Weak link: Tottenham's Benoit Assou-Ekotto doesn't
help his 'defensively frail' side according to Phil
Thompson
Sunday,
November 28 2010
Tottenham
v Liverpool
12:00 (Mon) Mio
102 / 110
Former Liverpool coach Phil Thompson has urged
current boss Roy Hodgson to throw caution to the wind and exploit
Tottenham’s ‘defensive
frailties’ at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Thompson, No. 2 to Gerard Houllier prior to their departure in
the summer of 2004, pinpointed left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s
positioning as a weak point and claimed Tottenham had missed Ledley
King and Michael Dawson at the heart of defence.
He saluted the attacking enterprise responsible for eye-catching
recent wins over Inter Milan and Arsenal but insisted Liverpool can
catch them out, provided Hodgson adopts a bold strategy of using
either Dirk Kuyt or David Ngog alongside Fernando Torres.
Writing in the Liverpool
Echo, the ex-Liverpool and England skipper said: ‘I really
hope Liverpool play 4-4-2 and try to exploit Tottenham’s
weaknesses. Spurs are very offensive and have a lot of top-class
players, but they have defensive frailties.
‘They miss King and Dawson, and their replacements, William
Gallas and Younes Kaboul, have struggled at times. Ekotto’s
positional play is poor, and Alan Hutton is more of an offensive
right-back.
‘They leak goals, and you have to try and capitalise on that by
putting them under pressure and getting at them. They have had some
problems with League matches, following European games. After
beating Inter Milan, they lost at Bolton, and if there are some
tired legs, we need to make the most of that.
No King and Dawson: Central defenders Younes Kaboul
(right) and William Gallas are there to be exploited according to
Phil Thompson
‘Going forward, Spurs are exciting to watch, and they
produced a fantastic fightback to win at
Arsenal.
'The good news is that we are going there on the back of our
biggest win of the season (3-0 against West Ham). The players
pulled together and proved they can perform without Steven Gerrard.
It was pleasing to see Roy Hodgson play 4-4-2, and I hope he sticks
with it this weekend.’
