Jamie Carragher believes Tottenham are “on the verge” of falling out of the Championship after another disastrous result in Roberto De Zerbi’s first game as manager.
Spurs’ 1-0 loss to Sunderland leaves them in the relegation zone with six games in hand, two points behind West Ham in 17th place.
Despite being one of the Premier League’s so-called “big six”, their survival status in the top flight is beyond their reach.
The results were terrible, but the performance was even worse. Against Sunderland, he produced just 0.15 minutes of expected goals in the second half, but was wasted in the first half, missing out on 0.91 minutes of xG overall, but not scoring.
Carragher said: “It’s unbelievable. Tottenham look like they’re going to lose.” “I think the other (relegation-threatened) teams have something going for them.”
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Watch for free: Highlights of the Premier League match between Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have six games left to salvage their season after a long winless spell. By the time of next Saturday’s game against Brighton, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, it will have been 111 days since they last tasted victory in the Premier League.
Spurs’ remaining games include matches against fellow relegation rivals Wolves and Leeds, but Carragher believes they have “no chance” of beating even the bottom of the Premier League away from home.
“If you look at the result, you would think it was a good game for Tottenham, but it was a terrible game. Tottenham are a good game for them.
“Wolves are bottom of the league. Do you think Tottenham are going to go there and win? They have no chance.”
Neville: ‘Spurs’ relegation would be a scary moment’
Gary Neville said relegation would be a “terrible moment” and “unthinkable” for Tottenham.
“It’s as interesting as the title fight,” Neville said of the relegation fight on the Gary Neville Podcast.
“The question for Spurs is, can they decline? Will they decline? Is this the biggest club to ever sink in Premier League history?”
“Aston Villa are a huge club but Tottenham have been in the Champions League final for the last five, six, seven years and won the Europa League last year so this would be a scary moment.
“Some say it’s good for the game because anyone can go down in the Premier League and it shows they’re competitive, just like when Leicester won it. It was the most amazing story that anyone could win the Premier League.”
“Actually, I liked what De Zerbi did today on paper. They had a three-pronged attack with Kolo Muani, Solanke and Richarlison up front. The balance wasn’t great, but I thought they could potentially cause more problems.”
“They lost at Sunderland and we have a big game ahead of us and the unthinkable could happen.
“I think they’ll get out of there quickly, but I’m not confident sitting here and saying Tottenham are safe at the moment.
“Everyone knows they are in great trouble, and it is unthinkable.”
O’Hara’s explosive assessment of Spurs
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Jamie O’Hara was left frustrated as Tottenham Hotspur’s poor defending left Sunderland 1-0 up.
If Carragher’s assessment of Spurs’ fortunes is dire, former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara’s is explosive.
“Absolutely shocking. Spurs didn’t get any value out of this game. That sums up Spurs this season. They did absolutely nothing and offered nothing.”
“An incredible performance all over the park. Conor Gallagher, shocking. Randall Kolo Muani, shocking. Dominic Solanke, shocking. Richarlison, shocking. Destiny Udogui, shocking.
“You can’t carry six players when you’re in a relegation battle! You have to fight and perform.
“Once again, it’s really bad. I can’t believe how bad this team is. De Zerbi is a good coach, but he can’t do miracles. The players have to do miracles for him.”
“It’s far from good enough. The quality on the pitch is non-existent. These players are far from where we think they are as footballers.
“I don’t see anything in this team to deserve to stay in the Premier League. There’s nothing that says they can stay. They lack enough fight, quality and passion.
“For most of the game, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. These players are far from anything like that.”
O’Hara rates Spurs’ chances of remaining in the Premier League at just “10 per cent” and believes De Zerbi cannot pull off a “miracle”.
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Tottenham defender Cristian Romero was left in tears after leaving the game against Sunderland prematurely due to injury.
“They haven’t won this year,” he added. “Next weekend is April 18th and Spurs have yet to win in the Premier League.
“Where are the points coming from? We need seven, eight points. Where are they coming from? I don’t see it.
“The players weren’t good enough and they weren’t producing. They got carried away by Nottingham Forest and lost to Sunderland. West Ham put up a fight. Forest got the extra point. Leeds fought at home and had the energy.”
“I don’t see anything from Spurs that says they can get out of this situation. I can’t believe how bad this team is.”
“De Zerbi doesn’t have the players. I think you can see Tottenham’s style of play. He knows how he wants them to play and what he is doing.”
“Slow build-up and possession-based. I know what he’s trying to do, but he has to rely on his players to perform.
“What can you do as a manager? You’re just waiting to be hit because they’re not showing quality on the pitch. There’s not enough quality. The players, the performance they’re showing at this stage of the season and what’s at stake is remarkable.”
“Solanke, Spurs paid £60 million for him! He was supposed to replace Harry Kane, but he seems to have forgotten how to play football.
“Solanke’s performance today needs to be studied. It was one of the worst performances I’ve seen. It’s remarkable in the football I’ve seen. De Zerbi must be scratching his head.”
“We took nothing away from this game. Kinski was the best player! I couldn’t believe what I was doing. De Zerbi is not a miracle worker.”
De Zerbi: “One victory changes everything”
Reacting after the match, De Zerbi said Spurs are in a “bad period” and must be stronger, but one win could change their season.
“We have to be stronger. I spoke to the players five minutes ago and they said the same thing,” De Zerbi told Sky Sports.
“We understand everything and we understand that it’s a tough season. We’re going through tough times for everyone. But we have to respond, we have to respond with enthusiasm and the right spirit. They showed that today. I can’t say anything about that.”
“All we have to do is work and say what we think. I’m an honest man, what I think, say what I think. We have big players and they’re going through a bad period right now. There are results, it’s part of the season, but we have to work towards one win. One win can change everything about this season.”
“I have 24 hours in a day. It’s not a question of time. I want to find the right way to get to the players’ heads. To be honest, we did what we did this week, with Udogi, Richarlison and Solanke, creating a couple of chances in the first half. The quality of the players is great for that, but it’s not enough.”
“Now we have to believe in ourselves and our teammates more. The important thing is to win one game. One game, one game, one game.
“In terms of playing style, we can play much better than we did today. But after five or six training sessions, it’s difficult. The problem is not the playing style, it’s the mental part. We have to work together and stay focused to win a game.”
