Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has surprisingly claimed that one Spurs star is ‘never going to be outstanding’ in a damning assessment of Thomas Frank’s team.
Tottenham are currently preparing for one of the biggest games of their season – the North London Derby against Arsenal on Sunday.
The Gunners are top of the table and have lost just one game so far this campaign while Spurs are a credible fifth, but fans are yet to warm to manager Frank.
While results have improved since the Dane replaced Ange Postecoglou over the summer, the style of play and performances, especially in home games, has been criticised.
One bright spot has been the form of Mohammed Kudus, a £56million summer signing from West Ham, who has recorded one goal and five assists in 10 league games.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro’s football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it’s an open goal.
But surprisingly, Sherwood, who managed the Lilywhites from 2013 to 2014, has been critical of Frank’s side and says that the attacking midfielder, while good, is an exceptional talent.
‘They’ve got the likes of Kudus who’s been refreshing,’ Sherwood told Sky Sports. ‘He’s picked up a few injuries but when he’s played he’s been a plus.
‘He’s not been outstanding but I don’t think he’s ever going to be outstanding. He’s not consistent enough to be that man. But he has moments and hopefully he can have a moment at the weekend.
‘They’re all similar the wide [players]. I wasn’t convinced when they brought Xavi Simons in because I felt he was similar to [Wilson] Odobert, who is similar to [Mathys] Tel, whose similar to what they’ve already got.
‘Kudus has come in, I thought he was quite similar but he’s got a little bit more personality. I think he takes the game to the opposition a little bit more and he’s got more end product.’
Kudus has missed Tottenham’s last two games through injury and did not play for Ghana during the international break, but has recovered in time to feature in the North London Derby.
While fans are still cold on Frank, Sherwood says the manager must be given time to succeed but says failure to qualify for the Champions League or win silverware would be disastrous.
‘I haven’t been really impressed with Tottenham, even though their position in the league is fine at the moment,’ the Premier League winning captain added.
‘They’ve had Europa League success, they’ve had the open top bus, they’ve tasted it. If they were to finish outside the Champions League and didn’t win a domestic trophy, it would be a failure.
‘They’ve already lost the biggest game of the season [so far] which was the Newcastle game in the Carabao Cup. That was a huge game of football, they had to win that.
So, they’re up against it to have a successful season because the only thing that Tottenham fans will see as success is to finish in the Champions League. Europa League will not tick the box for them.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.