‘He’s Lost!’ Ferdinand Doubts Tudor Can Survive the Chaos of the Premier League
‘He’s Lost!’ Ferdinand Doubts Tudor Can Survive the Chaos of the Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur’s current predicament has sparked growing concern among pundits, especially given that the club has not experienced life outside England’s top division since 1978. Former Spurs defender Rio Ferdinand admitted he is unsure whether relegation will actually happen, but stressed that their recent performances should worry supporters. He pointed out that several sides in the same part of the table are beginning to show signs of improvement, singling out West Ham United as one example of a team that appears to be rediscovering form at a crucial stage of the season.
He also referenced Nottingham Forest, noting that although they recently dismissed their manager and may have lost some momentum as a result, Spurs cannot afford to feel safe. In Ferdinand’s view, Tottenham are firmly involved in a survival scrap alongside the other struggling sides, and the battle near the bottom is becoming increasingly tense with each passing week.
The former centre-back, who was honoured this week with induction into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, expressed sympathy for dismissed coach Thomas Frank, insisting the injury crisis that plagued Tottenham this season made his job far more difficult than many observers realise. Ferdinand emphasized that the absences were not fringe players but some of the team’s most influential figures. In particular, he highlighted how Spurs were unable to consistently rely on creative forces like Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, both of whom are central to the side’s attacking imagination.
He added that new signing Mohammed Kudus initially looked capable of injecting spark and unpredictability into the attack, only for injury to halt his progress as well. According to Ferdinand, the scale of the fitness problems has been devastating, with multiple players sidelined for months rather than weeks, and some ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. That level of disruption, he argued, would destabilize almost any squad.
Transfer decisions have also raised eyebrows. Ferdinand questioned the logic behind allowing Brennan Johnson to leave without an obvious, proven replacement ready to step in and supply goals. He suggested that while managerial changes often attract the headlines, responsibility must eventually be shared by the players themselves, especially considering this same group finished 17th last season. Although some may point to their triumph in the UEFA Europa League as evidence of quality, Ferdinand argued that many teams in that tournament would struggle to compete consistently in the Premier League, implying that success there can sometimes mask domestic shortcomings.
Attention now turns to new boss Igor Tudor, whose first major challenge could hardly be more daunting. He is set to take charge for a north London derby against table-topping Arsenal, a fixture that instantly throws him into one of English football’s most intense rivalries. Ferdinand described the situation as a case of going “straight out of the frying pan into the fire,” stressing that Tudor has no luxury of easing into the role. Instead, he must quickly prepare his squad mentally and tactically for a high-pressure showdown that could shape both morale and momentum for the weeks ahead.