Peter Taylor warns Tottenham over shock Premier League relegation
Former winger Peter Taylor has warned Tottenham Hotspur they are at genuine risk of suffering an unexpected Premier League relegation following a disastrous run of form.
The North London club are currently embroiled in a battle for survival at the bottom of the table under manager Igor Tudor.
Spurs recently suffered a damaging domestic defeat against Crystal Palace before being thrashed by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Taylor experienced the pain of dropping out of the top flight with a star-studded Tottenham squad at the end of the 1976-77 campaign.
Avoiding the mistakes of the past
The former England caretaker manager was part of a group featuring club legends such as Glenn Hoddle and Steve Perryman that finished dead last.
He believes the current generation must quickly find consistency to avoid repeating that nearly 50-year-old nightmare.
“The more I think about it, unfortunately we couldn’t have been good enough because we got relegated,” Taylor explained.
“We probably weren’t consistent enough, because we had some very good players but maybe we weren’t consistent as much as we should have been and that’s why we got punished.”
A desperate need for creativity
The modern-day side has been severely hampered by injuries and suspensions throughout the campaign.
Dutch centre-back Micky van de Ven is the latest key figure sidelined after picking up a red card in their last league outing.
However, the 72-year-old feels the primary issue lies further up the pitch where the team lacks genuine attacking flair.
“One thing I would say is the difference between when I was there in my first year and now is that we had Glenn Hoddle, we had Alfie Conn. So I think we had more flair players than what they’ve got at the moment,” he added.
“Looking at them the other night, they needed a James Maddison badly. I can imagine a Glenn Hoddle being out there… you know on one of his days or one of his nights he’s going to open somebody up and score.”
Managerial pressure intensifies
Taylor noted that the current squad worked incredibly hard against Palace but failed to show enough of their traditional attacking style.
That domestic setback was immediately compounded by a humiliating five-goal defeat to Atletico Madrid in European competition.
The heavy loss marked a fourth consecutive defeat for the Croatian head coach, raising serious questions about his immediate future.
While Keith Burkinshaw survived relegation in 1977 to eventually lead the club to major silverware, the former Juventus boss may not be afforded the same patience by the current hierarchy.
