Souness Verdict on Spurs

Graeme Souness wasn't very impressed with Tottenham at all against Bayern Munich in the final UEFA Champions League game.

He was asked if he thought Spurs have problems.

"Yeah I think so, I think they were very disappointing tonight. They never got a foothold, yeah they had a couple of breakaways, Son had a couple of chances when he came on.

"At no time did you feel they were in the game if that makes sense. They didn't have any sustained possession, had the ball three or four passes and had the ball taken off them.

"For me it was a poor performance from Spurs. I worry in one of many ways, you know when you think who they have to come back, Dele Alli, Harry Kane. Who else? Vertonghen? Aurier is not an upgrade.

"I understand why he went for Dier and Sissoko in the centre of midfield, thinking we are not going to have all the ball, we will be more solid in there. They are more defensive-minded midfielders. 

"They couldn't keep the ball. They are not footballers. They boy Alcantara, for me, he is up there with the very best midfield players around right now. He doesn't give the ball away, he plays it simple, he's got a trick, he works his socks off, a real player.

"When you compare him to the pedestrian Dier and pedestrian Sissoko, it was like a pair from the Championship.

"You think of Coutinho, his movement, Kimmich on the other side."

Sissoko had 28 touches of the ball, Alcantara had 93, Thiago 100 touches. That rather demonstrates his point.

"Dele Alli has stood still for 2 years. It is only since Mourinho lit a fire under him, put it on him and suggested he was his brother I think that he has stood up. Don't think he is going to make a difference to them.

"When you talk about defence and midfield, if they can't keep the ball, like they couldn't keep the ball tonight, it becomes one-way traffic, you're always on the back foot so you win the ball back, you can't keep it and all of a sudden you are on the back foot, that is how that game was for Tottenham.

"I thought that was a miserable performance.

"Spurs is a job a lot of people were wanting. I think what they have got is that they can score goals with Son, Harry Kane and hopefully Dele Alli gets back to where he was from 2 years ago.

"Scoring goals is the hardest thing to get in a football team, they've got that, they've got that in abundance. 

"I'm looking at the other players, Lo Celso they have an option to take him, not for me. They need a goalkeeper, two full-backs and a couple of midfield players."

Former Irish striker and ex-chairman of Sunderland, Niall Quinn, felt Mourinho would have been impressed with a few Bayern Munich players and wondering if he can buy them, like Alfonso Davies.

He continued that he has to upgrade the squad, it's too poor, Spurs were awful at the back. Lo Celso was a passenger as was Eriksen, Quinn felt.

Spurs have got to stop shipping goals and get tight at the back.