Tottenham Hotspur appointed Igor Tudor as an interim head coach until the end of the season because he had a track record of fixing broken teams. He was an emergency solution. Someone with no affiliation to the club who was hired to stabilise the team before vacating the dugout in the summer.
Three defeats, nine goals conceded and one red card later it looks like that decision has backfired. Losing the north London derby was painful but just about forgivable. Rolling over to Fulham and Crystal Palace was not. Faith in Tudor appears to have completely eroded. It is a ludicrous situation but Spurs only have themselves to blame.
Following West Ham United’s victory over Fulham and Nottingham Forest’s draw with Manchester City on Wednesday, Spurs were only one point above the relegation zone before they hosted Crystal Palace. It should have provoked a reaction but they were only saved from conceding first by a VAR intervention which ruled Ismaila Sarr was in an offside position before he scored.
There was a brief 60 second spell of happiness after Dominic Solanke gave them the lead but then Spurs imploded. They conceded three times in a chaotic seven minute spell which led to large groups of supporters leaving the stadium before half-time. Some of them turned around in their seats and vented their anger towards the director’s box. Things have somehow become even more toxic than the final few games under Thomas Frank.
The numbers make for grim reading. Tottenham are winless since December and have lost five top-flight games in a row for the first time since 2004. They have conceded at least two goals in nine successive matches. They have earned 10 points at home this season, which is the second worst record across the top four divisions of English football after Sheffield Wednesday — a second-tier side mired in financial distress who have become the earliest EFL side in history to be relegated as early as February. As Spurs fans booed, Crystal Palace supporters responded by chanting “say hello to Millwall.”
Tottenham have collected just 10 points at home in the Premier League this season.
Only Sheffield Wednesday have managed fewer across England’s top four leagues. 😳 pic.twitter.com/WO0yoLpTPy
— WhoScored (@WhoScored) March 5, 2026
Tudor was supposed to restore discipline and defensive structure after this team unravelled towards the end of Frank’s reign. Comical defending and disorganisation have been a constant theme throughout all of his three fixtures. Tudor had no previous experience of the Premier League and his dedication to a back three has proven costly. He made the bold call of dropping Xavi Simons and Conor Gallagher against Crystal Palace which meant that Spurs’ two most expensive recent signings were left out of their biggest game of the season. Top goalscorer Richarlison was left on the bench too. Spurs’ recruitment department deserves criticism for that situation as Tudor clearly felt they were not influential enough.
The frustration was clear among Tottenham’s players (Photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
The signs were there from the first whistle that Spurs were feeling nervous. Souza, making his first start in the Premier League after joining from Brazilian side Santos in January, was booked in the sixth minute for a lunging tackle on Daniel Munoz. It was a risky decision to start a 19-year-old with limited experience of English football in a game of this magnitude. Dominic Solanke uncharacteristically screamed at the referee after he accidentally blocked the forward’s attempt to tackle Daichi Kamada and Pedro Porro vented his frustration when Evann Guessand won a free-kick. It was 0-0 but the tension was palpable.
Micky van de Ven was the biggest villain. The Netherlands international’s decision to pull down Sarr in the box had huge ramifications on the outcome of this game and Tottenham’s next top-flight fixture against Liverpool. Van de Ven has been wearing the captain’s armband while Cristian Romero serves a four-match ban for a tackle on Casemiro in last month’s defeat to Manchester United. Spurs have been sorely let down by their senior players. Van de Ven, one of the heroes of last season’s success in the Europa League for his acrobatic goalline clearance in the final, has seen his stock drop drastically. The centre-back pair have set a poor example for their team-mates.
Tudor’s decision-making was questionable too. He brought on Gallagher and Yves Bissouma for Souza and Randal Kolo Muani after Van de Ven’s dismissal. Spurs had five defenders and three central midfielders on the pitch but within five minutes had conceded twice. Could Tudor have held out from making any changes until half-time? Adam Wharton took advantage of the confusion and carved Spurs apart with his exquisite passing range.
Mathys Tel, who has been a rare bright spark for Spurs this year, was moved to left wing-back and his sloppy pass to Pape Matar Sarr led to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s goal. Tel made a mistake but he was shunted into an unfamiliar position by the coaching staff.
Spurs tried to launch a comeback in the second half but the damage had already been done. Solanke weaved past a couple of defenders but Henderson saved his shot. Archie Gray made a few darting runs into the box. Spurs played with a lot of energy and desire but there was a distinct lack of quality. Palace wasted a couple of opportunities on the counter to make the night more humiliating. Porro argued with the fourth official, smashed a water bottle and punched a chair when he was substituted. There were boos at full-time but barely any fans had stuck around.
Porro vents his anger (Photo: Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Where do Spurs go from here? Sacking Tudor has to be a plausible option but it would be a damning indictment on the chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange to remove him after three games. Trust amongst the supporters will be very thin that the duo would hire the right person to replace him anyways.
Next week’s Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid is an unwelcome distraction. All that matters is avoiding relegation. By the time Spurs next play at home, they could find themselves in the bottom three. Maybe it is the shock this squad needs to realise the gravity of the situation they find themselves in.
Tudor insisted afterwards that “I believe more after this game than I believed before.”
“I saw something,” he added. “I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can bow down, or how do you say that, leave the boat.”
The problem is Tudor’s boat is full of holes and looks like it is destined to sink.