Tottenham are quietly coming to an Andy Robertson realization they should have already known

Andy Robertson had a strong performance against Crystal Palace to bounce back from looking a bit shaky in the 2-0 win over Chelsea the week prior, but the veteran Premier League left back resumed being a liability in the Lilywhites 1-0 loss to Leeds United at Elland Road.

While the goal the Peacocks scored came on the opposite flank and was more of an issue of the midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and Archie Gray failing to track subtitute Noah Okafor properly than rather a defensive issue, Robertson had a bad game overall.

The problem with Robertson is that he is 32 years old, and with all the wear and tear of his amazing Premier League career at Liverpool with so many games played, including in the grueling pressing system of Jurgen Klopp, he plays like someone even older than that.

Liverpool were willing to let Robertson go as a free agent - or even in the winter transfer window before that - because they could see that he was no longer able to get it done athletically and struggled in games that are more physically demanding.

And that was the case for Tottenham Hotspur against Leeds. Whereas Leeds did not test Robertson defensively with athletic players like Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto as Chelsea did, they swarmed and suffocated Spurs as a team, forcing the fullbacks to offer more going forward.

Andy Robertson just could not do that at all. When Spurs are dominating games, coasting on possession, and really destroying the opposition in an untouchable way like they were against Crystal Palace the week before their loss to Leeds, Robertson can actually become an asset, since he does not have to run around as much and can focus more on crossing.

Against Leeds, Tottenham needed their left winger to have more help, especially after Mathys Tel had to leave the game in the first half with a brutal injury, and what they got out of Robertson instead was a whole lot of nothing. He could not win the ball, he could not put in a decent cross, and there was no ball progression from the 32 year old, let alone any creative output from him.

Tottenham are realizing that Robertson always had a buyer beware tag on him for a reason. He has no resale value, he is on the downswing of his career, and while he can help against bad teams that won't test him athletically, if you need real verve down the left flank, Robbo is not your man.