A dejected Lewis Holtby leaves the pitch after today's defeat against Liverpool

Published: 15 December, 2013
By DAN CARRIER at White Hart Lane

Premier League
SPURS 0, LIVERPOOL 5

TOTTENHAM'S mini-recovery after the horrendous 6-0 thrashing by Manchester City three weeks ago stalled in spectacular fashion today (Sunday) after Liverpool hit five at White Hart Lane.

Speaking after the game, shell-shocked manager Andre Villas-Boas told reporters he was not a “quitter” and hoped to be given the time he needs to get his side back in the hunt for a top-four finish.

He said: “I would not resign. It is a difficult day for everyone. What we need to do is recover from our injury crisis, get back a couple of players, which will help us in defence. If we had won today, we could have been level on points with Liverpool.”

Instead, his side imploded in disastrous fashion after Brazilian midfielder Paulinho was sent off mid-way through the second half for a high challenge on Luis Suarez.

Villas-Boas added: “I assume responsibility, but I felt the key moment was when Paulinho was sent off. I felt it was harsh as there was no intent.”

He added that the red card came moments after he had taken off midfielder Mousa Dembele as his side trailed by two goals, and had already lost his other midfielder, Sandro, to injury.

He said: “We had high expectations for the Premiership, we are not far off, but the distance is increasing for the Champions League. This result makes it hard to bounce back but we have to believe in the players. I am confident I will be given the time.”

For the under-fire boss, who has seen his team win just one home game in the past six – though their away form is the best in the Premiership – the luck he needs was nowhere to be seen.

Spurs had a makeshift defence, with midfielder Etienne Capoue drafted in at centre-back and Kyle Naughton coming in at left-back. From the off, rookie defender Naughton – who is right footed – was put under real pressure as Liverpool channelled everything in his direction.

Suarez put the visitors in front on 18 with a neatly angled shot after Spurs had weathered a series of corners.

Things looked more ominous for Spurs when Sandro, who was providing much-needed cover for the defence, was replaced by Lewis Holtby on 29 after taking a knock, but while for a short spell Spurs rallied, on 39, it was two. Hugo Lloris pulled off two acrobatic blocks as Liverpool hammered the Tottenham goal but a loose rebound fell for Jordan Henderson to smash home.

A half-time switch, which saw the unfortunate Naughton replaced by Zaki Fryers, led to Spurs rallying and pinning Liverpool in their own half, but on 63 it went from bad to awful for Spurs when Paulinho left a high foot in the air on Suarez and got a red for his efforts.

On 74, John Flanagan hit a third and Spurs were dead and buried.

As the clock ticked on, Liverpool were content to play keep-ball while Spurs were not just outnumbered but constantly played each other into problems and never looked likely to even grab a consolation goal.

The fourth, on 83, was a deft lob from Suarez and the ground began to empty. On 89, it got even worse when Raheem Sterling ghosted into the box and fired home.

AVB looked a dejected figure as he waited to shake the players’ hands as they trudged off. Captain Michael Dawson, who looked off the pace all afternoon, barely acknowledged the manager while Lewis Holtby had tears in his eyes.

Spurs are facing a season that offered plenty of interest in August disintegrating into chaos.

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

EXCUSES, excuses: an opposing centre-forward, one of the best in the world, in the form of his life and playing against a back four that included only one real first-choice player.

An injury on the half-hour to the midfield rock things opponents are meant to crash against.

A red card to one of the team who has shown himself suited to the Premiership.

You could say AVB is a tad unlucky.

But after shipping six against Manchester City and being hit for five at home to Liverpool, AVB surely can't persevere with the current set-up, if he is indeed allowed to continue at all.

The mistakes seem obvious right now.

It's not bad luck that he didn't “get” seasoned Premiership left- back Benoit Assou-Ekotto's unique personality and therefore failed to make allowances for Benny's approach to training and preparation. Benny's loan deal has left Spurs short in an area they couldn't afford to be short. He would have done a job today.

It's not bad luck that a top striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, isn't getting the chance to get match fit – especially when a £26m forward is crying out for another man to play alongside. However annoying Ade can be, he would offer Roberto Soldado some closer support.

And it isn't bad luck that for the first 12 league games AVB played wingers on the wrong flanks that drained the confidence from new signings.

Today's shocker makes it just three points out of a possible 21 taken off the top eight teams all term – three draws and no wins.

The top-four spots look a long way away right now, and while yet another new era, and a change in management, would mean starting all over again, it wouldn't be too surprising to see chairman Daniel Levy saying today's thrashing was just too much.

SPURS: Lloris, Walker, Lennon, Paulinho, Soldado, Capoue, Naughton (Fryers, h/t), Dembele, Dawson, Chadli, Sandro (Holtby, 29).

Attendance: 36,069