Player Ratings: Burnley 0-0 Tottenham

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When I sat down today in front of my TV eating the Easter egg my girlfriend got me, I didn’t expect to see the type of game I saw today. The pace of the game was slow, the crowd at Turf Moor didn’t seem up for the midday kickoff, and even the commentators seemed to be a bit bored after a while. Quite frankly, the only good thing of note was the sunshine! But nevertheless, the loyal Spurs fans stuck by them, and Twitter was as colourful as always, and the players lined up to play Burnley on Easter Sunday.

With very little to talk about, Tottenham controlled in large parts of the game, but occasionally looked vulnerable at the back. In hindsight, both teams will look back at the game infuriated that neither side could take the initiative and lead on the front foot. Both sides lacked the cutting edge in the final 20 yards, and whenever Spurs broke on the counter or had a decent spell of possession, it was wasted by laughable incidents like ‘that’ Paulinho shot.

Both teams will have to look at this game as a point earned rather than any lost, or even any gained for that matter.

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Michel Vorm: – 6-

In dire matches, the goalkeepers need to always keep focused and not be swayed by the tempo of the game, and Vorm did that exceptionally well today. When he was called upon, such as the Danny Ings effort minutes before halftime showed that even with our club captain Hugo Lloris out, we can rely on our backup, and he even got a clean sheet!

Kyle Walker: – 2-

I try to be as positive about Spurs as I can, but when I see a player put in a performance like Walker did today, it makes me wonder how he got into the England squad this week. Everything he did today didn’t work, and really showed his lack of positioning and knowledge of defending. Walker does frustrate sometimes, but his substitution due to injury was probably the best thing that happened to Spurs in the game.

Eric Dier: – 6-

Dier performed really well against a potentially tricky attacking unit from Burnley and continues to show his worth to the squad. It’s refreshing to see a top quality English Centre back really work on his trade constantly, especially at Tottenham where the habit of buying average/poor defenders is becoming strong.

Vlad Chiriches: -5-

Chiriches didn’t really make any mistakes, yet at the same time, he never really had anything to, or was ever troubled, similarly to Dier. When the team was announced that Chiriches was starting, I have to admit I wasn’t too happy, but after his display today, it proved to be the right decision.

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Danny Rose: (My Man of the Match)- 6/7-

Yet again, Rose shined as the best player of the game, as he dealt with any danger exceptionally well, as well as attempting to start any attacks on the left, and bringing others into play. It was hard to choose a Man of the Match, but Danny was one of few to really put in a good shift today.

Ryan Mason: – 5-

After getting his first England cap in midweek, Ryan Mason was probably full of confidence, but unfortunately it didn’t show in his performance today. He didn’t really control the game at all but put in some good challenges, but continues the recent trend of seemingly running out of steam early on in games.

Nabil Bentaleb: – 5/6-

If it weren’t for his ghost-like showing in the second half, Bentaleb would have been my Man of the Match. He showed in the first half why I named him as one of the key players for Tottenham this weekend by controlling the game, spreading the play and trying to force Eriksen and Chadli to get more involved.

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Nacer Chadli: – 5-

Yet another player who didn’t do much wrong, yet didn’t do much at all. He tried to force himself to attack, but it became apparent he just didn’t feel up to it, and further adding to the claim that he needs to add more effort into his game.

Christian Eriksen: – 5-

Similarly to Chadli, Eriksen didn’t seem mentally up for it today, and it showed through the first half, however he did show signs of positivity with efforts that either flew over the bar or hit a defender and really didn’t offer much consistently in the match.

Paulinho: – 4-

Paulinho is a sign as to why Franco Baldini shouldn’t be in charge of transfers. ‘That’ show showed how poor he really was today. He was invisible in the first half and whenever he did get the ball he either passed it sideways or gave it away. Not much to say about his performance apart from him being a proven waste of money.

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Harry Kane: – 5-

Despite captaining the side today, Kane never really showed any signs of scoring, mainly due to a lack of service from the supporting attack. On any other day, he probably could’ve have pouched a goal or two, but today just wasn’t his day.

Substitutions:

Ben Davies: – 4-

Apart from a few nervous moments towards the end of the game, Davies put in a solid shift at Centre back after coming on for Kyle Walker just after the half time break.

Andros Townsend: N/A

I’ve decided not to give Andros a mark, simply because he wasn’t on the pitch long enough to make any sort of impact.

Erik Lamela: – 4-

I actually felt this game was made for Lamela, as he is capable of a spark of magic, despite how rare it is for Tottenham. But unfortunately, he wasn’t able to create anything of any note and almost withered into the bleakness of the game.