These being Tudor times they will demand more heads must roll. Only three games in charge and the interim boss appears to have made Tottenham more shambolic than they were before.
Three games, three defeats. Having lost to rivals from the north and west of London it was the turn of the south, with Crystal Palace kicking Spurs further towards relegation trouble.
Oliver Glasner’s team were grateful for three points, but they did not have to work too hard because this was a masterclass in self-destruction by the home team.
Looking back from half time it was hard to believe Spurs had taken the lead in the 34th minute. Dominic Solanke found the net from a low cross by Archie Gray soon after a VAR escape and the noise levels were off the scale inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Four minutes later, Micky van de Ven was sent off for pulling back Ismaila Sarr when he was through on goal. Sarr equalised from the penalty spot and panic took hold.
Interim boss Igor Tudor could only look on from the touchline with a glazed expression. No doubt wondering what on earth he had walked into. There certainly appears to be little he can do to arrest this slide.
Tottenham’s season continues to worsen after a 3-1 defeat by Crystal Palace on Thursday
Igor Tudor’s tenure has seen Spurs lose all three of his games and look even more shambolic
Micky van de Ven (centre) was sent off in the first half for Spurs this foul on Ismaila Sarr
The question is, is there anyone who can? Harry Redknapp to the rescue? Well, it can hardly get much worse.
Palace toyed with Spurs for the rest of the first half. Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada dominated the midfield. Those in white played as if petrified. Think England against Iceland when paralysed by fear.
Mathys Tel, who had started the game well, played a loose pass to Pape Matar Sarr, enabling Evan Guessand to win the ball. Guessand moved it quickly to Wharton, who threaded it into the feet of Jorgen Strang Larsen, and he scored.
Spurs needed the interval at this point, but Palace struck again as eight minutes of stoppage time was added on.
Again, a goal of staggering simplicity against a back three of Pedro Porro, Ken Danso and Joao Palhinha.
Wharton the supplier, Palace’s Sarr scored his second. It would have been a first half hat trick but for a marginal offside call when the contest was still goalless.
Sarr had sped onto a Guessand pass and his low shot from an angle spun high off Porro as he made a desperate attempt at a block, over stranded goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and dropped inside the far post.
There was a long VAR stoppage as Palace fans sang, ‘It’s not football anymore’ and it was hard to disagree when referee Andy Madley ruled out the goal, and an image came up on the big screen.
Dominic Solanke (centre) put Spurs ahead on 34 minutes with this close-range finish
However, by end of the first half Palace were 3-1 in front with Sarr scoring twice
Both Sarr’s feet were behind the ball, but he was leaning forward and his forehead had broken the animated offside line.
It seemed like an escape when Gray and Solanke, two players who did come out with a modicum of credit, combined to score, but Van de Ven’s red card, similar to the one shown to Palace’s Maxence Lacroix at Manchester United on Sunday, was the catalyst for the great unravelling.
As the half-time whistle sounded there were few Spurs fans left in their seats. Some did not return. Those who remained booed the players down the tunnel. Some in the West Stand vented their anger at chief executive Vinai Venkatesham in the directors’ box.
Tudor had come into the game wielding his axe again. There were four changes to the team he accused of ‘lacking’ in all areas at Fulham on Sunday.
There was another change of shape, abandoning the 4-4-2 and returning to the back three deployed in his first game with a defensive line set extremely deep.
The anxiety of the occasion, with West Ham’s win at Fulham and Nottingham Forest’s unexpected point at Manchester City reeling Spurs towards the bottom three. It bled into the football. The first half hour was terribly disjointed albeit with Palace on top. Wharton tested Vicario within a minute.
Souza, making his first start since signing from Santos in January, suffered a torrid first 10 minutes until his awful late tackle left Daniel Munoz in a heap.
Munoz tried to continue but had injured his shoulder in the fall and struggled off down the tunnel with less than a quarter of an hour played. His exit brought respite for Souza until he was substituted before half time as Tudor reshuffled after the Van de Ven red card.
Spurs were more competitive when they returned. Tudor it seemed had got some sort of message through to them. They fought and won corners and put the visitors under some pressure.
Palace’s depleted and inexperienced back three resisted where Spurs could not. When they got through, Henderson stood firm. The England goalkeeper made a fine save from Solanke when a goal would have recharged the home crowd.
As it was, the fans in the away end were the only ones having fun, taunting Spurs with the songs about relegation and the prospect of a trip to Millwall. If Millwall don’t get promoted, that is.
