Tottenham’s 5-2 defeat at Atlético Madrid brought a terrible season to a new low, leaving Igor Tudor in a tough spot ahead of Sunday’s away game against Liverpool.
Igor Tudor lost all four games as Spurs manager (Image: Diego Souto, Getty Images)
It’s hard to know who looked more lost in Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano, keeper Antonin Kinski or coach Igor Tudor.
On Tuesday, in the stadium where Tottenham suffered in the Champions League final six-and-a-half years ago, they managed to summon new depth to their self-destruction.
Kinski suffered 16 minutes of humiliation, Tudor suffered 26 days, and realized just how much of a mess the Spurs were in.
The Croats were not hurt in the slightest. Nothing has improved since the days of Thomas Frank, and nothing has improved since the days of Ange Postecoglou. All signs point to an overarching problem that is even more deeply rooted within the club.
Tudor, 47, has had little positive influence on his players. His attempts to instill discipline backfired.
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read more: Tottenham’s stars are furious over what they consider Igor Tudor’s behavior at the club ‘disrespectful’read more: Peter Shemichel slams Igor Tudor and accuses him of killing Antonin Kinski’s career
Some players are dissatisfied with the training sessions. The big players have been sidelined. Despite Spurs crying out for creativity and new signing Conor Gallagher being reduced to a substitute, Xavi Simmons has been left out. No one seems confident about what’s going on inside the club.
The Kinski and Guglielmo Vicario turmoil was the latest player selection failure by the interim head coach. This decision and the way Tudor snubbed Kinski as he left the field rather than trying to get the young keeper’s ears to know about the significance this night could mean for his career spoke volumes.
In his place, substitutes Dominic Solanke, Gallagher and João Parinha ran from the bench down the tunnel to try to console him.
Antonin Kinski was dragged out (Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
These scenes followed a bizarre Cristian Romero moment with Tudor shortly before Kinski was fired. The captain came in to have a long talk with the caretaker manager, and as soon as he was finished, the Croatian headed to Vicario and the substitution was made.
Ironically, Atlético weren’t amazing that night and neither were Tottenham. They conceded a ridiculous three goals in the opening minutes, but they had a good chance to take a result back to north London and could have come from behind.
But ahead of Sunday’s trip to Anfield, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust has called for immediate action.
Everything Igor Tudor tried didn’t work (Image: TNT SPORTS)
“Tonight’s performance and result was a complete disgrace. It represents the worst of Spurs’ current situation,” it said in a statement. “From the January transfer window to management appointments, there has been a lack of leadership and the absence of someone with Spurs pedigree to inform these decisions. Where are the bold moves, where are the echoes of glory?”
“Right now we are walking off the edge of a cliff and urgent action is needed. It has never been this difficult to be a Spurs fan, but supporters will not sit idly by as the club continues to decline. There is much more to come.”
The Spurs will now have to come up with a plan to revise the plan that failed to revise their previous plan. The Tudor experiment is only four games in, but there are already signs that it’s not going to work.
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