Spurs Player Ratings versus Slovakia

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Ah, England. Old friend. Barely have the memories of summer sloped off into some dark, overcrowded recess of the nation’s collective mind— nuzzling up next to the horrors of Euro 2000 and World Cup 2010. Just two months after the fall of Roy; here we are again. The Allardyce Years.

Hopefully it won’t have come as too much of a surprise to fans watching at home, that basically the same players who performed so miserably across the Channel in June and July, haven’t suddenly mutated into a vintage Spain side.

Big Sam hasn’t somehow managed to grow the new Andrés Iniesta out of Gary Cahill’s stem cells in the few weeks he’s been in charge. It’ll take time for Allardyce to execute his masterplan and any changes we see in the short-term are likely to be subtle.

Really subtle, it turns out.

Here’s how Spurs’ lot did in Trnava. Clue: not so great.

Danny Rose

You could quite happily copy and paste a summary of any of Danny Rose’s games at Euro 2016, and it would be fit for purpose here. Effective going forward, but often left exposed by bad defensive positioning. Was woefully placed for Slovakia’s best opening in the first-half; then made up for it with a well-timed header to quash the host’s most clear-cut chance in the second. Determined work in the build-up to England’s eleventh-hour winner. 6

Kyle Walker

Not a bad evening’s graft, as Big Sam might say. Provided eight crosses during his time on the pitch; although only one found a teammate. With Harry Kane putting his laces through fresh air for one dangerous low ball into the box, however, he can be forgiven for thinking that his success rate should’ve been higher. Never really troubled defensively. 7

Eric Dier

Hard to judge a performance in which he had almost nothing to do. A one-man defensive screen against a side who could barely get out of their own half. Dier could’ve strung up a hammock, two meters behind the centre-spot and swatted away Slovakia’s attacking threat with a rolled up newspaper. Passed the ball neatly enough, albeit under zero pressure. 6

Harry Kane

Kane’s troubling form continues. I’m not sure he touched the ball in the opening 20 mins. He certainly didn’t make contact with it when presented with the game’s best chance after 22 minutes. The service was undoubtedly bad, but on the rare occasion he was afforded a yard of space, he made little of the opportunity. Difficult to know what the answer is here; it’s not uncommon for strikers to hit barren patches. Alan Shearer once went 12 games without an international goal. Kane, though, looks like a broken man. Probably needs to be taken out of the firing line for club and country.  4

Dele Alli

Made an immediate impact when he came on. Occupied the number 10 role which every ITV pundit insisted a barely mobile Wayne Rooney should’ve taken up and instantly lifted the team. With direct, purposeful dribbling through the centre and confident forward passing. It was only a lax touch from Theo Walcott that stopped his contribution being gold stamped with a wonderful assist. Unlike some, doesn’t look too burdened by the ghosts of Iceland. 7


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