Harry Redknapp could not believe what he saw one Tottenham player doing during the 2-0 defeat against Chelsea on Thursday night.
Goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson saw Mauricio Pochettino defeat Ange Postecoglou in west London – just days after Spurs tasted defeat in another London derby against Arsenal.
It has not been a great week for Tottenham fans – to say the least – and Harry Redknapp was particularly struck by what he noticed Brennan Johnson doing at Stamford Bridge…
Harry Redknapp baffled by Brennan Johnson
Well, the 77-year-old was taken aback by the sight of the Wales international marking Chelsea’s towering defenders at the back post last night.
Johnson was placed as Tottenham’s last line of defence when Chelsea prepared to swing a deep freekick into the box, with the £45m man the closest Spurs player to Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile.
However, the Welshman was easily blocked off by Marc Cucurella and could not stop Chelsea’s aerial threats reaching the ball, which led to Chalobah nodding in the opener.
Speaking about the way Tottenham approached that freekick on talkSPORT at 8:09am this morning, Redknapp said: “Last night, again, set plays. When you see two big fellas at the back post and one of them being marked by a winger, hang on, it is a mismatch. That’s what the coaches, they have got to organise that, they get paid to do. In the dressing room, you have got all the set play staff.
“They have got to make sure that (Trevoh) Chalobah’s marked, the other centre-half, the big guys, you are marking people. You have to pick them up. You can’t put him round the back, Brennan Johnson, you know, it’s a mismatch and they paid for it.”
Tottenham have to improve from dead ball situations
Redknapp is spot on.
It was bizarre to see Johnson at the back post when a giant such as Micky van de Ven found himself marking nobody in the middle of the box – Postecoglou must do something about these situations going forwards, or else Tottenham will continue to throw away points.
Matching the opposition physically from dead ball situations is a basic, and mismatches like the one spotted by Redknapp should not happen at this level.
Johnson would have been far more useful standing on the halfway line, where he could use his pace to break away if Spurs won the first ball.
Hopefully, Tottenham can solve these issues at Hotspur Way during pre-season.