Jamie Carragher singles out Tottenham star who 'hasn't got the quality' after Chelsea derby defeat | OneFootball

Spurs struggled to break the Blues down at the Hotspur Stadium

Jamie Carragher slammed Tottenham midfielders Xavi Simons and Joao Palhinha as having neither the quality nor the confidence for the Premier League after their derby defeat to Chelsea.

The Blues were far from perfect, but a swashbuckling midfield performance from Moises Caicedo and a commanding showing from Robert Sanchez ensured they would not rue their wasteful finishing.

Carragher, though, singled out Simons and Palhinha for their negative play.

Highlighting a moment where Simons decided to pass backwards rather than attempt a more attacking ball, he said: “This guy here (Simons), the man you’ve spent the money on, he’s creative, he’s got players running forward, he’s got all the time in the world, he’s got options.

Off the pace: Joao Palhinha

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

“A player of his quality and at the level we are talking about now, Premier League football, that ball has to go in there. It has to go in there. Little quick feet, simple pass, and then you are in a great position. Again, he goes back.”

Simons moved the ball to Palhinha, who passed backwards to Rodrigo Bentancur rather than picking a vertical attacking pass, and was booed by the restless home crowd for his troubles.

Carragher continued: “Now, we’ve spoken about courage, now we can talk about quality. Palhinha hasn’t got the quality.

“For me, for a player playing in central midfield for Tottenham, that is a pass you have to be able to make. He can’t make it, so... he goes back. Listen to the boos. The only reason he does a clever turn on the ball is because of the boos. Otherwise, he’d have gone back to the goalkeeper.

“Palhinha gets back on the ball and he takes five touches because he hasn’t got the confidence or the ability.”

Palhinha has been a regular starter since joining on loan from Bayern Munich, and as injuries pile up, Frank may be forced to stick with the Portuguese in midfield.

For Carragher, though, Frank’s own adjustment to managing a Big Six side could be a bigger problem than the quality of the players at his disposal.

“A big problem for Thomas Frank and other managers who make that jump from a smaller team in the Premier League to one of the big boys, especially when they are seen as a pragmatic coach, is actually bringing the football to these teams,” he explained.

“You might look at that result and think there’s not a lot wrong, but when you watch the game at the weekend, that was like watching a League Two team against a Premier League team in the FA Cup.

“When you look at the stats, there was a huge contrast with the ball, and that is the biggest challenge for any coach making that jump from one of the teams in the bottom half of the Premier League to one of the big boys.”