Manchester United legend Roy Keane, now a football pundit, was critical of Liverpool and Tottenham’s recent trophy haul, labelling it as ’embarrassing’ for clubs of their stature.
Roy Keane as a football pundit comes across, equally as straight-forward and harsh as during his time as a player for Manchester United and his still-ongoing career as a manager and a coach. This time, he aimed at Liverpool and Tottenham, and the duo’s lack of silverware, labelling it embarrassing for clubs of their stature.
In the last decade, Liverpool and Tottenham both have one silverware each to their name – the League Cup or as we now call it, the Carabao Cup. And while Liverpool have come close on several occasions unlike Tottenham, the Irishman was critical of their inability to bring home silverware despite the swashbuckling football on display against FC Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Indeed, both Tottenham and Liverpool have had a very satisfying Champions League campaign so far this season. Spurs topped their group and came back from their first-leg of the Round of 16 tie against Juventus with two important away goals, which genuinely puts them as favourites going into the home leg.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have all but secured qualification, after a 5-0 demolition of FC Porto at Estadio Do Dragao on Wednesday. But, both of them have had somewhat disappointing domestic campaigns. Liverpool are already out of the FA Cup and the League Cup, and lie in third place on the Premier League table, 18 points behind leaders Manchester City.
QUOTE: Roy Keane:
? “For a club the size of Liverpool and Tottenham….
…to win 1 trophy in 10 years, is pretty embarrassing.” ??
(? @itvfootball)
pic.twitter.com/P2f1Kaa3f2— SPORF (@Sporf) February 15, 2018
Tottenham are still in the FA Cup but are not even in the top four in the league at the moment, sitting 20 points behind Manchester City in fifth place. And Roy Keane aimed at their abysmal trophy record in the last decade, comparing it to Chelsea, who have upstaged them in domestic competitions and in Europe during the period.
“For a club the size of Liverpool and Tottenham, one trophy in 10 years is pretty embarrassing. I know the Champions League has taken over now, particularly with the money behind it, but to be successful, to be a big club, you need to win trophies.”
The statement may be a bit blunt, but it is exactly what their fans are wondering. Despite their recent swashbuckling football or ‘major scalps’ – in Tottenham’s case – the two have been devoid of trophies, a true hallmark of a big club.
Liverpool were in a transition phase for the longest of periods, but, under Jurgen Klopp, they are showing signs of the hunger for silverware that was visibly absent in their previous iterations in the recent past. Similarly, at Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino has infused a winning mentality that should help them win trophies in the long run.
But, the wait for trophies has been long and the fans of Liverpool and Tottenham would hope their respective clubs do bring home some silverware sooner rather than later.
