Toby Alderweireld singles out one Tottenham star who ‘lets his team down’ repeatedly

Former Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld has delivered a blunt assessment of Tottenham’s struggles this season, claiming some players have not been good enough in terms of quality.

Not long ago, Tottenham Hotspur were competing at the very top level of European football.

Fast forward to now, and they find themselves in a relegation battle, sitting two points inside the drop zone with just six games remaining.

It marks a dramatic fall from the Mauricio Pochettino era, with every manager since struggling to replicate that level of consistency and quality.

The squad itself has also undergone a complete overhaul, with every player from the 2019 Champions League final now having left the club. It is fair to say that Tottenham have not managed to replace that level of quality since.

Toby Alderweireld criticises Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven

Speaking to ESPN, Toby Alderweireld did not hold back in his assessment of Tottenham’s current squad.

“I think you also need to start looking at pure quality,” Alderweireld said.

“What do big players do? What do quality players do? That is to be decisive at important moments, achieve your level. And that has not been happening all season.

“Players who were acquired for a lot of money but who nevertheless do not deliver and not in just one or two matches or a period, but throughout the whole season.

“You just have to conclude that they are not good enough in terms of quality.”

The former Spurs centre-back also pointed to the performances of Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven.

“I look at Romero, I look at Van de Ven. They just are not reaching their level,” he added. “Again, not for a period, but actually for an entire season.

“Then I also look at Romero who gets red cards too often, does not make the right decisions and therefore lets his team down.”

Tottenham still feeling the absence of Toby Alderweireld

Toby Alderweireld is right to question the consistency of Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven this season.

Over the past two years, the pair showed enough to be considered one of the more reliable centre-back partnerships in the league when fit. This season, though, neither has really hit that same level despite being fit for almost the entire season.

As captain and vice-captain, that drop in performance matters even more, especially in a squad that already lacks experience.

Romero’s decision-making has been a particular issue, with a number of costly moments across the season, and he is now set to miss the remainder of the campaign through injury.

That leaves Tottenham turning to a Kevin Danso and Micky Van de Ven partnership for the final games. And if Spurs are to stay up, they will need a more consistent level from them in the weeks ahead.