Tottenham are in danger of being relegated from the Premier League after a turbulent season and Jamie Carragher insists it wouldn't be a surprise to see them go down
Jamie Carragher has torn into Tottenham as fears grow over their top-flight status, warning they are 'not too big or good' to go down and that their relegation would be the most 'embarrassing' of any team in the Premier League era.
Spurs have endured another calamitous domestic campaign after finishing 17th last season and currently sit just two places and five points above the relegation zone. Thomas Frank was appointed as the club's new head coach last summer and paid the price for the team's poor form with his job earlier this month.
Igor Tudor has been installed on a contract until the end of the season with a remit of keeping Tottenham in the division - something which would have been unfathomable at the beginning of the campaign.
But Carragher now says nobody would be surprised to see them slip through the trapdoor after watching them this term.
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“It is often said that a club are too big, or even too good, to go down. No one is making that claim about Tottenham Hotspur,” the former Liverpool defender wrote in The Telegraph.
“The fear that prompted the end of Thomas Frank’s unhappy reign is justified. Watching Spurs, and comparing their current form to third-bottom West Ham United – a team who recently won at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – warrants the suggestion they are on the verge of catastrophe.
“If they drop into the Championship it would be the most shocking descent of the Premier League era, and the most embarrassing for a club of such wealth and stature since Denis Law’s back-heel for Manchester City sent Manchester United into the old Second Division in 1974.
“Analysing the quality of the squad Igor Tudor leads for the first time in this weekend’s North London Derby, the scale of the challenge is obvious.
“The concern is the prolonged dip under his two immediate predecessors, and how soon that can be reversed. There is no escaping the shadow of the dreaded “R word” at Spurs. Relegation is possible. Add “ridiculous” or “reprehensible” and plain “rubbish” to the valid descriptions of their record over the past 27 months, which has led them to this perilous situation.”
Carragher goes on to agree with Tottenham over the decision to sack Frank, although the Sky Sports pundit points out that a coach with his organisational qualities would usually be a boost to any club bidding to attain survival.
He does, though, have concerns over Tudor, who despite impressing in Italy during spells with Juventus, has no Premier League experience and is now in the midst of a survival fight.
It is stressed that Tudor has to hit the ground running - no mean feat when his first obligation in charge of Tottenham is a north London derby against Arsenal.
Carragher added: “Despite Tudor’s success in Italy, there is an element of risk when appointing a coach who might need a period to adapt to English football. Spurs do not have any time.
“Since the Premier League formed in 1992, of the original “big five” who initiated its formation, only Everton have flirted with relegation.
“What was until recently considered unthinkable for Tottenham is now conceivable. Tudor does not just need to hit the ground running. He needs to start his reign like an Olympic sprinter to keep Spurs out of the bottom three.”