Tottenham Hotspur wing-back Emerson Royal was grilled at half-time during their FA Cup clash against Portsmouth by journalist Alasdair Gold.
The Lowdown: FA Cup campaign kicks off
Tottenham kicked off their FA Cup journey at home to League One side Portsmouth in North London.
Despite starting a strong side that contained Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, the Premier League side struggled to get the upper hand over their opponents, who play two divisions lower.
With the score 0-0 at half-time, there wasn’t much to entertain the expectant home support, who were hopeful of a dominant and quality-packed Spurs performance following their 4-0 second-half demolition of Crystal Palace in midweek.
The Latest: Gold’s comments
It wasn’t to be for one Lilywhites player in the first half, who yet again found himself on the wrong side of criticism from the fanbase and journalists alike.
On Football.london’s live commentary of the cup tie, Gold singled out Emerson’s first-half showing.
He said: “Emerson Royal has offered nothing in particular going forward, which is only [going] to increase the calls for Djed Spence to be given a chance down the flank.”
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The Verdict: More question marks
Emerson has been consistently criticised for his performances down Spurs’ right-hand side, with him predominantly the favoured choice by Antonio Conte having been handed 11 league starts this season.
One player who was thought to be the solution to the erratic Brazilian was Spence, but he’s been limited to just four league cameos so far.
Another voice who also called for the Englishman to be given a chance in a less diplomatic way was journalist Gareth Davies, who tweeted: “Spence should be on at half-time, but he won’t be. He should have started, but he didn’t. Instead, we have to endure another reminder that Emerson is a genuinely terrible wing-back who can’t even cut it against a League One side.”
Spence has clearly been unable to convince Conte of his credentials, but it’s frustrating for many Spurs fans and voices alike not to even be given the chance to see whether he can prove to be an upgrade on Emerson, or even at least a player worthy of his £20m fee.