With Newcastle second bottom of the Premiership only thanks to Spurs' shocking start to the season, Venables has laid the blame for the club's dire start to the season squarely at Dimitar Berbatov's door.
Bemoaning the Bulgarian's "poisonous presence" at the beginning of the campaign.
Bemoaning the Bulgarian's "poisonous presence" at the beginning of the campaign.
Venables, who turned down the chance to return to top-flight management with Newcastle, believes the club's current strife stems from Berbatov.
Venables: "Berbatov kept telling us he had 'a dream'. Well, good for you Dimi. You had a dream with a few extra noughts added to your bank balance."But did Spurs have a dream too? You got your way but your poisonous presence at the start of the season - the brooding and the reluctance to play - has cost the club that believed in you.
"They thought they were going to get Andrei Arshavin.
"This was a massive managerial blunder by Spurs, especially when they had allowed Keane to leave. But letting Berbatov and Keane go without having Arshavin in the bag was a boardroom blunder."