BBC pundit Chris Sutton has slammed Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Tottenham Hotspur for playing a weakened side in the FA Cup only to lose the next Premier League game.
What’s the latest on Spurs’ form?
It was bad afternoon for the north London club this Saturday as they fell to defeat away against Wolves with Adama Traore netting the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute.
To make things worse, this caps off a week where Spurs were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Sheffield United.
What’s more, clearly prioritising this most recent league game, Conte and assistant manager Stellini opted to rotate and rest in the mid-week defeat only for it to backfire as they ended up losing both matches.
While speaking about this all on BBC Radio Show 606, Sutton said he couldn’t understand why the club would not do more to try and win a cup competition considering their trophy drought.
He said (2:34): “Spurs fans, what is going on at Tottenham? I think it’s been a really disappointing season. May well finish in the top four but so inconsistent.
“But my beef with Spurs is that why would you play a weakened side – when your fans are desperate for you to win a trophy – why would you play a weakened side again Sheffield United in the FA Cup?
“I’ve got to say, I don’t get that one.”
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In that game against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, key man Harry Kane started on the bench and played just 25 minutes. Seeing as he has started all Premier League and Champions League games, it’s clear how important he is to the team.
With that in mind, Conte and Stellini must have felt it was okay to rest his legs, assuming that they could beat their Championship opponents without the use of the England captain.
That clearly was a mistake and with the club trophyless throughout Kane’s senior career – having last won silverware when they lifted the League Cup back in 2008 – it’s little wonder some fans would have been baffled by the dismissive attitude towards their mid-week clash.
It does seem as if they should know by now that if they want to win a trophy, they have to take the domestic cup competitions more seriously.