Toby Alderweireld has seen a big change at Tottenham Hotspur from his playing days, and the Belgian is particularly critical of Cristian Romero.
The thought of finishing 17th twice and battling against relegation was unthinkable during Alderweireld’s time at Spurs, when the Lilywhites came close to winning both the Premier League and the Champions League.
That is where Tottenham are trying to get back to next season, with Roberto De Zerbi making it clear that Spurs will be aiming for the top of the Premier League during his first full season in charge.
That requires a huge improvement from the side, and Alderweireld believes that it also requires the players to care more about the badge than they have the last couple of years.
Toby Alderweireld admits ‘it hurts’ to see how standards have slipped at Tottenham
While Spurs may not have got over the line and won silverware during the Belgian centre-back’s time at the club, Alderweireld pointed out that the players set a very high standard for themselves despite the off-field disruptions.
He confessed that some of the developments over the last couple of years have made him question if the current squad cares about the badge as much as he and his teammates did.
When asked about what has gone wrong at Tottenham over the last two seasons, the 37-year-old told talkSPORT: “You see that the team is struggling and they don’t have the same standards anymore than we had. I think when I arrived, almost every season we got in the top four. We challenged for the title.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t win it, but I think there were difficult times as well because we left White Hart Lane, we went to Wembley, then we went to the new stadium. But still, we did well. Now you see that it hurts a little bit the last two years, but I see some difference now The transfers that they did, it’s all positive. I think it’s Premier League-proven players because that’s something you need. You cannot have a season like last season.”
When pressed on what he meant by his claim that the standards have slipped at N17, Alderweireld responded: “I’m not every day in that group, and it’s easy to say this where I am. But my feeling is, in my time, everyone was so proud to play for the badge. We worked so hard. We did everything for the club, and sometimes that’s something I miss.
“You hear some things, you read some things about the captain (Romero), and he’s not there. Then you get the red card, and you don’t feel like they are really involved. It’s easy to see it from the outside, but in my period it was totally different.”
Alderweireld points to major issue with ‘unbelievable’ Cristian Romero
Alderweireld admitted that on his day, Cristian Romero is one of the best defenders in the world, but questioned whether he has the required consistency for the role.
The former Spurs man contrasted Tottenham’s centre-back pairing last season with his own partnership with Jan Vertonghen, suggesting that the current captain cannot be counted upon.
Alderweireld added about Romero: “First of all, I think he’s an unbelievable player. On his day, you see it with Spurs, Argentina, he’s so good. The other thing is, for me, and I can only say how I see a centre-back, you have to have a standard from six out of 10, seven out of 10, eight out of 10. Sometimes he’s 10 out of 10. Sometimes with a red card or with some sort of action, you think, hmm, that’s not what a team needed now.
“For me, the centre-back pairing is so important in the team. If you compare Romero with Jan and myself, I think that’s a big difference. You can count on us and that’s, for me, the most important thing. Like I said to Romero, an unbelievable player but sometimes he wasn’t there.”