Danny Murphy berated West Ham winger Robert Snodgrass for his tackle on Tottenham Lucas Moura during his side’s 1-0 defeat to their London rivals on Saturday.
The BBC pundit shared that the 31-year-old Hammers attacker, who played in a more central midfield role against Spurs, was lucky not to have done more damage to his Brazilian opponent and was fortunate not to see red.
Murphy was even more baffled that Snodgrass’s challenge on Moura didn’t even see him pick up a yellow card or give away a free-kick.
“You can’t like this type of tackle, he’s running too fast and Lucas Moura is lucky here, that he doesn’t do more damage,” said Murphy on the BBC One Match of the Day repeat (9:33am, Sunday October 21).
“It’s a naughty tackle and some of the others we’ve seen today, I think he’s lucky to get away with it, I think it’s a red card.
“I don’t know how he (the referee) hasn’t given a free-kick or a yellow card as for me it’s a red card.
“Sometimes they look nasty in slow motion but that was naughty and he was lucky to stay on.”
OPINION
Match of the Day aired the tackle a couple of times when Murphy was speaking, from different angles, and it was reckless by Snodgrass. The camera even picked up Moura moaning to the officials about the tackle and it’s easy to see why. Snodgrass was lucky to get away with not seeing a red card against Spurs for that reason as if the ref had been stood at a different angle, he probably would have gone straight to his pocket. However no one has ever accused the Scottish winger of being a good tackler as it’s the attacking side of his game that he prides himself on. While Snodgrass put it a lot of work to standout during the Hammers’ 1-0 defeat to Spurs, it’s clear that playing in a more central role doesn’t exactly suit him. With Andryi Yarmolenko being subbed off during the game due to what looked like a serious injury, then perhaps Snodgrass will find himself on the right-flank in the next game. However it’s worth noting that the Ukrainian winger has at times looked a level above Snodgrass, despite the Scotland international’s best efforts, and he needs to step up in his absence.
