Igor Tudor did not face the media after Tottenham Hotspur’s shambolic 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, but for a very good reason — he received word right after the final whistle of a sudden bereavement in his family. So assistant coach Bruno Saltor took the microphone in his place, and whoo buddy I don’t think I’d want to be in his position after what just happened at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
There’s a LOT to unpick from that match, but one of the biggest ???? moments had to be
Tudor’s second half and halftime substitutions. Although it would be a stretch to call Spurs “good” in the first half, they did thoroughly outplay Forest in the opening period until Igor Jesus’ 45th minute header off of a corner kick put Forest up 1-0. Tudor then opted to make some truly bizarre substitutions, starting by bringing on Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall for Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven.
The sub of Van de Ven was incredibly bizarre, and seemingly nullified a lot of Tottenham’s attacking impetus. It also affected Tottenham’s defense and eliminated a lot of dynamism, with Micky liking to drive forward with the ball at his feet.
Micky looked like he might have picked up a mild knock in the first half after being involved in an end-line challenge that saw him tumble down the slope at the edge of the field. But when asked, Saltor said Tudor’s substitution was not due to injury, but was tactical.
“No, it was a sub with the intention to give more dynamic in the left side and have more legs going forward. And yeah, I thought that was like a tactical sub.”
Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, that’s a sackable offense. Udogie is, arguably, a more progressive left sided fullback than Djed Spence, but taking both Spence and Micky, who provides a lot of attacking width on his own and is also one of the best players at the club, off the pitch after a frustrating but still strangely encouraging half is a little mind-melting. A lot of Tottenham’s attacking nous on the left side dissipated in the second half, and while Bergvall tried his best, he was placed in a wide attacking role that did not suit him.
Tudor’s other substitutions were equally bizarre, including taking off Richarlison instead of the ineffective Dominic Solanke, and waiting until the 60th minute to bring on Xavi Simons, who impressed in the Champions League second leg win over Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham looked far worse in the second half than in the first, as evident by the final score, and while the players themselves should shoulder their share of the blame for a heavy 3-0 defeat at home in a relegation six-pointer, it’s equally clear that Tudor’s starting tactics as well as his bizarre subs did little to help the team get over the hump.
Saltor acknowledged in the press conference that Spurs looked like the better side in the first half but then made a strange admission that Spurs “knew” they would concede today.
“I think in the small details, I thought for 44 minutes in the first half we were the better team. And again, I think any mistake that we make, any small detail goes against us and we’re not able to capitalize on the opposition’s mistakes. And probably that affected the team.
“And that’s our job as coaches, to keep helping the players. And as you can see, the players, they care and they are 100% trying their best. But at the moment, it’s not enough. We need to minimise any mistakes because we know that we’re going to concede a goal.
“The players got affected by the rhythm of the game and we couldn’t find that rhythm to create more chances. The first half, the first 44 minutes I thought were good, really good, creating chances, getting into the box. In the second half, probably, we were unable to deal with the weight of the game.”
The only good news to come out of today’s match is that West Ham fell to Aston Villa, meaning Tottenham go into the three week break still (barely) outside of the relegation zone. Spurs had the chance to jump ahead of both Forest and Leeds with a win, but instead find themselves one point ahead of West Ham in 17th, and in desperate, desperate straits.
I don’t know, y’all. This is a fan blog, and I’m a fan, and I try to stay as objective as possible. That said, Spurs have yet to win a match under Igor Tudor in the Premier League, and it feels like every time we gain a little momentum or have a positive result — like last week against Atleti — something gets changed or things get moved around and we slip right back into terrible patterns of play, especially in the Premier League. Making the “tactical” decision to substitute players like Micky when the result was obviously detrimental to the team is WILD, and seems to show that Tudor still doesn’t really know who his best players are or how best to utilize them.
I’m at the point now where I don’t think Tudor’s tenure can continue. Tottenham desperately need a change, with someone in charge that knows the club, its players, and the vibes needed to get Spurs over the hump. I don’t know who that person is, but with three weeks with no matches, this feels like the right time to make a change and get a new person settled in time for Tottenham to play away at high-flying Sunderland on April 12.
