Danny Murphy has made a controversial claim about one Tottenham Hotspur starter amid recent struggles on the pitch.
Tottenham Hotspur supporters looked on with fascination when Guglielmo Vicario first joined the club. The Italian shot-stopper played the sweeper-keeper role so well, and many were happy to have signed him over David Raya, who was linked with Spurs before joining Arsenal.
However, Vicario began to display some major weaknesses in his game as time went on. Defending set pieces has been one of the 29-year-old’s biggest issues, which has seen other clubs target him specifically.
Vicario has suffered some particularly low moments this season, especially his recent error, which single-handedly cost Tottenham a goal against Fulham.
Danny Murphy calls on Thomas Frank to drop Guglielmo Vicario at Tottenham
It seems ex-Tottenham man Danny Murphy is not keen on Vicario, because he has told Thomas Frank to drop his first-choice goalkeeper.
Murphy has admitted that Vicario is good at making saves, but there are areas of his game which concern the retired midfielder.
He told talkSPORT: “Very few players have been through their career without having a spell where they’ve had a bit of stick. You’ve got to show some resilience.
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“The fact is with Vicario, it wasn’t one bad game. He’s been bad all season. He’s been poor and a manager should take responsibility. He should have taken him out of the firing line a month ago. He can’t come for a cross. He’s nervous as a kitten with his feet.
“No wonder the fans are edgy with him. He’s a decent shot stopper, but he should be as a goalie. But he should have been pulled out of the firing line six weeks back because he’s been poor, bang average.
“So he’s got to take some responsibility for that, but he shouldn’t have dug the fans out because he’s given himself a big amount to climb.”
Murphy has not been fair to Vicario
Although Murphy has made some good points about Vicario, claiming he has been bad all season is simply not true.
The Italy international has produced some good performances. In fact, it was thanks to him alone that Tottenham got a draw against Monaco in the Champions League.
Since the start of the season, Vicario has 11 performances rated over 7/10 on Fotmob, including a 9.4/10 against Monaco, 8.5 against Copenhagen, and 8.9 against Chelsea.
There are definitely concerns surrounding Vicario and for good reason, but Antonin Kinsky did not play well against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup. Spurs do not have strong alternatives and Murphy has neglected to bring this up.