Xavi Simons has been dubbed ‘Tottenham’s Antony’ by Jamie O’Hara for his horror performance in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Simons, who started the London derby on the bench, was forced into the game in the first five minutes after Lucas Bergvall was substituted due to a concussion.
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However, the 22-year-old suffered the ignominy of being substituted in the 73rd minute when he was replaced by Brennan Johnson.
“It feels like we signed an Antony,” O’Hara told GameDay Live.
Antony moved to Manchester United in 2022 for a whopping £86 million but was unable to live up to his high price tag.
The Brazilian ultimately struggled to score or create goals, managing just 12 goals in 96 appearances for the Red Devils.
After being named ‘Flop of the Season’, the winger’s career at United never got off the ground and Ruben Amorim decided to omit him from his squad before moving to Real Betis this summer.
O’Hara compared Simons to Antony after the Spurs star was instrumental in Chelsea’s winning goal in the 34th minute thanks to his sloppy possession play.
Micky van de Ven appeared to have put the hosts on the attack after winning the ball back and passing it to his compatriot.
However, Simons, who joined Spurs for £52million in the summer, opted to play a pass back to Van de Ven.
And his pass was short, allowing Moises Caicedo to rush in, win the ball back and break into the box.
Caicedo then found Joao Pedro, who shot the Brazilian into the top left corner with one touch of the ball from outside the six-yard box.
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It was a passage of play that made the Spurs fans in the stadium groan and one in the studio absolutely furious.
“What the hell are Tottenham doing back there?” Former midfielder O’Hara said on The Pitch Prospect’s GameDay Phone In. “An absolute mess, it’s a joke how we defend this.”
“Xavi Simons!” he then shouted. “I have him sick to death. He gives the ball away, soft, short, and Caicedo tears it away from him.”
“Honestly, he came on for Bergvall after five minutes and it’s like we’re playing with ten men.”
“I’m fed up, we’ve spent £60m and he’s absolutely average, he gives the ball away for fun… I’d take him off.”
After Simons’ late call, which O’Hara described as “the worst thing that can happen to a player”, he asked The Pitch Prospect’s live reporter if Spurs fans were as angry as he was.
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Will Hobbs replied: “I heard you and I heard the fans behind me. I think that to give credit to Xavi Simons defensively, he stood down.”
“But every player on the park was given that extra advantage. And some of his sliding challenges as he recovered were decent.”
“In terms of creativity, he really has nothing to offer, Jamie. He was given the ball and given the odd simple pass, but he gave it away several times.”
“And it just feels like you think of Eberechi Eze, who was about to move to Spurs. And it seems like Simons is kind of the replacement for that Eze.”
“And Eze is probably watching this game. To be honest, I’m pretty happy I chose Arsenal because Simons doesn’t have much to work with. But when he got the ball he really didn’t have any ideas.”
O’Hara’s co-host Rory Jennings added: “Things aren’t looking good for Xavi Simons. It’s a robbery, isn’t it? Substituting. That’s a statement.”
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“I took you, and they decided it was a mistake for everyone still around to take you. Shouldn’t have done it.”
“I made a mistake here. And it’s not going to make me look great, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’m going to blow your mind.”
“I’m going to hook the sub. Things are looking bad.”
Jennings continued, “Again, there was a moment where I thought he went down looking for a foul.”
“He looked at the referee and it looked real; it looked like a real call for a foul.”
“I just thought he wasn’t in tune with the English game. Because what he asked for a foul is never a foul, it’s never given.”
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“It’s like, what are you expecting here? Nobody else stopped; none of your teammates appealed the foul. And you’re just sitting on the floor with your arms in the air.”
“He really needs to pull himself together because this is a bad day at the office for him no matter how the game goes.”
“Once you are the substitute who has been substituted, you have a lot to explain to the fans and the club who have spent a lot of money on you.”
Angry Frank
Tottenham coach Thomas Frank is usually a calm character on the touchline, but Simons’ mistake even caused him to lose his temper.
The Dane turned around and placed a water bottle next to him in the dugout after his team conceded their opener against Chelsea.
He dropped the bottle with a crash onto the bench as he couldn’t contain his anger at the poor mistake.
Jennings noticed the incident and said, “Oh wow, Frank just did it, I’ve never seen that before. Thomas Frank is angry.”
After conceding the goal, Spurs struggled to gain momentum and Frank should have had some harsh words to say at half-time.
Unfortunately, his team failed to pose a threat at all in the next 45 minutes.
They only managed one shot on goal in the entire game, their fewest in a Premier League game against Chelsea since November 2020.
In fact, the Spurs only took three shots of any kind, which is their lowest tally in a top-flight game this season.
This allowed Enzo Maresca’s men to secure a 1-0 win that takes them back into the top four.
Meanwhile, Frank and Tottenham have remained in third place and are now level on points with their rivals.