A former Tottenham manager has criticised the club's hierarchy for their transfer business as Spurs battle relegation
Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood has hit out at the club's hierarchy for failing to recall three players from their loan spells this season. Spurs' 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Thursday saw them tumble to 16th in the Premier League, with the London side sitting just a single point above the relegation zone after fellow strugglers made up ground.
The home loss represented Tottenham's fifth consecutive defeat and their 11th match without a victory, whilst also marking new interim boss Igor Tudor's third straight loss since taking charge. The north London club's lack of quality has been augmented by a lack of experience on the bench in recent weeks as they deal with a relentless injury crisis.
Former Spurs manager Sherwood insists the club made a serious mistake by failing to recognise the need to bring back several loanees earlier in the campaign, given how desperately thin they are on reliable first-team options. Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, the pundit was asked about 18-year-old academy winger Mikey Moore amid the youngster's impressive form on loan at Rangers.
Sherwood believes Tottenham would be in a far stronger position had they kept Moore at the club. He also made the case for recalling 19-year-old defender Luka Vuskovic and 20-year-old centre-back Ashley Phillips, currently on loan at Hamburg and Stoke City respectively.
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"They loaned Moore out because there's no pathway for him," Sherwood said. "So I think there's a great pathway at Rangers to gain some experience. No one fancied him, at the moment.
"They would probably argue that they sent him out for experience, but I would argue he's better than what you've got, so bring him back and play him in games because not only would he be better than some of the players you have signed, who are in your squad, but you also have a shocking injury crisis.
"So not only Mikey Moore, Vuskovic should have been brought back from Hamburg in my opinion. He's played pretty much every game, he's a big centre-back.
"Phillips, who they signed from Blackburn, who plays every week at Stoke City, should have been brought back. Not brought back for no reason, but to play.
"It would have solved a few injury problems rather than throwing kids on the bench who never would have been near the bench. These guys should be given the opportunity. Not only Mikey, I'm not saying he's going to be the answer, but he might be.
"So I don't know why they didn't make that executive decision. It probably is an executive decision rather than a footballing decision. If there was a football person at the top they might have said let's call them back from loan. That should come from the sporting director."
Moore has been putting in impressive displays north of the border, earning plaudits for his performances under boss Danny Rohl. The teenage winger has contributed five goals in 24 Premiership outings this campaign.
Vuskovic has had a breakthrough season in the Bundesliga with newly promoted Hamburg, dealing with top-level opponents such as Harry Kane and contributing four goals. Phillips, meanwhile, has clocked up 30 appearances in the Championship this term after joining Stoke for a second loan spell.