Spurs: Pochetinno accuses players; Stadium deal latest; Adebayor joins French outfit

By Dan Zeqiri

Mauricio Pochetinno refused to blame the unfamiliar surroundings of Wembley for Spurs’ 2-1 defeat to Monaco last night, and accused his side of lacking ‘passion’.

In front of a record-breaking crowd of 85,000 at Wembley, Tottenham fell behind to first half goals from Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar.

Toby Alderweireld’s thumping header in first-half stoppage time halved the deficit, and despite Spurs dominating territory in the second period, they struggled to create clear openings.

“We were better than Monaco but they were more effective in both areas. We gave them the possibility to play deep and go on the counter-attack. They played in a comfortable situation,” said Pochettino.

“We need to improve and learn that we cannot concede the goals that we conceded. We need to be aggressive in possession. We showed a lack of passion today. That is the truth. That is the way we spoke in the changing room.”

Monaco upset the odds to beat Arsenal at the Emirates last year, and are a stubborn and wily outfit that enjoys playing on the break.

Converted full-back Fabinho was outstanding in central midfield, along with Tiemoue Bakayoko who consistently evaded Spurs’ challenges with ease.

Heung Min Son saw an early effort cleared off the line and Harry Kane shot straight at the goalkeeper in the second period, so the Lilywhites did have their moments.

Spurs’ next Champions League game is an unappealing trip to Moscow to face CSKA, and some sort of positive result is now imperative following last night’s loss.

Elsewhere, The Sun are reporting that that Tottenham are confident of landing a record-breaking naming rights deal for their new stadium.

Manchester City have the current record having agreed a deal with Etihad in 2011 worth £10 million per year.

Daniel Levy though, is confident he can dwarf that deal, and Spurs have already been linked with the Qatari Investment Authority in a naming rights deal for the new 61,000 seater stadium.

It goes without saying that although hardly boasting the same level of excitement as action on the pitch, deals of this magnitude could have a huge influence on Spurs’ future potential as a club within the upper echelons of the Premier League.

Finally, former Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has joined Lyon on a free after spending the summer courting various clubs.

Adebayor was unwanted by Pochettino and was eventually cut adrift by Daniel Levy who reached an agreement to pay up the Togolese forward’s contract and let him join Crystal Palace in January.

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However, he has now moved back to Ligue 1 with Lyon who are desperate to improve on the six points they have taken from four league matches this season. As has been shown wherever he has been; for at least a short spell, Adebayor certainly possesses the skills to be a superb performer at the top level, but it is just a lack of motivation which lets him down.

If Lyon are able to correct this, they should have a real player on their hands who could do well in Ligue 1.

Featured image: All rights reserved by Diego Gaona