Relegation-threatened Spurs stars in 'shape up or ship out' warning from Tudor after shocker against soaring Eagles
- Julian Taylor at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- 9 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Crystal Palace
The situation at Tottenham now at crisis point, even the disgruntled boos at full time lacked volume.
Rather, there seems to be a growing acceptance, that Spurs are staring at the barrel of Championship football next season.
The north Londoners may still be a point above the relegation zone, but a timid 3-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace - their foifth in a row - spells massive danger. Many Tottenham fans already reached for the ejector button, leaving long before the end to be spared additional hurt from a Palace side who were everything Igor Tudor's team were not: confident, cohesive and ruthless.
The last time Tottenham Hotspur won a Premier League game was back in December against Palace - there was no chance of a repeat here. A double from Ismaila Sarr, one a penalty kick, and another goal from Jorgen Strand-Olsen saw Spurs off. The hosts only reply came from Dominic Solanke in a rare, threatening raid.
A first half red card for Micky van de Ven, hauled down Sarr who was bearing in on goal, illustrated the frustration and shapelessness of a club in freefall.
"We tried to do something in the second half but we are disappointed," said Tudor.
"We have to stay calm and believe we can do it. We have a Champions League game coming up and need to prepare in the best possible way.
The idea of Tottenham concentrating fully on the Champions League - where htye have been, strangely, impressive - is a flawede one, particualrly when Premier League survival is reaching such a crucial stage. A trip to face Atletico Madrid next week has little going for it, other than inconvenience.
As relegation rivals West Ham showed in their win at Fulham 24 hours previously, they are more likely to survive right now that troubled Tottenham. Tudor may have an injury list to contend with but he merely the latest manager to be working with a set of players who are simoply not good enough and lack the fibre for a scrap. Tudor, naturally, is putting on a defiant face amid the sinking ship.
'Boat'
"I will tell you now maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before", added the Croatian. "I saw something - I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can bow down, or how do you say that, leave the boat.
"So, when the other players will come back and choosing the right [players], I'm sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It's not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is."
Crystal Palace on the other hand, with xx points in xx place in the Premier League, can look forward to going deep into the Conference League with belief. Despite boss Oliver Glasner's announcement that he is leaving the club a the end of the season, there was no sign of a malaise in N17. Midfielder Adam Wharton was the best player on the pitch, Chris Richards mopped up what little the hosts could offer, while former Watford man Sarr stung Spurs and left his mark.
"The three points are the most important," Wharton told Palace TV. "Obviously, we're delighted to get that, it's a big win for us.
"I think in the first-half we played well, created chances, kept moving the ball. And then in the second-half, I think we dropped off a bit.
"The gaffer said we need to stay on top, be more aggressive, and I think we let them into the game a bit.
"I don't think they had too many chances, but I think we could have controlled the game a bit better. So it's an important three points but there's still a lot to work on."
The Eagles' next game is against AEK Larnaca next Thursday - a match which they should relish in the Conference League. Glasner is something of a Euro specialist and Palace fans will enjoy more good nights as well as the one in north London before the end of an eventful campaign.
