Clive Allen says £165k-a-week Tottenham player has ‘no confidence’

Fri 25 October 2024 18:15, UK

Tottenham Hotspur have made it three wins in a row in the Europa League as they ran out 1-0 winners over Dutch side AZ in North London.

Spurs managed to get over the line at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to Richarlison’s penalty in the 53rd minute.

AZ’s Maxim Dekker kicked out at Lucas Bergvall in the box to gift Tottenham a spot kick early on in the second half.

Richarlison, making his first start of the season, was seen arguing with team captain James Maddison over who would take the penalty.

Maddison ultimately allowed his teammate to take the spot kick, and he confidently struck the ball down the middle for the winner.

Despite the good result for Tottenham, and most of their players doing well on the night, there was one who struggled.

Spurs legend Clive Allen, covering the AZ game on TNT Sports last night, expressed his concern with said player.

Clive Allen said Timo Werner effort lacked ‘confidence or conviction’

The player in question is Timo Werner, who looked bereft of confidence and was substituted at the break.

The man began well, providing a great cross in the fifth minute that Mikey Moore was close to heading home.

However, Werner had several superb opportunities to put Tottenham ahead and failed to make the most of them.

For instance, one of his best efforts on the night saw him close in on goal, but his tame side-footed effort was kept out by Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro.

“It’s a fabulous run from Werner, stays onside. Bergvall right off the outside of his right boot,” said Allen, via .

“Now he just composes himself, but no confidence or conviction to strike with any venom.”

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was asked about Werner’s confidence after the game and whether he just needs to get off the mark this season.

“It is hard to say,” quote him as saying. “He is definitely down in confidence you can see that.

“It is a difficult thing to get out of sometimes. It can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.

“All we can do is try to support him and keep trying to get him to a place where he feels a little bit more confident with certain things.

“He has played a great ball in for Mikey to score early and if that goes in, that’s an assist for him it gives him a lift but it doesn’t happen.

“It happened at Ferencvaros as well, he played a great cross that Will Lankshear just missed but these things happen.

“He needs to find a way out of it because for us in those positions we need players to make an impact.

“I thought in a couple of moments he lacked some self-belief that we need to try to instil in him somehow.”