Eric Dier loses cool as struggling Mou**nho’s London side slides
London, Thursday
Eric Dier’s confrontation with a Tottenham supporter in the stands after they were knocked out of the FA Cup showed that the club’s season is in danger of crumbling fast.
The Dier incident may have dominated the headlines after Wednesday’s home defeat to Norwich he was apparently defending his brother but Spurs fans will be more concerned by the lack of progress under Jose Mourinho, just three months after he was appointed.
Mourinho used a colourful analogy a fortnight ago alluding to Spurs’ season, saying they were hanging onto a balcony due to injuries to talismanic striker Harry Kane, Korean star Son Heung-min, influential French midfielder Moussa Sissoko and World Cup-winning captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
The FA Cup shootout defeat to Norwich on Wednesday Spurs’ fourth successive defeat in all competitions only deepened the problem for last season’s Champions League finalists.
They trail RB Leipzig 1-0 going into the Champions League last 16 second leg next week in Germany having been outplayed in the first meeting and their chances of qualifying for Europe’s top competition next season hang in the balance too.
Chelsea presently occupy the fourth and final place, five points better off than Spurs with 10 matches to go.
This was not meant to be when Daniel Levy who has poured a fortune into the club, primarily due to the state-of-the-art new stadium brutally replaced Mauricio Pochettino with Mourinho in November.
Pochettino, who was so admired for developing young talent, appeared to have lost his way and the dressing room only months since losing to Liverpool in the Champions League final.
Levy hoped that bringing in Mourinho, who has a reputation for being a winner despite all the baggage he brings with him, would deliver the club’s first trophy for 12 years.
The unlikely figure of Juande Ramos is the last Spurs manager to have guided the side to silverware -- the 2008 League Cup.
Dier’s dramatic intervention at the end of the Norwich game comes after a series of matches where he has attracted supporters’ ire.
His lack of adventure in his role as defensive midfielder has made him a magnet for fans disenchanted with the club’s lack of progress.
Mourinho, though, has not escaped criticism despite his defence that injuries have destroyed the season. -AFP
