Sam Allardyce has now questioned Cristian Romero’s leadership at Tottenham calling for drastic measures to be taken.
Tottenham Hotspur are currently not in the best of places as they find themselves in 16th place in the Premier League table with 12 games left to go.
A full-on relegation scrap cannot be ruled out at this stage, especially with five points the difference between Tottenham and West Ham United in 18th place.
The senior players in this squad need to step up, but Cristian Romero’s last sending-off against Manchester United was far from what Spurs needed, as they are in desperate need of wins.
The Tottenham captain has since been handed a four-match ban and will now miss the north London derby this weekend, but should return against Liverpool at Anfield on March 15.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero blasted by Sam Allardyce
Speaking to Footy Accumulators, Sam Allardyce criticised Romero’s temperament, questioned his development, and suggested drastic measures like stripping the Argentine of the Spurs captaincy if his behaviour does not improve.
He said: “Cristian Romero is one of those typical players who just does not learn. He has got so much talent, but so many flaws which he has not eradicated. He is still making the same mistakes as when he first signed for Tottenham.
“Either he gets stripped of the captaincy, or someone says to him, ‘stay on your feet, I do not want you to go to ground when you tackle anymore’, and if he continues to do it, then take him out of the side. He is giving his managers a bad reputation for not being able to control him.
“If you are a centre-half, your first priority is being a defender, not how good you are with the ball – that is only an added bonus.
“Romero is just so irrational, which is alright when you first join a club, but he should have been nailed by Thomas Frank for it and he was not.”
Spurs’ relegation fears highlighted amid Romero criticism
Tottenham have since parted ways with Thomas Frank and will be hoping new interim manager Igor Tudor can steady the ship for the remainder of the season.
However, while the higher-ups at Spurs often fail to acknowledge the north London club’s relegation struggles, Allardyce also explained why he believes Tottenham are firmly in a relegation battle this season.
“I would consider Spurs to be in a relegation battle now, and it is partly because you will need more points to stay up this year than you have done for the past few seasons,” he said.
“It will be in the mid to high thirties this season and sometimes you wonder where those points are going to come from. You have to make sure your best performances come against the teams you are capable of beating.
“If they do get relegated, I do not even think they would be the best team to go down. The West Ham team with Jermain Defoe, Paulo Di Canio, Glen Johnson and David James were better!”