’s plan had been to thwart the attacking threat of Spurs and then hit Antonio Conte’s men on the break.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That came to pass when after holding form til half time, the visitors took an early second half lead when Emiliano Buendia latched onto a fumble by the returning Hugo Lloris. With Spurs already struggling to find a way past the resolute Villa backline, their task had become even more difficult and the final nail in their coffin came when Douglas Liuz doubled the lead for Emery’s side after Kane was dispossessed in the middle of the pitch and John McGinn fed the Brazilian to score with a fine finish.

It summed up Kane’s day with both he and Son turning in a torrid display. Former Tottenham player Glenn Hoddle described it as ‘the worst’ he had seen the pair play together and as the final whistle was greeted by jeers from the home support, Hoddle admitted he had sympathy for the fans, such was Spurs’ poor performance.

“If you sum up their best two players, Son and Kane, that's probably the worst I've seen them play together in the same team,” he said. “They were totally off it and I think the whole team was. The shape didn't change, [Conte} plays that week-in, week-out but there was no urgency in the passing. They looked like a team with chains on them.

“There was a lack of confidence there. That's the problem at home, I played there for many years, it's a demanding crowd and if the early stages don't go well they can get on the back of the players. They get on top of you and you have to be strong-minded at times. I think that filtered onto the pitch. You can't blame the crowd because what they were seeing was a lack of quality.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Spurs are lacking in that quality and when your quality, quality players are not playing because they are injured or the two that were on [Kane and Son] have an off day, somebody else has to come to the front.

“They haven't got that, they haven't got that depth in that squad in this moment in time. The next game coming along is Crystal Palace. They have got a lot of work to do. They have got to respond, it won’t be an easy game at Crystal Palace.”