Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has criticised the club, saying they are “becoming a laughing stock”. Spurs are currently without a permanent manager following the sacking of Antonio Conte over the weekend. While the team is currently sitting in fourth place, they have been eliminated from all cup competitions, meaning that qualifying for next season’s Champions League is the best they can hope for. However, this is far from guaranteed, with Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton all chasing closely behind. With the latest setback being news of director of football Fabio Paratici’s worldwide ban from football, Sherwood says that Spurs are quickly becoming a joke.
Speaking on Drivetime on talkSPORT, Sherwood said: “It doesn’t look good, obviously the fans are feeling it more than anyone. Your club is becoming a laughing stock. They are, and they shouldn’t be, because they finished fourth last year in a very competitive league and they’re still fourth this year. There are a few teams just behind them with a few games in hand, we know all about that, but they’re in a decent position. It’s because they haven’t won a trophy AGAIN and the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, all the local teams shove it down the Tottenham fans’ throats. They need to start winning something or start producing some players.”
Sherwood went on to criticise Tottenham’s recruitment, saying it has been “very, very poor”. He also criticised the club’s inability to recruit a manager who can last, as well as their scattergun approach with players they’re invested in. “They should have done their due diligence on this guy,” he said of Paratici. “It’s historic, what we’re talking about here, the misdemeanours Paratici has had, so they should have known about this.”
Sherwood added: “We know what Tottenham fans want. They want to win, it’s been far too long, but they demand a certain style of play. It doesn’t have to be that sophisticated, it’s just being on the front foot and having a go and trying to win games, not setting out to draw and seeing if you can nick it on the break. They would suffer playing horrendous football, and it’s not been a pretty watch under Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, if they win. When they were top of the league under Mourinho nobody was saying anything, because they could sacrifice that if they’re winning games. But when it all goes wrong and they lose games, everyone will point to the style. They pay a lot of money for their tickets and they want to be entertained.”
Sherwood also said that Tottenham fans want an identity for their club, adding that they look down the road at Arsenal and see a host of top-draw young players coming through their academy and a recruitment process that seems to have been correct over the last few seasons. “When have Tottenham ever gone out and bought players like that, or that ilk? They haven’t done it, because they can’t afford to if they keep wasting money on average players,” he said. “But Arsenal can afford it. You know why? Because they bring their academy players through, who cost the square root of zero, and some of them are their top players.”