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The most persuasive argument for Igor Tudor remaining in interim charge of Tottenham’s deepening crisis boils down to two things.
One is that there is no viable alternative, which is not strictly correct. Plenty of coaches out there would love to give it a go and could hardly have fared worse than Tudor over the first three games. Under him, Spurs have not collected a single point, have led for only six out of 270 minutes and conceded nine while he has bounced from one tactical plan to another and paced about with a stern disapproving expression on his face.
The other more pertinent issue is that if they were to give up on Tudor and pivot again before the end of the season in a desperate last throw of the dice to dodge a ruinous relegation, they will still have the same depleted and dispirited squad of players. Many are still missing and on the evidence of the Crystal Palace defeat, those who are fit and available are suffering a crisis of confidence.
It is now some time since they bore the look of a team through an entire 90 minutes and if there is one factor you need in a fight against relegation it is unity, a determination to fight like hell for each other in difficult moments.
And this doesn’t mean organising a performative team huddle before kick-off or waving arms frantically at fans and imploring them to make more noise or throwing around coats and water bottles on the bench.
Supporters are neither blind nor stupid. They recognise courage in tough times and it was embodied against Palace by Archie Gray, 19 years old but refusing to give in or stop trying to do what had been asked of him, even when everything around him was falling apart and far more experienced team-mates were losing their heads.
Tottenham’s players struggle to rally in the 3-1 defeat by Crystal Palace on Thursday
Supporters recognise courage in tough times and it was embodied against Palace by Archie Gray, 19 years old but refusing to give in, even when everything around him was falling apart
Spurs realise they are now desperately short of leaders in the dressing room, following Son Heung-min, Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane’s departures. Thomas Frank worked it out, and it drove the attempt to sign Liverpool’s Andy Robertson in January.
None of those three former Spurs players were exactly Dave Mackay, the legendary former Spurs captain who was the epitome of a footballing battlefield leader in the era of Bill Nicholson, but they all set standards in the modern way.
They went about the job in a professional manner. They understood what it meant to play for Spurs. If they spoke, their voices were heard and acted upon. They were living breathing examples for young players stepping into the group.
Their departures, along with others including Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, combined with a recruitment strategy prioritising raw if promising teenagers means many young players have stepped into a group short of mentors.
On recent evidence, nobody is stepping up to fill the void. Cristian Romero, who took over the captaincy from Son, is a fine centre half and a World Cup winner but nobody’s idea of a good leader. He has missed seven games through suspension this season and his team have lost six of those.
Beyond the confines of the pitch, Romero’s questionable leadership style has seemingly revolved around outbursts on social media complaining about the running of the club, accusing the board of broken promises and criticising the January market.
Micky van de Ven, captain in Romero’s continued absence on Thursday, left his team in the lurch with a poor decision leading to a red card and a penalty against Palace. It was only an instinctive pull on Ismaila Sarr but it was indicative of the chaos. At a time when Spurs need players with fire in their bellies and ice in their veins, they have it the opposite way around.
Van de Ven and Romero have become leaders this season with so many other senior players absent, but neither will be playing in the Championship next season whether Spurs avoid relegation or not.
Cristian Romero, who took over the captaincy from Son Heung-min, is nobody’s idea of a good leader. He has missed seven games through suspension this season
Micky van de Ven was leading the team in his absence but it was his mistake that saw Spurs go down to 10 men in their loss to Palace
Both have been happy for transfer speculation to swirl around them without speaking up to clarify. Both carry the air of players who think they should be somewhere better. Neither appear able to galvanise the squad around them.
Guglielmo Vicario, another in the leadership group, has been suffering his own problems with form and has been a target for criticism. Others appear adrift as the battle intensifies. Richarlison made an impact and scored off the bench on Sunday at Fulham but came on against Palace with the look of a player who thought he really should have started.
Conor Gallagher, signed from Atletico Madrid in January, suddenly finds the manager who persuaded him to sign has been sacked. The new boss has played him out of position on the right wing and then dropped him.
Xavi Simons, who sparkled in the No 10 role in Frank’s latter games, has been shunted back out wide where he was not effective in early season and then dropped.
Pedro Porro, though, is the embodiment of the Palace defeat. Miscast as one of the three central defenders, he performed poorly before exploding into a petulant fit of rage as he came off, blaming officials for his team’s shortcomings, smacking dugout chairs and throwing things about. Porro is 26 years old and needs to grow up, but he is in good company at Spurs.
Remember Djed Spence’s tantrum because he was substituted. Spence and Van de Ven snubbing Frank after fans turned during the Chelsea defeat. Van de Ven arguing with the away end at Bournemouth. Yves Bissouma’s punctuality issues and nitrous oxide habits.
All good players, no question. Maybe not as good as they think, but good. None of them want to lose. All of them care but perhaps lack the emotional maturity to cope with the pressure of this crisis. If they had character and temperament to match their footballing talent they would be at Manchester City or Arsenal, earning twice as much as they do at Spurs. Porro would still be at City.
Soaked in the traditions of Juventus, an austere club where serious standards of excellence are non-negotiable, Tudor must have been stunned by what he has found. He has alluded to as much with his vague comments about the problems at Spurs being bigger than those on his previous firefighting operations.
Pedro Porro is the embodiment of the Palace defeat. Miscast as one of the three central defenders, he performed poorly before exploding into a petulant fit of rage as he came off
Soaked in the traditions of Juventus, an austere club where serious standards of excellence are non-negotiable, Igor Tudor must have been stunned by what he has found
Post-Palace, he spoke about working out the players he thought he could trust. And about those he wanted on the boat and those he would be leaving on the shore. Unfortunately, the most trustworthy are among the more limited and Tudor has limited room for manoeuvre. Like Frank before him, he will be tempted to rattle a few egos but is so short of numbers he would run the risk of weakening his team.
Ange Postecoglou managed to cajole them along last season. That is testament to his inspirational oratory skills and the fact relegation was not a genuine fear last season with a bottom three cut well adrift from the rest. Spurs were never drawn into the fraught situation they are in now, hovering one point above the drop zone on a run of 11 games without a win, having developed an allergy to playing at home.
They have taken 33 points from their last 38 Premier League fixtures, the equivalent of an entire season and that is hardcore relegation form.
The trouble is, they do not have a squad built for a hardcore relegation fight when their rivals do. And this is the problem over the last nine games whether it is Tudor all the way or a late change of plan.