Taipei Times

AFP, LONDON

Igor Tudor on Thursday said that troubled Tottenham Hotspur’s dismal 3-1 defeat against Crystal Palace has convinced him they would avoid relegation from the English Premier League.

Tudor’s side squandered the first-half lead given to them by Dominic Solanke as Palace struck three times in 12 minutes before halftime in north London.

Spurs defender Micky van de Ven was sent off for a needless professional foul on Ismaila Sarr, who converted the resulting penalty.

Jorgen Strand Larsen scored Palace’s second and Sarr struck again as the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium turned toxic.

Languishing in 16th place, Spurs are just one point above the relegation zone after third-bottom West Ham United’s win at Fulham on Wednesday.

With just one win in their past 13 home league games, Spurs are in grave danger of playing in the second tier for the first time since 1977-1978.

Interim head coach Tudor has already faced calls for his sacking after losing his first three matches since replacing the axed Thomas Frank, but the Croatian is adamant Tottenham’s improved second half display showed the players still want to fight for survival.

“It was two games. After the red card, it was a second game. The second half we tried and I saw interesting things, but I’m very disappointed like the fans,” Tudor said. “We need to work hard and believe. After this game, I believe more than I did before. I know that sounds strange, but I saw something in the team. Even in the dressing room after the game. When we are complete and choose the right guys, I believe it will be good.”

Spurs have conceded two or more goals in nine successive league matches for the first time in their history.

They have lost five successive league games and are without a win in 11 consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since 1975.

Despite those wretched statistics, Tudor tried to accentuate the few glimmers of hope from the Palace debacle.

“I saw some good energy, some more passion. The fight was there,” he said. “There are nine games to play. [Cristian] Romero is coming back, [Kevin] Danso was good, maybe others will come back. We will be good when we are complete.”

Van de Ven’s dismissal sparked Tottenham’s latest collapse, his panicked foul on Sarr serving as the perfect summation of the crisis gripping the club.

Tudor had arrived at Spurs insisting they were 100 percent certain to avoid relegation, but defeats to Arsenal, Fulham and Palace have made that bold claim look increasingly foolish.

Asked if the manner of Van de Ven’s red card showed Tottenham are unable to cope with the stress, Tudor said: “We need to stop talking about pressure. This is not a topic to speak about. I will not speak any more about pressure.”

Spurs have spent only one season outside the top flight since 1950.

They have nine games left to save themselves from an astonishing relegation, starting with their trip to Liverpool on March 15 before a vital clash with fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.

Spurs striker Dominic Solanke revealed Tudor and his squad held crisis talks immediately after the match.

“We’ve just had a big conversation. We know the position we are in is definitely not where we want to be, so we need to figure out how we are going to get out of it as soon as possible,” Solanke said. “We know there’s been difficulties, but we’re not in a position to make any excuses anymore. We need to do the job on the pitch. It is easy to say we want to be better, but we want to be better on the pitch. We need to fight and realize the position we are in.”

Tudor did his best to stay positive, adding that he is not expecting the sack.

“I don’t think in that direction. I have my job to do. Still nine games to play,” he said. “The message I said to the players is not public. I know it is not easy. It is a moment, but it will pass.”

The Guardian

The unprovoked verbal abuse was not unexpected when it happened. Asian fans were gathering outside of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, many of whom had been introduced to Spurs through Son Heung-min, the beloved South Korean superstar.

When Son was appointed captain in 2023, he became the first Asian player to lead a Premier League team, a boost not only for his already significant profile, but that of Tottenham. For more than a decade, he brought a flow of Asian fans to Spurs matches. And despite his departure in August to Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles, they are still coming.

They will be Spurs supporters for life, said Sun Thaicharoenporn, a 22-year-old Singaporean of Thai heritage who lives in London.

He and his girlfriend, Ang Ang, turned up for the game against Aston Villa this month decked out in club scarves and caps. They flashed big smiles and happily posed when we took their photos outside the stadium.

Then a Villa fan, among a group of men, interrupted.

“Fuck Tottenham,” he yelled, leaning into their faces.

Sun and Ang Ang blanched, but brushed it off.

However, the question lingered, unspoken: Would he have done that to other Tottenham fans? Would he have so confidently targeted a group of white men wearing Spurs colors, not Asian fans, stereotyped as more passive and timid, and maligned at times even by other Spurs fans online for being on the bandwagon, for not being “true” fans.

Who gets to be a fan in English soccer, to fully participate in club culture, to feel they are part of a club? Son made a lot of people feel they could.

When Sun moved to London three years ago for university, he told his girlfriend he wanted them to get into soccer and get behind a club, to participate in English culture and help them “integrate.” Tottenham were the clear choice. He had been following the team casually for years because of Son.

“When I was in middle school he was the main Asian representation in the Premier League,” he said.

Sun’s family were Liverpool or Manchester United fans.

“I’m the black sheep,” he said wryly. “But I felt like I wanted to support a team which represented that kind of multidiversity.”

To him Son’s presence in the Spurs team, his selection as captain, made him feel Tottenham were a more tolerant, open club than others.

“As an Asian person coming to the UK, you know you’re a minority, and Son’s presence, his leadership, sort of signifies that this club at least knows how to handle multidiversity and they want to embrace that. So I feel more safe going to the stadium and being part of the fans, being part of the club.”

Son is a “cultural touchstone” for Koreans around the world, New Yorkers Mike and Paul Chung said.

The brothers made a Spurs game a key part of their itinerary when they flew to London and Mike Chung wore Son’s No. 7 shirt for the occasion.

“He validates the idea that a Korean can be one of the best players for the most popular sport in the world,” he said

The support that Son, and by association Tottenham and the Premier League, received in and from Asia over the past decade was massive, and measurably so. Visitors spent their dollars and stall owners around the stadium still report selling out Son scarves after a big game.

However, resentment among some Spurs fans at ticket prices going up, the difficulty of procuring them and their team being regarded as a tourist attraction affects Asian fans.

Austen Chan, who grew up “religiously” watching Tottenham in Hong Kong, said he has seen a lot of such abuse “not so much in person at the games, but online.”

He has seen accusations that Korean fans who fly in for the games are only there for Son, taking up the spots of “legitimate” fans.

“I don’t think being from a different part of the world makes you any less of a Tottenham fan,” he said. “I may not have been able to go to games while I was in high school because I just was not in the same place, obviously. But I think the fact that I was willing to stay up till those early hours to watch the games shows that I’m just as much of a fan as any other person.”