Tanguy Ndombele Spurs
in

Carragher labels Tanguy Ndombele a 'disgrace' after Mourinho's 'justified' criticism

Jamie Carragher has labelled Tanguy Ndombele’s performance at Burnley as a ‘disgrace’ and has backed Jose Mourinho’s ‘justified’ criticism of the Tottenham midfielder.

The club record signing was hauled off at half-time during Spurs‘ 1-1 draw at Turf Moor following a lethargic display, with Mourinho saying post-match that he “cannot keep giving him opportunities” following the midfielder’s latest below-par showing.

Ndombele has struggled to make an impression since his £54m move from Lyon last summer, and Carragher has backed Mourinho’s decision to hook the 23-year-old following a performance he labelled as a ‘disgrace’.

“The criticism from Jose Mourinho was justified,” Carragher said on Sky Sports‘ Monday Night Football.

“It is a debate whether you do it publicly or in private. We have this debate all the time about managers who criticise players. I said after about 10 minutes as I was commentating on the game that Spurs are a shambles.

“His performance was nothing short of a disgrace in terms of his effort off the ball. On the ball, he was very good, but off the ball, you can’t believe what you’re seeing.

“If you look at his stats on the ball in the first half, he was one of the best Tottenham players. When you watch him in the game, he very rarely loses the ball.

“But he didn’t have a single sprint in 45 minutes and his top speed is 10th. Jose Mourinho spoke about not getting passes from the centre-backs, him not showing for the ball. He received two passes from the back.

“He just seems to walk about and not move until the ball comes near him. He likes to tell other people what to do. He was hiding and eventually one of the three centre-backs had to look beyond him with a long ball and they often then lost possession.

“He was too often standing, marking himself and not looking for the ball. Oliver Skipp was always moving and trying to find the angle, but this is the £60m player.

“He almost reminded me of when you play with kids at school. They only want to play football when the ball comes at your feet. He had pure quality on the ball. I’ve watched him a lot this season, and he either can’t run or he doesn’t want to run – both of them are not good things.

“He doesn’t like to run or defend and everything looks like he’s jogging or running like an old man. But when the ball comes to him, he comes alive. That is not enough.”

Spurs return to action this evening in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 knockout tie against RB Leipzig, the German side leading 1-0 on aggregate.

Premier League Weekly Awards: Derby delight, Barnes-stormer, no handshakes

See also –Five of the best individual performances in Champions League history