In 2009 the then 19-year old Jake Livermore scored the equalising goal for Spurs against Barcelona in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium.

After the match he was asked by a reporter, "What's it like to score against the best team in the world?"

"Score against the best team in the world?" replied a quizzical Livermore. "I play for them."

It was the type of comment you would expect a Tottenham fan to make rather than a player and it's perhaps no surprise that the local lad from Enfield who came through the Spurs ranks, falls into both camps.

Basically, he's one of us. So if that's the case, then why are our fans giving the young midfielder such a hard time at the moment?

Livermore has featured in all three of our Premier League games this season alongside Sandro, in what has looked like a rather uninspiring midfield combination.

Having watched all three games, I wouldn't say there's been much to choose between Jake and his more celebrated Brazilian colleague. Both have played reasonably well, but really shouldn't be paired together if we're looking to be creative and win games.

However, it's been Livermore rather than Sandro who seems to be getting singled out for criticism from Tottenham's fans, both on the internet and on the terraces.

During Saturday's match I heard several voices abusing Livermore. It reminded me of the way the crowd used to turn on Jermaine Jenas.

Now I'd be the first to admit that Jenas was a frustrating player (notice how I'm talking about him in past tense as if he's not still drawing a wage from us). Here was someone who had all the attributes to be a top midfielder. He had the talent to be as important to Spurs as Gerrard was to Liverpool and Lampard was to Chelsea, but just never seemed to perform consistently enough.

Pretty soon the White Hart Lane ‘boo boys' found that Jenas was the player they loved to hate. I can't claim to have never have shouted his name in anger, but what I would say is that for all the frustration he could cause with his lazy five-yard passes to the opposition, for many years Spurs were a weaker team when Jenas wasn't in it.

The reason was the amount of work that Jenas did off the ball. It's the sort of work that goes unnoticed by football fans, especially ones who predominantly watch games on television, where the cameras tend to follow the ball rather than the untiring work of random midfielders.

Livermore is another player that does a lot of work that goes unnoticed. He plays the game simply, winning the ball and giving it to a team-mate without fuss. Like Jenas he has a great engine, but physically he is a more dominant figure and is harder to knock off the ball.

He's not the most talented player in our squad, but he can be relied upon to do his job well whenever he's called upon. What's more he doesn't seem the type to kick up a fuss when he's not picked in the team.

Such players are important. There are only eleven spaces in the side, so in a squad of 25 to 30 players you need players who are prepared to put their egos and personal ambitions aside for the good of the good of the club.

Players who come through the ranks tend to be more loyal to the cause than a star signing from another country. Livermore is already playing for the team he loves. He's not going to start agitating for a move in the hunt for Champions League football.

The last player to come through the youth ranks at Spurs and truly establish himself in the first-team was the legend that is Ledley King. In an age where very few of the players in our squad even come from England, I think it's important that local lads such as Livermore and Steven Caulker are around to inspire the next generation of young Tottenham talent to believe that they can make it too.

So let's cut Jake Livermore a bit of slack, hey? Because the boy is one of us and you're not meant to turn on your own.

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