‘He goes on a mad one’ – Shay Given can’t believe what Spurs star did against Newcastle

Shay Given is in disbelief at the fact that Cristian Romero completely vacated his position for Newcastle’s first goal, thus leaving Harvey Barnes unmarked in the box.

Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham

Since the final whistle at St James’ Park, it has been widely acknowledged that Tottenham’s lack of cutting edge and ruthlessness in the final third is what cost the North London side, who were utterly dominant for large parts of the game.

This is something Ange Postecoglou himself acknowledged, admitting that his side had the chance to score many more goals (The Standard).

However, some of the away side’s defending was just as concerning, with both of Newcastle’s goals coming as a result of some questionable decision-making at the back.

Shay Given blames Romero for Newcastle goal

Given suggested that the signs were there right from the start, with Tottenham’s defensive organisation being exposed by the long balls that the Magpies played.

The former Newcastle goalkeeper told BBC Match of the Day 2: “There were question marks over the defence, definitely. This is a straightforward ball from Nick Pope, you see the back four, they aren’t together and there is no leadership.

“They should be together as a back four, with the two centre-halves pushed up. It’s just a clearance from Nick Pope up the field, a brilliant touch from Anthony Gordon, but now they are in trouble. Chasing back from their own goal. This was a warning.”

Given questioned why Romero decided to vacate his position and close down the players for Newcastle’s opening goal and pointed out that Yves Bissouma also failed to cover for his centre-half.

He added: “This was the first goal. We highlight Romero here, who is your main centre-half, the main leader at the back. He just goes on a mad one here. I have no idea where he is going, to be honest. He chases down twice and there is no real action to get back into defensive shape.

“We highlight Bissouma, he now needs to get back and cover for his centre-half because he sees Isak in a dangerous position. I think Bissouma would be in the position Barnes is (instead of having to mark Isak) if Romero didn’t go on a mad one. And he scores. It goes back to leadership at the back. Leadership as a team.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Our defensive organisation does leave a lot to be desired, but I think that is down to the fact that we are always short of numbers at the back when we lose possession in the middle of the park, given how open we are as a side and how many bodies we commit forward.

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