These being Tudor times more heads could roll. Only three games in charge and the interim boss appears to have made Tottenham more shambolic than they were before.
Three games, three defeats, nine goals conceded. Having lost to rivals from the north and west of London it was the turn of the south, with Crystal Palace kicking Spurs further towards relegation trouble.
Oliver Glasner’s team were grateful for three points, but let’s be honest, they did not have to work too hard. This was a masterclass in self-destruction from the home team.
A 20-minute meltdown before half-time and after which it was hard to believe Spurs had taken the lead in the 34th minute.
Dominic Solanke put them ahead from a low cross by Archie Gray and the noise levels were off the scale as celebrations soaked with relief rolled around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Four minutes later, Micky van de Ven was sent off for pulling back Ismaila Sarr when he was through on goal. Sarr levelled from the penalty spot and panic gripped Spurs.
Interim boss Igor Tudor looked on from the touchline with a glazed expression. No doubt wondering what on earth he had walked into. It certainly appears beyond his scope to arrest the slide.
The question is, is there anyone who can? Harry Redknapp to the rescue? The timing might not be quite right with the Cheltenham Festival about to start.
This is a fifth-successive defeat for Spurs and the winless run extends to 11 in the Premier League. They have four points from a possible 33 and now teeter one point above the dotted relegation line with nine to play they are next at Liverpool after a Champions League tie at Atletico Madrid.
Speaking post-match Tudor refused to elaborate on the mood in the dressing room. ‘That’s a private thing,’ he said. Or on his job security. ‘I don’t think in that direction, I have a job to do, that’s all,’ he said. Or on whether he would take charge of another Spurs game. ‘No comment,’ was his stern response to that question.
For those 20 minutes before half-time, Palace toyed with Spurs. Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada dominated the midfield. Those in white shirts seemed to freeze. Petrified. Think England against Iceland and the paralysis of fear.
Mathys Tel, who had started the game well, played a loose pass to Pape Matar Sarr, enabling Evan Guessand to step in and win the ball. Guessand moved it quickly to Wharton, who threaded it into the feet of Jorgen Strand Larsen, and he scored.
Spurs needed the interval at this point, but Palace struck again as eight minutes was added on. Again, it was a goal of staggering simplicity against a flimsy back three of Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Joao Palhinha.
Wharton with the pass, Palace’s Sarr scored his second. It would have been a first half hat trick but for a marginal offside call when the contest was goalless.
Sarr had sped onto a Guessand pass and his low shot from an angle spun high off Porro as he made a desperate attempt a block, over stranded goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and dropped inside the far post.
There was a long VAR stoppage as Palace fans sang, ‘It’s not football anymore’ and it was hard to disagree when referee Andy Madley ruled out the goal, and an image came up on the big screen.
Both Sarr’s feet were behind the ball, but he was leaning forward and his forehead had broken the animated offside line.
Glasner smiled: ‘I told Ismaila his nose is too long. You can score a goal with your nose, that’s why it was disallowed.’
It seemed like an escape when Gray and Solanke, two players who did come out with a modicum of credit, combined to score, but then came Van de Ven’s red card, similar to the one shown to Palace’s Maxence Lacroix at Manchester United on Sunday, and it proved the catalyst for the great unravelling.
As the half-time whistle sounded there were few Spurs fans left in their seats. Some did not return. Those who remained booed the players down the tunnel. Some vented their anger at chief executive Vinai Venkatesham in the directors’ box.
Tudor had come into the game wielding his axe again. There were four changes to the team he accused of ‘lacking’ in all areas at Fulham on Sunday. There was another change of shape, too. Out with the 4-4-2 and back in with the back three.
But the anxiety of the occasion, heightened by Wednesday’s results when West Ham and Nottingham Forest reeled Spurs closer to the bottom three, bled into the football. The first half hour was terribly disjointed albeit with Palace on top. Wharton tested Vicario within a minute.
Souza, making his first start since signing from Santos in January, suffered a torrid first 10 minutes until his awful late tackle left Daniel Munoz in a heap with an injured shoulder.
Spurs were more competitive in the second half. Tudor it seemed had got some sort of message through to them. At least they fought and restored some pride but Palace’s depleted and inexperienced back three resisted.
Dean Henderson stood firm made a fine save from Solanke when a goal would have recharged the home crowd.
As it was, the fans in the away end were the only ones having fun. Spurs fans left dreading the worst.
