Tottenham's shambolic 5-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid saw a dreadful campaign hit a new low and leave Igor Tudor staring down the barrel ahead of Sunday's away game against Liverpool
It’s difficult to know who looked more lost inside Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano - keeper Antonin Kinsky or coach Igor Tudor.
On Tuesday, in the stadium where Tottenham suffered their Champions Leauge final pain six-and-a-half years ago, they managed to conjure up new depths from which to self destruct.
Kinsky suffered 16 minutes of humiliation while Tudor has suffered 26 days of pain, while realising what a mess Spurs are in.
The Croatian has not even made a dent. Nothing has improved from Thomas Frank’s era, who in turn improved nothing from Ange Postecoglou’s tenure. All signs point to an overriding problem more deeply rooted within the club.
The 47-year-old Tudor has made little positive impact on the players. His attempts to instil discipline have backfired.
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Some of the players have been unhappy with the training sessions. Big players have been pushed to the side. Xavi Simons has been marginalised despite Spurs screaming out for creativity and new signing Conor Gallagher reduced to a substitute role. Nobody looks to have any confidence about what is going on inside the club.
The Kinsky and Guglielmo Vicario mess was the latest selection blunder from the interim head coach. The images of Tudor snubbing Kinsky as he walked off the pitch, rather than attempting to have a word in the young keeper’s ear about the decision and the enormity of what this night could mean for his career spoke volumes.
Substitutes Dominic Solanke, Gallagher and Joao Palhinha instead ran from the bench and down the tunnel, attempting to console him.
Those scenes followed the strange Cristian Romero moment with Tudor just before Kinsky was removed. The captain came over to speak to the interim boss at length and as soon as they finished, the Croatian turned to Vicario and the change was made.
The irony was that Atletico were not incredible on the night and Tottenham were not dreadful. They conceded three ridiculous goals in those opening minutes but had enough chances to take a result back to north London that could have been turned around.
However, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Anfield, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust called for immediate action.
“Tonight’s performance and result is a total disgrace. It’s symptomatic of the abysmal state of things at Spurs right now,” a statement read. “From the January transfer window to the management appointments, the lack of leadership and the absence of anyone with a Spurs pedigree informing these decisions. Where is the Daring to Do? Where are the Echoes of Glory?
“Emergency action is needed as right now we are sleep walking off the edge of a cliff. Being a Spurs fan has never been so difficult but supporters will not sit by and watch the club continue to decline. There will be more to follow.”
Spurs now have to come up with a plan to fix the plan that failed to fix the previous plan. The Tudor experiment is only four games old but all the signs are already there that it will not work.