Cartilage Free Captain

As well as from a shell-shocked home crowd, many of whom left at half-time, there was also pressure on the club’s directors from members of the exclusive Tunnel Club. Some of those fans in the private members’ section, with season tickets costing about £20,000 per seat, directed their displeasure up one tier at the likes of chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

Those who saw it unfold said that the criticism was not sweary and was all the more stinging for that reason. Tunnel Club members, usually a fairly reserved part of the match-going fanbase, who pay a premium for access to the club’s best hospitality, asked specific questions about the direction of Spurs under the Lewis family ownership.

— The Telegraph

On Friday morning, club sources told BBC Sport that Tottenham have no immediate plans to change manager for a second time this campaign.

The club also confirmed that Tudor is scheduled to undertake the pre-match news conference before Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first-leg tie at Atletico Madrid, providing further indication that Spurs are sticking with him for now.

But even if Tudor can steer Tottenham to Premier League safety, it is now looking highly unlikely that he will be a contender to take the role on a full-time basis.

— BBC Sport

Who’s got two thumbs, used to play for Tottenham Hotspur, and now plays for the San Jose Earthquakes?

This guy!

Yes you’re looking at that tweet correctly. Remember Timo Werner? Well he paid the San Jose Sharks a visit this weekend in a strange collision of Fitzie’s fandom.

Werner made his debut for the Earthquakes this weekend, where he quickly made an impact in their 2-0 opening-day victory against Atlanta.

Here’s a quick highlight of it:

Needless to say his time at Spurs wasn’t the most successful, so it’s nice to see him off to a solid start for his new club.

Also that’s a pretty sick kit inspired by the Grateful Dead.

Now you’re telling me this is a former Tottenham Hotspur player in a Grateful Dead inspired kit, who then paid a visit to the Sharks? This is an absolute drream for fitzie.

Their kit features the classic Stealy on the lower left side of the shirt, with the words “Grateful Dead” on the back of the collar. And just look at that beautiful tie dye work.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Girl Is Crying In Het Latte, by Sparks

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “Nobody is going to save Spurs but these players. They have to start performing”

ESPN: “Brighton boss Hürzeler slams Arsenal tactics, wants ‘clear rules’”

The Independent: “Championship play-offs to undergo major change from next season”

Three goals in eight minutes, that’s all it took for Tottenham Hotspur’s bleak season to go from bad to worse, with the side losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace on Thursday.

Entering the midweek match with stakes as high as ever — with relegation survival battlers of Nottingham Forest picking up a 2-2 draw over Manchester City and West Ham beating Fulham 1-0, both on Wednesday — Spurs knew the consequences that faced them.

Not having won a Premier League match since the 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace before the turn of the calendar, Spurs made four new changes, with 18-year-old Souza getting his first start and the likes of Kevin Danso, Pape Sarr, and Mathys Tel earning call-ups to the XI from Igor Tudor.

Leaving themselves with no room for error, Spurs almost found themselves down 1-0 in the first minute when a Palace throw-in and bounce around in the box saw Adam Wharton connect on a volley to force Guglielmo Vicario to react fast and parry the ball out of danger.

In danger within minutes of the match, Spurs had a real error in defense when Souza picked up a quick yellow on a rash challenge on Daniel Munoz that caused the right wing-back to hold his shoulder in pain. Trying to play it off and connecting on a half volley attempt when he came back on the field, Munoz had to be subbed off in the 14th minute.

From then on, the match went wild as Palace believed they drew first blood in the match off a fast counter-attack down the right as Strand Larsen freed Guessand. Believing to be offside when he received the ball past Micky van de Ven, Guessand found the blistering Ismaïla Sarr with Pedro Porro to beat. Getting his shot off as Porro slid in for a challenge, the ball bounced off the Spaniards thigh and lobbed into the back post with Vicario seemingly frozen from his attempt to challenge the shot.

Bleak and silent as Spurs were down 1-0, VAR ruled Sarr was offside by the top of his head — felt more than that — but Spurs were given a second chance at doing something useful with the opportunity.

From being possibly down 1-0 to up 1-0 in a span of four minutes, Spurs put hope into the fans with a brilliant display from the young players. Earlier in the match, Tel had the first shot on target that caused a quick spillage from Dean Henderson, and after his second shot earned a corner kick, Tel and Souza worked a quick corner routine for the Frenchman to deliver a ball into the box. Going long in the box for Archie Gray at the back post, the player who will play anywhere for the club, the 19-year-old controlled the ball on his turn before taking a touch past Wharton near the goal line and firing in a cross for a first-time strike by Dominic Solanke in the six-yard box for a 1-0 lead.

Riding the roller coaster of Tottenham Hotspur brings out all the emotions in one person, but with the stakes are at its highest to just stay in the first division, something the club has done every year since the 1977 relegation, and within a span of eight minutes, the players threw it away.

Believing he had the opening goal of the match a mere four minutes before Spurs, Sarr found space behind the back-three of Spurs and, winning a touch past VDV and hooked on the arm by the Dutchman, the winger went down quickly and won a penalty. Without hesitation, referee Andy Madley pulled out a red card for the Spurs captain.

As van de Ven showed his frustration while walking off the pitch — just as Cristian Romero was due back for the Liverpool match after serving his four league match suspension — Sarr sent Vicario the wrong way and tied the match at 1.

Two minutes later, Palace took the lead as Tel gave the ball away just in front of the team’s box and Wharton slotted in a quick first-time strike for Jorgen Strand Larsen to bury, the stat popped up on the screen of it being the 12th error lead goal by Spurs this season … a league high.

Sarr picked up a brace a minute before halftime as he outpaced the newly subbed on Connor Gallagher and dinked it past the charging Vicario for a 3-1 Palace lead at the break.

As the third goal of the night was let in, Porro could be seen crashing out on Vicario as the keeper has made rash judgement throughout his time in net for Spurs, and Porro seemed to have had enough of it.

Fans rang down boos from the stands of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and many even decided to call it a night as the shots from outside the stadium saw many leaving what continues to be a deflating time for the club.

The second half amounted to nothing more than just frustration as a shot on target from Solanke was saved strongly by Henderson, Porro got clattered multiple times before coming off in the 77th minute and letting his frustration out on the dugout.

It’s a dark time for all who support the club, but praise goes to Archie Gray for being a true professional and plugging in anywhere on the pitch as he made an impact with his assist to Solanke. But, the performance will be overlooked and should for that matter as another defeat leaves the club one point above the relegation zone.

Champions League football is up next with the side heading to Madrid for the first leg contest against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

This could be one of Tottenham Hotspur’s most important matches since the beginning of the Premier League era. Now only a solitary point (or two, if you want to take goal difference into it) outside of the relegation zone, Spurs welcome Crystal Palace to the… fortress? of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Spurs this season, with caretaker manager Igor Tudor perhaps not having the expected impact as the team slumped to a fourth loss on the trot against Villa, and a seventh loss in 2026. Spurs are still yet to win a Premier League match this calendar year; the only side to fail to do so.

But hey! It’s not all doom and gloom! There are (I think) no additional injuries following the loss to the Cottagers; unfortunately, that doesn’t mean much given the extensive list of absentees from the Lilywhites’ squad, including captain Cristian Romero among a number of others.

Tudor’s tactics haven’t exactly been working thus far. Will he look to change things up today? Spring some surprise selections? And more importantly, will this Spurs side surprise us and secure a win? It is desperately needed, because make no mistake: relegation is firmly on the table.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Time: 3:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. UK

TV: USA Network, TNT Sports 1 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Unavailable

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

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Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is also not allowed. It’s fine to say “wow, that was a really bad call,” but it’s NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.

Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

NO SPIDERS!

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Have fun, and COYS!

Today has the possibility of turning out really good or really poorly, so why not start the day out with some good news? Tottenham Hotspur Women head coach Martin Ho has won the Women’s Super League Manager of the Month award for February.

This is fully deserved. Ho has led Spurs Women to two wins out of their three in February, sandwiching big wins over West Ham (2-1) and Aston Villa (7-3) around a 2-0 loss to Chelsea. In his first season at Spurs Women, Ho has completely revitalized the side along with bringing in some significant talent to bolster the squad. Spurs are currently in fifth place, level with Arsenal ahead of them on points with 29, and have a stranglehold on the fifth spot. Spurs are currently 10 points above their next closest rival, London City.

Spurs Women are also back into the quarterfinal of the FA Women’s Cup, a competition they reached the finals of two years ago. Unfortunately, they were drawn against Chelsea.

Tottenham Women are currently in the middle of an international break. Spurs’s next league match is on March 15 when they host Everton.

Losing the North London Derby in Igor Tudor’s first match was expected, and even expecting a result against Fulham was far from guaranteed. However, if Tottenham Hotspur makes it three losses in three following the managerial change — especially against a club like Crystal Palace that sits barely ahead in the table — then it is fair to question if there is any reason for hope left.

I still think Tudor and Spurs can figure this out, but the sand is ticking away quicker and quicker. Even a draw would not feel great, with Liverpool up next in the league, sandwiched between the Round of 16 ties against Atletico Madrid. It is both depressing but maybe encouraging that the last victory in the Premier League was against this very Palace.

Match Details

Date: Thursday, March 5

Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: USA Network (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

Table: Spurs (16th, 29 pts), Palace (14th, 35 pts)

That Tottenham win came back in December, a whole 11 matches ago. Those 11 matches have yielded a grand total of four points…but no need to linger on that. The 1-0 win at Selhurst Park came from Archie Gray just before halftime after a corner was headed around the box. That was one of just two goals he has scored with Spurs; perhaps he will find the back of the net again soon, as his playing time is unlikely to go away (out of necessity).

Two Things to Watch

Literally any sign of promise

The players are better than this, but at some point their performance is what it is. There is no new manager bounce happening in North London, and the hope for directness and reinvigoration from Tudor’s introduction seems laughable after just 180 minutes. Complaining about availability is fruitless and lacks meaning as there was no secret as to the ongoing personnel issues in the squad.

There are still 10 matches to go, but if Tudor goes 0-for-3 and squanders one of his best opportunities against Palace, what additional reason would there be to believe he can handle this task? Cristian Romero has been involved in plenty of losing efforts this season. Half-fit attackers are not magically going to start bagging dozens of goals. This is just bad bad bad.

Thursday must therefore yield something. Maybe it comes via some lucky bounces or careless mistakes by the visitors. It does not matter how, but Spurs simply must find a way to win. There must be urgency, there must be intensity, and there must be an infusion from the interim leader. Tudor is responsible for the turnaround, and now is the time to rally the troops.

The antidote

Opponent form typically has little impact on Tottenham’s ability to do anything, but this is not a side that will bring any sort of intimidation. Palace’s form has been nearly as bad as Spurs’, having won just twice since mid-December and losing eight of the last 13. There was a win over Wolves two weekends ago, but even that required a 90th-minute winner against a 10-man side.

Palace is 17th in goals scored and but seventh in goals allowed, meaning this could be a fairly low-event type of affair. But while both recent wins were of the 1-0 variety, a 2-1 loss to United and 3-2 defeat to Burnley indicate there can be some activity if the opponent is up for it. Obviously Tottenham has struggled to generate much of anything, tallying just three goals over the past four matches, so maybe a narrow victory in the play.

With two defeats suffered and a tough upcoming stretch, one has to think that Tudor recognizes this as the chance to finally get back in the win column and relieve a bit of the pressure. The final result is what matters most, but if Spurs can earn the three points in a way that gives the squad something to build around, the next couple months could end up a whole lot smoother. Dropping this one is going to create a meltdown, however.

Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the EFL Championship Roundup, where hoddle headquarters takes a look at all things in the second tier of English football. I know I’m a couple days late to this one but now is as important time as any to look at the Championship - for all we know Spurs could very well play in it next year.

Just a few weeks ago it seemed there was a lot of congestion in the race for the playoffs. Not anymore.

The top six have firmly cemented themselves in the latter stages of the competition. Even with 13 games remaining, it’s hard to see which clubs could challenge them for a chance at promotion.

The one club that seems at risk of falling behind is Hull City, who’ve lost three of five. And even though Millwall have a minor history of flubbing it late in the season, this time seems different with Alex Beil at the helm. Automatic promotion isn’t even out of the picture for them.

So where do the chasers stand? Let’s take a quick look:

Southampton: Four points back and in the best form among the pack so far. It’s not as if they’ve been up against great competition though - Wednesday, QPR, Charlton, Leicester, Watford, Stoke, Portsmouth and Sheffield United). So that doesn’t tell us a whole lot about Saints, but we’re about to. An incoming stretch of Ipswich, Soton and Derby will probably determine if Southampton will be in the playoffs.

Derby County: Good on Derby for righting the ship after getting relegated to League One last season, but if they want to play Spurs in 2026 it’s more likely going to be in the Championship than the PL. They’ve got an impressive win against Boro this season but not much else.

Watford: They haven’t been super consistent, and they only have one player who’s scored 10 goals or more this season. I think you need a lot more than that to be competitive. Aside from their last two matches, they’ve got a pretty soft run-in so I imagine they’ll be hanging around the playoff position for a few more weeks.

Bristol City: Seven points back and some pretty mixed form after a promising start to the seaosn. It’s not going to be happening for Bristol City, but I wanted to keep this list at a nice four.

EFL Championship top six:

Coventry (71 Pts, +34 GD, 35 MP)

Boro (66 Pts, +19 GD, 35 MP)

Ipswich (63 Pts, +26 GD, 34 MP)

Millwall (62 Pts, +7 GD, 35 MP)

Hull City (60 Pts, +7 GD, 35 MP)

Wrexham (57 Pts, +9 GD, 35 MP)

Bottom three:

Leicester City (34 Pts, -9 GD, 35 M))

Oxford United (32 Pts, -16 GD, 35 MP)

Wednesday (-7 Pts, -50 GD, 35 MP)

Fitzie’s track of the day: Plas, by Cluster

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “Tottenham face multiple challenges in their new sporting director search. What is their strategy?”

Alasdair Gold: “‘Next question! We’re not in a bar’ - Igor Tudor hits out when asked about Tottenham problem”

BBC: “Summerville proves he could be West Ham’s saviour”

“No Djed is out, he’s not ready for the game tomorrow. No [news about Spence or Kulusevski]. Kevin (Danso) is back, last game already. Yeah, so he’s back. No other news. There is no other news.

“We hope [Djed] will be [available] for the Champions League [vs. Atletico Madrid].”

“We need to choose the right players of course. There are a lot of things to improve, you work day by day, you see that the players want to come, that’s the thing that makes me positive, makes me believe that we will do it.

“That’s the key in the end, waiting for other players to come back to give something to the team. Like Pedro [Porro], last game he came out and immediately you see that he gives something to the team-mates, so Kevin [Danso] is coming back, we’re expecting Cuti [Romero], [Destiny] Udogie who will come back, Djed [Spence] will come back, so it’s important to have all pieces together.

“All the teams in the Premier League struggle without seven, eight, 10 players, so it’s not that the other teams, when they have players to complete, it’s one team where they don’t have so it is how it is. So we’re waiting for the players to come back to give the energy, to give the quality, until now, until then we work to do things better.”

“To not accept defeat as something normal, first reason and last reason, that’s why the reason when you play with, it’s about mentality, when you play with your friend you can have mentality. Okay we go to play tennis and then we lose, okay it’s the same for me or you can be different, you know.

“So for sure in this moment we need to recognize this but also to have belief that we have quality to do it. So my point is to give both things to the team, you know, and that’s how it works, this job, this sport. So I’m trying to touch them in all kind of things I can touch, you know, and as I said I saw the good will from the side to change things, we need something, we need small details, we need something to change of course, but I saw small progress, so tomorrow we need to keep going in the direction that I believe we will take and make one good performance as a team.”

Good morning everyone.

For those of you who haven’t checked the hoddle these last few weeks, then you might’ve missed that I’ve begun documenting my training for my next marathon, which is on 4 April. The goal is to smash by personal best and see just how close to a 3-hour marathon I can get (pretty close, I think).

The whole point of this is to almost document my anxiety from all this training. It’s a big commitment to run a marathon. It’s sure as heck very difficult during the cold and dark winter months, and aiming for a new personal best is no small matter either.

Still, I carry on - literally one foot after another. One day at a time. One week at a time. Let’s see where things are.

(Catch up on Weeks 9, 10 and 11 here)

Week 12:

I am exactly one month out from Marathon Day. As I fill in each square on my training calendar - put together meticulously on a Microsoft Excel sheet - I can see the progress I’ve made since my training began back in December.

I’ve only got a few “serious runs” left. These I consider to be the longer Sunday runs, although I’m also picking up the mileage in my midweek medium runs. This Sunday knocked off the first of three long runs remaining.

This is also a period in training where I have to be very careful about fatigue. I’m running a lot more miles now, and that means it takes longer to recover between sessions. That means more rest, which I’m unfortunately not getting right now (as evidenced by this hoddle, which I began at 10pm). This is going to be a difficult month, I know it.

I just have to hold on a little bit longer.

Sunday: 16 miles

I actually felt really great in what was supposed to be a relatively light pace compared to the hard effort I put in last weekend. I was pleasantly surprised to see that an easy effort results in a 7:15/mi average pace. That same effort might’ve been 7:35-7:45/mi just a month or two ago.

I think that encapsulates the progress I’ve made. This was the eighth time I’ve run 16 miles or more in my training, and it shows. I nearly forgot to take my gel at the 90-minute mark because I was feeling so good. The welcoming weather certainly helped.

Monday: Rest

This wasn’t as restful a day as I had hoped for. And I’m trying to figure out just how helpful not having any alcohol these last couple weeks has been. The biggest change is my resting heart rate, which is back to 50 or lower most days.

Tuesday: 8 mile recovery

My legs were a little more sore today than I had hoped they’d be, and I took a lot of care to make sure this was as easy a run as I could make it. There were lots of times when I’d have to almost literally pull myself back to not run too fast. I finished the run averaging 8:07/mi, or 65 total minutes, in the rain.

The weather’s been awful this year. I’m glad I’ve toughed out the worst parts of it because today’s light rain didn’t bother me too much. Who knows what it’ll be like on race day.

Wednesday: Bonus 4-6 mile recovery

The timing on this one is going to be weird. I’ve got a morning run scheduled for Thursday, so this means it’s probably not a good idea to push myself to do a speed workout the night before that. So I might do the mileage of the speed workout, but without the speed. Maybe I’ll throw in a couple miles at marathon pace.

Thursday: 12 miles

Now I’m really picking up the mileage in my midweek medium-distance runs. This is the first of three 12-milers I have sorted for the next few Thursdays. The idea is the same as any sort of running really - just to get used to the time spent on my feet and get those muscles and heart working. I’m at a point where, frankly, anything that is 16 miles or less is not intimidating to me.

That doesn’t excuse me to not stretch, though. I’m good at stretching, and I encourage anyone who runs to spend a lot of time stretching after their workouts.

Friday: Bonus rest day, part one

I’ll be travelling, so there’s no time for the gym today. Maybe I can sneak out to do some push-ups and light stretching, but if there’s a chance to sleep in for an additional hour or two I might choose that instead.

Saturday: Bonus rest day, part two

I hate the idea of skipping runs. Sometimes I don’t have a choice. An early-morning flight from Denver to Washington DC takes that choice away from me. No point in getting upset about it. I’m trying to reframe it as a “bonus” rest day where I can read my book on the plane. When I get home I’ll do some more stretching, cook some supper and get ready for my second-to-last long run of the training season.

Expected total weekly miles: 40-42

Fitzie’s track of the day: Basketball Jones, by Cheech & Chong

And now for your links:

Independent: “Wolves sabotage mission continues but Liverpool’s woes go beyond one cruel moment”

AP via ESPN: “Lifetime ban sought for coach who secretly filmed female players”

The Guardian: “Alessia Russo double for England sparks Women’s World Cup qualifying win against Ukraine”

More Tottenham Hotspur football? Is that a threat?

Winter is nearly over, but the darkness appears to be drawing Spurs nearer with relegation on the horizon.

We’re finally into March and the final stretch of the Premier League season. Tottenham are winless in their last 10 Premier League matches, and still have 10 more to go.

Three of those games are this month, with the first being a home game against Crystal Palace on Thursday. If there’s one club that’s an even bigger disaster than Tottenham right now, it’s Palace.

Still - Palace are somehow above Spurs in the table (even with a manager who is practically begging for the Palace hierarchy to sack him). You never know with Spurs though, who once lost to a squad whose manager was in prison.

So I enter Thursday’s game not feeling confident whatsoever in this team, yet still hoping they can somehow avoid relegation. And it’s a shocking thing to say, but their home game against Nottingham Forest later this month could be the most important match of the season.

Maybe their most consequential in years, with the six-pointer potentially deciding if Spurs will be destined for financial calamity.

Oh, there’s also the Champions League.

Men’s schedule: Crystal Palace (5 March); at Atletico Madrid (10 March, Champions League); at Liverpool (15 March); Atletico (18 March, Champions League); Nottingham Forest (22 March)

Tottenham Hotspur women’s squad

It isn’t really fair that Spurs Ladies get the short shrift in this post because, unlike the men, we can actually be proud of them. Maybe we should just write about them now.

Spurs currently sit fifth in the table - level with Arsenal, but that masks a gulf in talent between the two. Still, credit to Martin Ho for doing a terrific job with the women’s squad this season.

Speaking of Arsenal: It’s the North London Derby this month. Get hyped!

Women’s schedule: Everton (15 March), at Man City (21 March), at Arsenal (28 March)

Fitzie’s track of the day: My Will (from the TV series Inuyasha), by Dream

And now for your links:

David Ornstein ($$): “Tottenham players facing wage cuts should club be relegated”

Alasdair Gold: “The embarrassing situation at Tottenham that revealed two unexpected leaders”

The Standard: “Premier League delete social media post mocking Guglielmo Vicario after Tottenham complaint”

BBC: “How can football’s lawmakers fix the corner chaos?”