What now? As Tottenham Hotspur’s hierarchy consider the need to urgently remove Igor Tudor to avoid the realistic prospect of humiliating relegation to the Championship, the club’s 58,000 fans have witnessed their latest (and perhaps worst) disastrous defeat and now find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
They have tried strikes – both organized and impulsively midway through a particularly horrific defeat against Crystal Palace two weeks ago. They have repeatedly expressed their anger verbally over the dismal campaign. Now, their last roll of the dice failed to elicit any reaction from the unconscious player.
advertise
Home fans of around 10,000 or so gave a warm pre-match reception as two Tottenham buses arrived at Tottenham Road, the kind of reception usually reserved for trophy parades. People climbed up bus stops, hung from lampposts and filled the streets with blue and white flares in a desperate attempt to inspire.
“Together, always” was the message of unity from Tottenham Hotspur fans after encouraging performances against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid last week. The fight to avoid second-tier football is deemed too important and the recent outrage is entirely justified to hinder that mission in any way.
That’s admirable for a struggling team that has managed just one home win in the Premier League since the start of the season. They sang, cheered, begged for an answer, but never received one. Instead, they have been forced to endure a fearless performance against relegation opponents, and given Spurs have gone 13 consecutive league games without a win, their top-flight career is likely to be over. So what are fans doing now?
That’s a question that can’t be asked of Tudor, who reportedly skipped postgame media duties after learning of the immediate family bereavement. In his absence, assistant coach Bruno Sorto said: “The fans were outstanding from the first minute we came in to the last moment.
advertise
“They stayed and showed their support. Everyone on the bus was very emotional [before the match]. That’s what we need because now we all have the same goal: to fight until the end of the season and stay in the Premier League, which the club deserves. “
The stadium quickly emptied as Spurs were destined to fail again (Getty Images)
However, the win, as important to Nottingham Forest’s safety mission, could have been devastating for Tottenham Hotspur, with the game ending with more empty seats than occupied. The latest mass exodus came after the visitors scored their third goal, scored by Taiwo Awoniyi with three minutes of normal time remaining after early goals from Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White. Then when the final whistle sounded, there were the familiar boos.
It was a deserved result for a truly lackluster second half performance, but not by those who paid to watch. For much of the past two seasons, the dominant voices around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have shifted between deafening silence and angry jeers – neither of which are unreasonable. For much of the game – even when trailing by two goals – fans put aside their frustrations and flipped through their songbooks, to no avail.
advertise
The finger will be pointed at a manager who should have thrived in such difficult circumstances but now has just one point from five Premier League games.
However, Vitor Pereira was delighted as Forest gradually moved away from the drop zone (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)
Despite spending a lot of time at Forest, Spurs were generally lacking in creativity and it was somewhat surprising that Harvey Simmons was not on the bench until the 67th minute. The Dutchman was one of the brightest performers in the midweek win over Atletico Madrid (which did not prevent a Champions League exit), but Tudor chose not to include him from the start. Such is Tottenham’s weakness that it’s hard to imagine one player making much difference in any situation.
Any sense of a cohesive plan seems completely absent; there’s little structure and no obvious approach to winning games. Forest weren’t as dominant as the scoreline suggested, but they didn’t need to be.
advertise
Jesus scored with a header on the stroke of half-time and Spurs received eight corner kicks in the opening period. In fact, the home team hit the crossbar twice in the first half, when Jesus missed a header in defense and Matisse Terre’s long shot.
Forest were on cruise control before Awoniyi scored a late three points (AFP via Getty Images)
But if a thrilling counterattack was expected after the break, it was quite the opposite, with Tudor’s side becoming increasingly disorganized. When a ball was fired into the Tottenham penalty area just after the hour, a shocking lack of marking allowed a completely untroubled Morgan Gibbs-White to score.
All hope was lost when Awoniyi scored his third goal from close range. Forest eased to their first Premier League win since January, while Spurs are yet to win in the league this year.
advertise
“It’s been a good week for us,” said Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira, whose side advanced to the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday and are now three points clear of the relegation zone. “It’s good for faith because we need to believe in ourselves. It’s about who we want to be as a team. We’re alive, we’re determined, we’re ready to fight.”
Tudor’s chances of finding some spirit among struggling Tottenham players after the international break must now be seriously doubted. Sorto insists the coaching staff “feel the support of everyone at the club”. If fans aren’t included now, then who can blame them?