View: Postecoglou at fault for 'Absolutely Ridiculous' incident in Tottenham win last night

Radu Dragusin’s red card in the 3-0 win against Qarabag reveals a wider problem at Tottenham, according to Clinton Morrison.

The Romanian received his marching orders seven minutes into the match as he was left with no choice but to bring down Juninho as the last man back following a mis-controlled pass.

Morrison shared that Dragusin should have left the Qarabag forward through on goal to avoid the red card in his live commentary for Sky Sports [27 September, 8:46pm] but was shocked by the lack of help from his Tottenham teammates.

He said: “The way Tottenham play is ridiculous sometimes. The ball’s played to Dragusin and he’s then looking for the right-back but the right-back’s higher than Brennan Johnson so the full-backs are high.

“Juninho is really lively and he nips in front of Dragusin and he should have just let him go but instantly as a defender, he grabs him and it’s a straight red card.”

Who is to blame for Radu Dragusin red card for Tottenham?

Dragusin will have certainly become the scapegoat for Tottenham supporters had their side failed to beat Qarabag following the sending-off.

While the situation was unfortunate, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr, and Dominic Solanke secured the win however, the tactics employed by Ange Postecoglu that left Dragusin in an impossible situation cannot be ignored.

The 22-year-old was on for a solid performance in only his second start of the season, he completed 13 passes and one long ball with 100 per cent accuracy [Sofascore] and would have fared much better than makeshift centre-back Ben Davies against the onslaught of Qarabag attacks.

However, the one lost ground duel which led to a foul and the red card will be the contribution he is remembered for, but the question remains, where were his Spurs teammates?

Dragusin could have taken a chance like Morrison suggested and allowed Juninho through on goal, but that is against the DNA of any defender and he cannot be blamed for acting on instinct and eliminating the threat.

Micky van de Ven (who played the initial pass), Ben Davies, and Archie Gray were nowhere close to their teammate nor was the midfield pivot of Sarr and Yves Bissouma.

The only logical explanation for his teammates being so far up the pitch is they were instructed to do so by Postecoglu, the decision ended what could have been a promising outing for both Dragusin and Lucas Bergvall who was substituted for defensive solidity.

Even in Dragusin’s only other start this season in the Premier League against Newcastle United, the evidence is clear that the boss asks too much from his central defenders.

The centre-back split his duties on either side of the halfway line in the 2-1 loss at St James Park, recording a pass accuracy of only 79 per cent in the opposition half and lost possession eight times throughout the match.

With an aerial success rate of 67 per cent and an overall duel success rate of 78 per cent, the shocking similarities between Dragusin and fellow centre-backs van de Ven and Cristian Romero highlight a glaring weakness in Postecoglu’s system.

Dragusin ranks in the top 92 percentile for touches in the opposition box and the 85 percentile for progressive passes received in comparison to his defensive peers [FBref]. From centre-back, the stats make for some interesting insight into how far the Spurs boss wants his defence up the pitch.

Tottenham got off lucky against Qarabag but against superior opposition in the Premier League, it is clear there is a weakness to exploit and if Postecoglu sticks to his guns, Spurs will quickly descend the Premier League table.

In other Tottenham news, here’s how Spurs rated v Qarabag in the Europa League.

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