Tottenham booed off following 3-0 defeat to Manchester United; Spurs failed to land a shot on target during the game; "You're looking for a bit of urgency. Nothing. I couldn't believe how bad they were," says Roy Keane, while Graeme Souness was equally unimpressed
Sunday 31 October 2021 08:11, UK
Roy Keane has castigated Tottenham as "boring" after they failed to register a shot on target in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United.
The home side were booed at the final whistle by the Spurs fans still inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following United's Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired victory.
Tottenham have not had a shot on target in their last two hours and 16 minutes of football since Harry Kane's header in the 44th minute against West Ham.
"Spurs are boring," complained Sky Sports pundit Keane. "They are boring to watch.
"You're looking for a bit of urgency. Nothing. I couldn't believe how bad they were."
Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo offered no excuses for his side's display.
"It was a bad performance, simply that, we didn't play well, Man Utd were stronger than us," Nuno told Sky Sports.
"We are not on the right track, we totally understand their [the fans'] criticism, this season is part of football. The fans suffer when you're not performing well. They have showed they're not happy. We have to take it, tell them that we try our best, that we are sorry because we didn't perform as we wanted, and we keep on trying."
The defeat marked the first time Spurs have failed to have a shot on target in a Premier League home game since December 2013 against Liverpool.
"Going back to when l played, we always used to say 'it's Spurs'," said Keane. "You will beat Spurs. This Spurs side was desperate.
"The biggest criticism of this Spurs team is that when they had a corner at 2-0 down, Spurs had three players back and United had everyone defending. You are 2-0 down at home! Abysmal. Job done for United."
Kane was seemingly singled out for criticism from the stands and Keane believes the England captain hasn't 'recovered' from being denied a summer move out of Tottenham.
"It's not a good combination when you're not keeping clean sheets and Spurs, traditionally, you think of them scoring goals but they're not even doing that. It's the type of defeats they've had too," said Keane. "You do have to have some sympathy with the manager because he's come in, thinking, 'I'm going to be working with a world-class striker in Kane' but that saga has dragged on. Kane hasn't recovered from it and the team hasn't."
Fellow Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness was equally unimpressed.
"This was the perfect game for Man Utd because Spurs are toothless; the stats tell you that - not a shot on target. They're relying on Kane, Son and Moura for a spark but they look a shadow of the players they've been in the past.
"If you're a Spurs supporter, you're turning up wondering what you're going to get. They're toothless and they were very, very average today."
"It could be a difficult season at Spurs. You wonder where they're going. Mid-table at best."
Tottenham host Vitesse in the Europa Conference League on Thursday at 8pm before travelling to Everton in the Premier League on Sunday at 2pm.
Manchester United visit Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday at 8pm before hosting Manchester City on Saturday at 12.30pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League.
