Former England and Tottenham hero, Jimmy Greaves has slated the reaction of Andros Townsend after the Spurs midfielder celebrated scoring an equaliser for Roy Hodgson’s men against Italy by hitting back at his critics.
READ MORE:
Tottenham Transfer Rumours
Burnley Vs Tottenham: Confirmed teamsheets from Turf Moor as Clarets take on Spurs with Kane named captain
Marcos Rojo sex scandal: Man United cheat’s party romp led to fitness instructor Sarah Watson threatened with jail
The 23-year-old took to Twitter shortly after the goal on Tuesday to remind former Arsenal midfielder, Paul Merson of his pre-match comments. The pundit had suggested that Townsend should not be in the squad.
While the winger has an impressive record for his country – scoring three goals in seven appearances for the Three Lions – Greaves revealed to Mirror Online, that he was disappointed with his behaviour, suggesting that the goal was good, but not great, and it could well be the last he scores for England.
“He didn’t exactly beat six defenders before lashing the ball past Gianluigi Buffon, did he?
“So why on earth did he feel the need to tell the world how wrong his critics were by lashing out at Paul Merson on Twitter?” Greaves asked.
“After all, he may never score another goal for England, so what did that one really prove?”
Few are better judges of what constitutes an international quality player than the former striker. Greaves bagged forty-four goals from just fifty-seven caps, and famously only missed out on featuring in the 1966 World Cup Final after collecting an injury earlier in the tournament.
The 75-year-old – who also scored 220 times in the league for Spurs – criticised the attitudes of many modern footballers.
“The problem with professional footballers today is that there is such an arrogance about them, with most seeming to think they should be immune to criticism,” he added.