Hotspur HQ

Look, Igor Tudor definitely is not as good of a manager - not even a quarter as good - but, in a way, he is becoming to Tottenham Hotspur what Ralf Rangnick was for Manchester United. He is an interim manager with no allegiance to the club, no agenda, and the guts to tell Spurs that their excrement is indeed highly offensive.

Tottenham stinks. Anyone who dares disagree with this statement is clearly not living in this dimension or anything resembling reality, because Spurs now have not won a game in their last 10, earning a meager four points in ten matches in the Premier League. They are still just four points above the drop zone, treading water and now coming off two more embarrassing losses to London rivals Arsenal and Fulham.

Tudor clearly is not the answer beyond this season, and you can forgive any Tottenham supporter who even thinks he is not the answer in this season either. Spurs look no better under Tudor than they did under Thomas Frank before him.

Igor Tudor tells the truth about Tottenham

But there is one key, legitimately refreshing difference between the interim manager and the summer bust. Tudor is at least willing to tell everyone that Tottenham are terrible, are in a dark period currently, and need a lot better from their players while hinting that the grave problems at the club extend beyond the pitch.

Whereas Frank was willing to sit there and tell everyone that Tottenham were playing well when they were not or would even somehow argue that Spurs deserved wins in games they were clearly out played. Frank was the one who was delusional and in a different reality, excusing the inexcusable and lowering the standard at a club that already slumped to 17th in the Premier League last season.

Tudor has nowhere near the tactical acumen, scouting eye, or overall talent and charisma of Rangnick, who was doomed to fail by an arrogant Manchester United that needed a literal change in ownership and Michael Carrick to be saved. But like Rangnick, he has no interest in sucking up to a room full of incompetents, and he would rather tell the truth every fan can see plainly in front of them: Tottenham are a mismanaged mess and produce some of the worst football in Europe's top five leagues.

Tottenham Hotspur's wait for a first Premier League victory of 2026 goes on. At the weekend, in Igor Tudor's second match in charge, Spurs were beaten again, this time defeated 2-1 by Fulham at Craven Cottage. The Lilywhites have therefore picked up just four points from ten league outings this year, equalling the club's longest-ever Premier League winless run, also ten matches under Ossie Ardiles in March 1994.

Back then, Spurs finished 15th, and they would snap your hand off for a repeat of that this year. 32 years ago, that winless sequence came to an end thanks to a 1-0 victory over Everton; Steve Sedgley the only scorer at Goodison. Well, if Tudor's new team are beaten again this mid-week, the club's 48 year stay in the top division really could be about to come to an end.

Tottenham's crucial sequence of fixtures

Next up, Spurs will welcome Crystal Palace to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday. Having played 28 Premier League matches and picked up only 29 points to date, every match is must win, still sat just four points clear of the relegation zone.

However, if Tudor's new team repeat what Ange Postecoglou's men achieved in the corresponding fixtures last season, they really could be doomed.

Tottenham's remaining PL fixtures & result from last season

Excluding the two games against newly-promoted clubs, Tottenham lost the corresponding fixture last season from each of their next seven Premier League outings. Across these matches, Postecoglou's side scored just five goals and conceded 20.

The only fixture Spurs did win last season was Everton at home, but that doesn't come around until the final day, so who knows what mess they'll be in by then. One could say, Spurs were even worse last year and were purely focussing on the Europa League. On the contrary, at this stage of the previous campaign, 28 matches in, Postecoglou's team had 34 points on the board, which is five more than they have now. So, despite finishing 17th, and currently being one place higher, Tottenham have somehow managed to regress.

Just looking at the three matches between now and the March international break, the visit to Anfield feels like a complete write off. Meanwhile, the home games against fellow strugglers Palace and Forest appear winnable, and a victory in both would more or less secure safety. However, were Spurs to fail to win both, they would be still very much be in trouble as we hit the run in.

Tudor has made no immediate impact since his appointment, and Thursday's clash is one of the biggest matches the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has ever hosted, but not in a way any supporter could ever have envisaged. Tudor's team simply must start fast against Palace to have the fans on their side and prevent the atmosphere from turning toxic.

Even if you appreciate a player and know how talented they are, everyone needs to be held to account at critical junctures in the season when everything is falling apart. On that note, Xavi Simons needs to be stepping it up for Tottenham Hotspur, because he has been just as much a part of the problem as anyone else.

When Simons was snubbed by Thomas Frank in the games against Arsenal and Fulham earlier this season that Spurs struggled in, the former Brentford coach was roundly criticized for taking his biggest talent out of the equation. And then when Simons came back into the lineup, he dazzled, playing better than he did before.

Well, after a positive spell of form, Simons is back to being Mr. Anonymous. Eberechi Eze ran circles around him as Arsenal won the North London Derby even with Simons involved, trouncing Spurs by the same 4-1 score line.

Xavi Simons was a passenger for Tottenham vs. Fulham

Then on Sunday against Fulham, Simons lasted a meager 57 minutes, as Tottenham had no choice but to sub him after he created just one chance and offered no real ball progression, defensive quality, or composure on the wings or in the midfield. Simons actually started on the left wing again, as Igor Tudor frustratingly made the same foolish tactical blunder that Frank consistently did by isolating Simons out wide.

Yet even with the caveat that Simons was being played out of position against Fulham, with the season on the line and relegation a real threat, you still expect much more from a 60 million pound signing who was one of the best players in two leagues as a youngster, the Bundesliga and the Dutch Eredivisie.

Against Fulham, there was no creativity, urgency, or quality in Simons's game. He was a passenger with the season on the line, and that just cannot happen when you are a team's star player and main influence in the game. With Mohammed Kudus injured, Simons is even more important, and it is all the more vital that he step up.

Going forward, Tudor has to make it clear that more is expected of him. While Tudor has to do better at putting the Dutchman in a position to succeed, when you look at the fact that Simons did not complete one dribble or draw one foul against an otherwise average Fulham side, a lot of the blame has to go directly to the winger, too. He had opportunities to do something; he just did not want to be the one to force the issue, which is a real problem.

Tottenham Hotspur center midfielder Archie Gray should be one of the biggest talents in England right now, but he's being actively held back by subpar coaches who keep on playing him in weird positions that aren't midfield.

Count Igor Tudor in as the latest in the line of Ange Postecoglou and even Thomas Frank to mistake the fact that just because a young player can play anywhere in a pinch, it doesn't mean you should force them to, especially when you have other options.

Case in point. Tudor saw that Djed Spence had picked up another minor injury - to this calf, this time - just before the big game against Fulham. Instead of calling upon the young and talented Souza to start at left back, Tudor decide to shoe horn Archie Gray on the left side of the defense.

Archie Gray is clearly no left back

The result was unsurprisingly disastrous for Spurs, who were losing 2-0 at the time Gray was finally hooked off for Souza, who came right in and showed why he should have been starting at left back the whole time anyway.

Gray did nothing all game at left back, as he was overrun defensively and contributed nothing going forward in that position. It was only until later in the game that he got an assist playing in a right wing position (another issue), but the damage had already been done in the 2-1 defeat to the local rivals.

Nobody blames Gray for playing poorly at left back, as Tottenham fans are a sensible bunch. No, the ire is entirely directed at Tudor for such a silly, basic error that no Premier League manager should be making. In no universe is Gray a left back, and when every game means so much in the relegation fight, an easily winnable match against a mid table team like Fulham is not one where you should be experimenting with playing a young, promising prospect out of position.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters had at least a hundred reasons to despise Thomas Frank as their manager, but one of the biggest was his treatment of Mathys Tel, And if Igor Tudor continues to bench Tel, he can kiss his behind goodbye potentially faster than he thinks.

In watching Tottenham suffer 4-1 and 2-1 losses to Arsenal and Fulham that may as well have both been 10-0 defeats, Spurs supporters have to be wondering if there really is any difference between a team coached by Frank and one managed by Tudor. While Tudor is refreshingly honest about the problems at the club and is not a company back scratcher like Frank, his track record nor his recent results at Spurs seem to indicate that he is any better of a coach.

For some odd reason, Tudor started a front three of Xavi Simons on the left and Randal Kolo Muani on the right, playing them both out of position while Mathys Tel rotted on the bench again. And lo and behold, when he hooked those guys off for Richarlison and Tel, they changed the game and literally created the one goal and shot at redemption Spurs had to make it 2-1.

Mathys Tel needs to play

Tel was, by far, Tottenham's best player on the pitch after he came in and the only competent attacker in the match. How often have we seen that this season? Tel repeatedly gets told to sit on the bench for no reason, then comes in and saves everyone's behinds or sparks in a close defeat, only to then be relegated to the bench behind players with half of his talent, effort, and form.

There is no question that Tel means more to this club in the short and long term than hired mercenary Kolo Muani, and he is in better form and a much better fit on the left wing than Xavi. Tel puts so much effort into every minute he plays, and, honestly, the only real critique you can have of the former Bayern Munich star is that he tries too hard at times.

Most teams would kill to have a young talent who loves the club as much as Tel does, and it says a lot that he nearly left the club in the winter due to a lack of playing time before the World Cup but is still working this hard for the team. If Tudor can't find a way to play this guy, then he really is just as bad as Frank and can get the sack, too.

Tottenham Hotspur lost their fourth straight game on Sunday against Fulham, and Conor Gallagher was the most disastrous performer on a team filled with woeful individual efforts in a game that was only close, 2-1, in score line.

Since joining Tottenham from an Atletico Madrid team that was beyond desperate to get rid of him, Gallagher has maybe had one good performance in a Tottenham shirt. The rest, particularly in the Premier League, have been woeful, including this lackadaisical effort against the Cottagers.

Gallagher committed five unforced turnovers without registering a single key pass, tackle, or dribble completed with a pass completion percentage of 72 on just 25 attempts. Igor Tudor mercifully hooked the veteran Premier League midfielder off to bring on Pape Matar Sarr, who, quite frankly, has been 10 times the player this season.

Conor Gallagher is an overpay on two counts

When Gallagher was signed by Spurs for a clear overpay of 40 million euros, he was touted as a leader and a high effort player who would raise Spurs floor and help them avoid relegation. Well, Gallagher's effort has been less than that of his teammates like Archie Gray and Sarr, who have less experience in the top flight than him, and it is not unfair to state that Gallagher is one of the players actively putting Spurs at harm of relegation.

To make matters worse, Gallagher is apparently a player Tottenham broke their wage structure to sign on 200,000 pounds per week, which is an astronomically atrocious figure for a player for whom the word mediocrity would actually be a flattering compliment at this stage.

Tottenham have too many players who are not good enough for a supposed Big Six club, and based on how poorly Gallagher has played to this early point in a Spurs jersey, it is legitimately fair to wonder if he is good enough to even start in the Premier League. Honestly, Gallagher can't really get any worse than this, but it shows you exactly why both Chelsea and Atleti did not even think he was good enough for their squad.

Dominic Solanke was back on the pitch against Fulham in the Premier League after missing some more action with a throat issue, and after another poor performance by both him and the team, Solanke needs to bounce back against Crystal Palace in another London derby this Thursday. And he is in store for a real boost, as Palace star center back Maxence Lacroix is unavailable.

Facing Crystal Palace is already easier for Tottenham now than it was before when they slogged their way to a 1-0 win a the end of December. Marc Guehi, Palace's best player, was sold to title contenders Manchester City, leaving Lacroix as the main star and CB1 for the Eagles.

Now, though, Lacroix is out of commision, too. After scoring the opener against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, Lacroix got himself red carded in yet another show of indiscipline, thus leading Palace to blow the game 2-1 to Michael Carrick's resurgent Red Devils - and, worse yet, dooming him for the next Premier League encounter with local rivals Spurs.

Maxence Lacroix is out for Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace

From a Tottenham perspective, Lacroix being bounced out of the match is a huge deal. Spurs feel like they are worse off now than they were in late December when they scrapped an almost undeserving victory off a spiraling Palace, and that win remains their only in the last 10 since they have earned just 4 points of their last 30 available in the Premier League.

These latest losses to Arsenal and Fulham have pushed Spurs further down into the threat of relegation, so Thursday's battle with Palace is a must win. And with Lacroix out suspended, it is an even better opportunity for Tottenham to get the three points they need.

Solanke has been crucial to Tottenham since returning from a lengthy, tricky foot injury, memorably dominating Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Although Richarlisons moxie and fight will be important in the relegation battle, he is, in an ideal world, a backup option as a spark with Solanke the unquestioned starting No. 9 due to his all around skill set.

Not having to face Palace's top center back is the boost Solanke needed to get back on form after slowing his momentum with a throat issue. Solanke still ned to prove to Spurs that he is even remotely worth the 65 million pound price tag spent on him from Bournemouth in 2024, and now Palace is an opportune venue for him to prove himself.

With the teams around us dropping points, this game was an opportunity to finally move away from the relegation zone. A poor display again means that opportunity was not taken, and Igor Tudor is still searching for his first point.

GK Guglielmo Vicario

As we have often seen, particularly this season, Vicario struggled to command his area on corners and crosses. Did not face many shots on target apart from the two goals. Did make a good save in a one-on-one situation. Rating: 5

RB Pedro Porro

A limited performance but still a welcome return to the side. Provided plenty of energy and better balance on the right-hand side. Still too many of his crosses or attacking passes lead only to opposition clearances. Found it more difficult defensively as the game became stretched in the second half. Rating: 5

LB Archie Gray

A surprising choice at left back as Gray does not look comfortable there. Too often got lost with diagonal balls and players getting in behind him. Was fortunate not to lose possession more often in dangerous areas. Had a better second half and provided a good cross for Richarlison’s goal. Rating: 5

CB Micky van de Ven

A game to forget for Micky as he struggled with long balls, too often letting them bounce before attempting to clear. Also seemed caught out of position more often than usual. Lost possession frequently when dribbling out from the back, although this was likely not helped by the extreme lack of options and movement ahead of him. Rating: 4

CB Radu Drăgușin

Does have a fair complaint for the first goal, particularly given the incident with Muani and Gabriel last week, however Drăgușin rarely looked comfortable today. Was beaten in the air far too easily and, like van de Ven, was dragged out of position frequently. Rating: 4

CM Conor Gallagher

Too easy to play through and too slow in possession to attack. Unable to close down Alex Iwobi, particularly. Gallagher did get in for a chance in the second half but looked unsure whether to pass or shoot and did neither effectively. Midfield was a real weakness in general as Fulham dominated, but Gallagher looked particularly off the pace. Â Rating: 3

CM João Palhinha

Has played much better than this so far this season but at least was his usual self in terms of his commitment and willingness to tackle. Had a better second half against his former club but not enough to get us on top at any point. Rating: 5

CM Yves Bissouma

Similar to Palhinha, Bissouma was better in the second half but was too easy to play through. Also struggled to close players down when needed. Rating: 4

AM Xavi Simons

No impact from Xavi in this game. Had improved in recent weeks but did not get into the game at all before being substituted. Rating: 2

CF Dominic Solanke

Was more effective in the first half where he held the ball up and battled well, sometimes in a deeper role than we usually see. Very little service wherever he moved to on the pitch, and less involved in the second half. Should have got closer to Iwobi for the second goal. Rating: 4

CF Randal Kolo Muani

Made some good runs, particularly into the channels and got through in the first half only to have a shot blocked. Mostly, however, he seemed to be half a yard away from getting onto the ball, whatever he tried, despite plenty of effort. Rating: 4

Substitutes: Richarlison, Mathys Tel, Â Pape Matar Sarr, Souza, Kevin Danso

Dominic Solanke needs to be 100 percent for Tottenham Hotspur in order for them to stay afloat in the Premier League, but the secondary striker option has become just as imporant for a desperate Spurs. And with the choice being between Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison, the latter is obviously the right man to play when Solanke cannot - or to come in to change the game.

Richy has done it before, of course. He saved Everton from relegation years ago, which is what led Spurs to spend 60 million euros to sign him from the Toffees. That Everton team was even more pathetic than this current Tottenham side, and Richarlison carried them with aplomb, making himself an eternal legend at the Merseyside in the 2021/22 season.

But for Tottenham now, there is more than just past results that indicate Richy is someone they need to trust in the late stages of the 2025/26 Premier League season and what is shaping up to be a desperate relegation scrap following unsightly 4-1 and 2-1 losses to rivals Arsenal and Fulham, respectively.

Richarlison brings effort and intensity

That 2-1 loss to Fulham was only made respectable by Richarlison coming into the game late and scoring a consolation goal to give Spurs a glimmer of hope of getting an undeserved point off the Cottagers.

But far from just the goal, it is the heart Richarlison shows when things are on the line. You can say a lot of things about Richy: he cannot create chances, he is mind blowingly inconsistent, and he is one dimensional at times. However, you can never question his heart, effort, or intensity, and he will always run his socks off for the club and for the badge, especially when his team needs him most. He did it for Everton for years, and even though he has not met expectations at the N17, he is clearly still fighting hard for Tottenham.

Trips to Craven Cottage were pretty bleak under Ange Postecoglou, and there was nothing particularly pleasurable about Fulham's visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier in the season.

Marco Silva's side have had our number in recent times, and they enter Sunday's clash in west London off the back of a 3-1 victory at Sunderland last week, bringing to an end a three-game losing run.

Expectations remain low for this suffering Spurs team, who could start the day just a point above the drop zone if West Ham United do something special at Anfield.

Kinder fixtures lie ahead for the Lilywhites, but Tudor will want to rid his side of the threat of relegation as soon as possible. Victory on Sunday afternoon would go a long way to alleviating such fears.

Here's the team our interim manager could pick when we face off against the Cottagers.

Predicted Tottenham lineup vs. Fulham (3-4-1-2)

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Guglielmo Vicario (GK)—Antonín Kinsky wasn't fit to make the bench last weekend, so Vicario, who continues to flounder, remains the sole choice between the posts.

Kevin Danso (CB)—A fan favourite returns. Big Kev is one of the very few in this Tottenham squad who's garnered widespread appreciation, and his presence should bolster Tudor's backline. I'd take a 1-0 win courtesy of a Danso long throw all day long.

Radu Drăgușin (CB)—I wouldn't, but I think Tudor sticks with the ex-Juventus defender at the heart of his back three. Don't worry, Romero will be available this time next week.

Micky van de Ven (CB)—It's time for Van de Ven to grab a game by the scruff its neck and lift this Tottenham team. The Dutchman was meek in the derby.

Wing-Backs & Midfielders

Pedro Porro (RWB)—Porro's hamstring eventually gave out towards the end of Thomas Frank's reign, and perhaps his month off was the respite he needed. The Spaniard's delivery from the right should come in handy, given Tudor's available attacking options.

João Palhinha (CM)—The manager places a heavy emphasis upon man-oriented pressing, and Tottenham have one of the world's best midfielders out of possession. Palhinha may not be an athletic phenom, but he could help Tudor's side win the ball back high up the pitch.

Yves Bissouma (CM)—Biss was good for an hour in last Sunday's derby and is at least playing like he has something to prove. That's invaluable in our current position.

Djed Spence (LWB)—It's not ideal, but I don't think João Souza will get the nod just yet. Spence struggled last time out and has another tough assignment in Harry Wilson on Sunday. However, I'm backing the England international to bounce back.

Forwards

Xavi Simons (AM)—I hope the boss doesn't sacrifice Xavi's creativity for the sake of another runner, even if the Dutchman performed poorly on Tudor's managerial bow. He's been our most consistent performer for weeks, and is capable of galvanising this team, as he did in the second-half against Manchester City.

Randal Kolo Muani (ST)—Kolo Muani was one of the few bright sparks against Arsenal, and should've walked away with a brace. It's evident that there's plenty to work with, and Tudor's seemingly capable of getting a tune out of him.