Self-Imposed Struggle

I think this issue's title says it all, really. The relegation scrap Spurs Men are in is entirely a beast of our own making, at every level: club executives, manager, and players. There will be plenty of blame to go around if worst comes to worst, but we have to hold onto hope that we can wriggle out of this mess.

In this issue: Crystal Palace recap | News from around the Lane

Normally, I would say that we get a break from the misery in the league since we have a Champions League match next, and we've tended to perform much better in Europe. But now the European games are no longer the uncomplicated reprieve they were earlier in the season. It's a unique circumstance to be balancing a relegation battle with a Champions League knockout tie, and I'm curious to see how interim manager Igor Tudor decides to thread that needle.

On the bright side, Spurs Women finally return to action on the weekend, so there's the real reprieve to look forward to!

PL MD 29 | Tottenham 1 - 3 Crystal Palace

Solanke 34' | Sarr (Pen) 40' • 45+7', Strand Larsen 45+1'

I haven't made much point of commenting on team selection in recent months because there haven't been many actual lineup choices with all of the injury absences. But choices were definitely made by Igor Tudor in this matchup with Crystal Palace. The pros: a left-footed player (Souza) at left wingback, and Mathys Tel getting his first start since January 17. The cons: Richarlison left on the bench while Tudor opted for a more familiar face (Randal Kolo Muani), and a back-three formation. I also questioned the decision to bench Conor Gallagher, though to be fair, he didn't make much of an impact when he came in as a first-half sub alongside Yves Bissouma, as Souza and Kolo Muani were sacrificed after Micky van de Ven's red card forced a change.

Obviously, the red card has to be discussed, much as I would like to pretend it never happened. I was quite critical earlier in the season of Thomas Frank's decision to include Van de Ven in the leadership group, and I've not been impressed with his performances while wearing the armband so far. The red card foul took that to an extreme, but we already knew that he wasn't mature enough for the responsibility of the co-captaincy at this point in his career. So let's establish up front that he was in a position he never should have been put in to begin with, ostensibly leading his teammates through a crucial game in a relegation fight because the actual captain was already suspended. The former manager set a precedent of not trusting more experienced players in the squad to wear the replacement armband instead.

So yes, it was terrible decision-making from Micky in the moment to bring down Ismaïala Sarr in the box, but I do think we have to acknowledge the massive pressure he was under in Cuti's absence—and that all of the players are under trying to avoid falling into the drop zone. Desperation can lead to desperate behavior on the pitch. His mistake was merely the most overt and most costly in the game.

Other players managed to funnel that desperation into bright moments, like Archie Gray hustling to keep the ball in play on the goal line and assist Dominic Solanke for Spurs' only goal of the game. This goal came just minutes after a would-be opening goal for Palace was chalked off for offside, in one of the closest calls we've seen from VAR this season. This was the first time we had scored first in a Premier League game since the 2-2 draw with Burnley in January, but the red card effectively foiled any possibility of capitalizing on the momentum.

To circle back to the two big themes of the match, the team selection and the red card, losing a centerback to a red card was the worst possible scenario, even leaving aside the matter of it happening to the captain for the match. We didn't have a single senior CB available to replace him since Radu Drăgușin was mysteriously held out of the squad again. It was also unfortunate for Souza to be taken out of his first start for the club as a result, although he probably would have been subbed out sooner rather than later in the second half anyway, since he was already on a yellow card for an early, borderline reckless tackle. The defensive damage was done immediately after the red card, with Palace's Sarr converting the penalty kick and then scoring the first of two rapid-fire stoppage-time goals (Jørgen Strand Larsen scored the other one) before the referee mercifully whistled for the halftime break. It's a minor miracle that we didn't concede any more goals in the second half, but it was already too big a deficit to overcome with ten men.

The one bit of relief from this game is that Brennan Johnson did not manage to score against his old club in his substitute appearance in the second half. It still caused me great pain to see him in a Palace shirt, especially after the final whistle when he cheerfully greeted his old teammates. That transfer is one of the many reasons I won't remember Frank's tenure with any fondness.

So where do we go from here? Immediately, right back into the Champions League fray, with the knockout rounds beginning this week. Of the remaining teams in the draw, we certainly received one of the more winnable matchups, Atlético de Madrid—assuming we put in a strong showing in the away leg, which is up first. But can we really afford to go full strength across the two-legged tie at the risk of dropping into the relegation zone in the league?

How could the club possibly prioritize the Champions League campaign over the far more pressing concern of literal Premier League survival? How can we hope to compete all the way to a final against clubs with superior squads in the first place, let alone once you factor in that ours is currently halved in quality by injuries? The math isn't adding up. And in contrast to last season, we don't have the luxury of pretending that taking our eye off the Premier League won't have severe consequences. Sure, throw everything at the game in Madrid since we weren't realistically expecting to compete with Liverpool in the PL match on the weekend. But after that, focus has to be squarely on staying up.

To Tudor's credit, he is at least saying the right things in that regard. While he noted in his latest press conference that "every game is important," he admitted:

Our first aim is the Premier League—this is something that needs to be said publicly. It's a normal thing.

At least he and I are in agreement there. Of course, I can't speak for the whole fanbase, although I would question the wisdom of dreaming the European glory dream right now, at least for mental health's sake.

I don't usually like to end a match recap with so many questions, but here we are. The team still seems to lack direction at the moment, and Tudor has done very little to reassure fans that he can be the one to successfully steer the ship back on track. His interim manager status could be short-lived if we don't at least see some turns in the right direction—and soon.

Notable & quotable:

• Archie Gray registered an assist for the second game in a row.

• Micky van de Ven's sending off was the fourth red card for the team so far this season in the Premier League.

• The one silver lining is that Van de Ven's red card was a DOGSO offense, not violent conduct, so he'll only miss one match.

• Elsewhere in discipline stats, Pape Sarr picked up his first yellow card of the campaign; of Spurs players with more than one appearance in the PL this season, only Conor Gallagher, Mathys Tel, and Radu Drăgușin have avoided being cautioned.

• This was only the second time we've given up a penalty in the league this season.

• This was our tenth straight game without a clean sheet in league play.

• We have now dropped 14 points compared to the results from the first half of the season in identical fixtures (promoted teams included), but only dropped four points compared to last season's fixtures (promoted teams not included). In other words, we're just about equally as poor this season as last, but could have improved upon that campaign if we had maintained our early form. That was never much of a likelihood with the injury crisis, unfortunately.

• Either Igor Tudor really hasn't grasped what a pickle the team is in yet, or he's very good at projecting an image of remaining calm:

We need to stay calm and believe more than ever. I believe. I believe we can do it, even more than before this game. So, what I said before, we just stay on the boat, we just go in that direction, who wants to go, who wants to be there, can be there. I'm sure that we'll be good.

• Dominic Solanke, on the other hand, did allude to the threat of relegation, albeit indirectly:

Before the game, we looked at the game thinking that we definitely needed to win, but it's another game that's passed now and we need to realise that the position that we're in and keep fighting. We [players] need to understand that we need to improve and we need to improve now

We know it's been so difficult this season with the injuries etc, but we can't change that now. So, us players on the pitch have to take the responsibility and ultimately change that as soon as possible. It's difficult, just speaking, but we need to realise the position we're in, we need to fight every game, fight for every result, we haven't got many games left now.

News from around the Lane

• There are a few Spurs players nominated for awards for February:

• Dominic Solanke for Premier League Goal of the Month
• Guglielmo Vicario for Premier League Save of the Month
• Cathinka Tandberg for PFA WSL Fans' Player of the Month
• Rio Kyerematen for Premier League 2 Player of the Month

The fan vote period has already passed for all of them, so now we just await the results.

• Speaking of awards, congratulations to Martin Ho for winning Women's Super League Manager of the Month for February!

Ho made sure to share the recognition with is coaching staff and the players:

I’m thankful for everyone that voted, but credit to all the staff and players because they are the ones that enable you to be in this position, so it’s not just an accolade and honour for me, it’s for all the staff and players around me. They deserve a lot of credit—it’s a collective effort.

• All three Spurs players at the Women's Asian Cup have progressed to the quarter-final round; Clare Hunt's Australia will take on North Korea, while Tōko Koga and Maika Hamano's Japan still have one more group stage game to play to confirm seeding for their matchup.

• Lenna Gunning-Williams scored her first goal for the England U23s on her first start for that age level.

• As previously reported but now confirmed, the Women's Africa Cup of Nations is now postponed until July.

Up next:

March 10 | Spurs Men @ Atlético de Madrid
Team news — Radu Drăgușin and Djed Spence are both available for selection; Yves Bissouma and Souza are ineligible since they are not included in the Champions League squad list; Igor Tudor has already said that Richarlison will start.

It's going to be very interesting to see how Spurs Men fare in the away leg, and what that means for the rest of the season. I'll be back later in the week to recap the match and look ahead to the two league matches on Sunday.

COYS

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