Igor Tudor's nightmare with Tottenham is showing no signs of letting up as his team sits dangerously close to the relegation zone
An Italian news outlet has delivered a bleak verdict on Tottenham's situation under Igor Tudor. The 3-1 Premier League loss to Crystal Palace on Thursday marked the Croatian manager's third defeat in as many matches since taking over as interim boss last month.
Spurs saw their 1-0 lead after 34 minutes turn into a 3-1 deficit by half-time, following the dismissal of stand-in captain Micky van de Ven. Supporters began leaving the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their hundreds at half-time, with boos echoing around the ground post-match, marking a new low in an already dismal domestic campaign.
The repercussions of a fifth consecutive loss and an 11th match without victory are even graver, considering Spurs now sit 16th in the table and just a single point above the drop zone. There's an increasing sense that Tottenham could face relegation from the top flight for the first time in 49 years, especially with Nottingham Forest and West Ham showing better form lately.
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It seems the severity of Tottenham's alarming form has caught attention even in Italy. The country's famous pink newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, issued a scathing critique after Thursday's defeat, attributing the club's current state to poor decision-making at the top. The report also highlighted the formidable challenge facing the under-pressure Tudor.
The paper wrote: "The dismissal of Thomas Frank three games ago, likely months late for a manager hired from Brentford who never seemed to have the right mentality for a big club, hasn't changed matters much.
"Igor Tudor, a surprise signing, has come on strong against Spurs just as he did last season at Juventus and the season before at Lazio, but not even his brisk, to-the-point manner has been able to shake up a team adrift, one that seems to have long since lost its way to respectability on the pitch."
The publication went on to identify Tottenham's persistent defensive frailties, having conceded a staggering 46 goals in the league this campaign. It also claimed the players and club were no longer meeting even the basic standards needed to stay in the Premier League.
It added: "Being second in the Forbes ranking of the most profitable football clubs in 2026, with a valuation of €2.84billion, or having the most beautiful stadium in the Premier League, alone won't be enough to avoid Tottenham's nightmare of a first relegation since 1977.
"Even Tudor's charisma, already under scrutiny after their third defeat in three, risks not being enough. The boos, a mixture of fear and disappointment, from the fans who stayed until the end against Palace won't be enough."
The outlet claimed Tottenham must rediscover their courage and self-belief to secure wins - qualities they have "stopped" showing. Tudor, meanwhile, insisted there were encouraging signs after the match.
He explained: "I will tell you now, maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something. 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 whoever is in the boat can stay.
"Otherwise, they can leave the boat. So, when the other players will come back, I’m sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It’s not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is."