Tudor sacked: 'Another desperate act by Tottenham'

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0:30the highest B2B return on ad spend of major ad networks. Spend$250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get$250 credit for the next one. Just go to linkedin.com slash broadcast. That's linkedin.com slash broadcast. Terms and conditions apply. Today's episode is sponsored by Smart Travel, a podcast from NerdWallet. You know that one friend who always finds the best travel deals, picks the right credit cards, and somehow ends up in first class for the price of coach smart travel is like that friend but in podcast form nerd wallets travel journalists sort out what's worth paying for from lounge access to travel advisors to hotel loyalty programs make your travel dollars work harder follow smart travel on your favorite podcast app this is the football daily podcast with katie smith Tottenham have announced that they've sacked Igor Tudor after just seven games in charge.

1:27He took just the single point from his five Premier League games. They sit 17th in the table, just one point outside the relegation zone with seven games to play. In a statement that the club released a little earlier, we can confirm they say that it has been mutually agreed for head coach Igor Tudor to leave the club with immediate effect. Tromislav Rogic and Riccardo Rognaci have also left their respective roles of goalkeeping coach and physical coach. We thank them for their efforts during the past six weeks in which they worked tirelessly. We also acknowledge the bereavement that Igor has recently suffered and send our support to him and his family at this difficult time.

2:06An update on a new head coach will be provided in due course. Well, here's how those 44 days played out.

2:16Igor Tudor, meanwhile, has agreed a deal to become Tottenham's interim head coach. That is until the end of the season. Guess on four for Crystal Palace. The strand last and tries a little flick off the saw. He's in the penalty area. Goes down, claims he was being pulled back by Van der Ven. He's given a penalty. Oh, I'm not sure about that. There's a... Oh, Van der Ven's been sent off. Vicario is now going to come on. And Kingsky is having to run off the field. And his Tottenham teammates all come across to him. and shown Kingsky some support in here. But that, for him, that is a humiliation.

2:48Like everything in life, you can choose how to see the situation. So you can stay and cry or you can fight. You can be the victim or you can say, I can change something. The full-time whistle goes here in the Metropolitano and Atletico Madrid supporters celebrate wildly. But this has been a nightmare for Tottenham. Tottenham mistake after Tottenham mistake Atletico Madrid, goal after goal It went 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 In the end, the scoreline of 5-2 The tide's long gone Break out wide to Williams Wings it under control Sweeps his right foot across 1-0, 3-0 3-0 to Nottingham Forest In a game that Tottenham had to win And the Tottenham fans flood out Tottenham a beaten side yet again In this majestic stadium A stadium that could host Championship football next season.

3:41Brad Friedel:Yeah, that's Igor Tudor for you though. Mr Negative. That's why he claims a five at the back. He is Mr Negative. I don't have nothing really positive to say about him. Listen to the Tottenham boos. And even then, even those boos were sort of half-hearted because most of the fans have gone. And Tottenham Hotspur here have sunk deep, deep, deep back into trouble. Well, joining us now, the BBC senior football correspondent, Sammy Mockbell, and our football correspondent, John Murray. And Sammy, I suppose after that catastrophic 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, their big relegation rivals down at the bottom of the table, sort of left Spurs with nowhere to go on this one.

4:21Correct, yeah. The Brighton's been on the wall now for at least seven days. But Tottenham have had to be aware and be cautious moving forward because of the sensitivities of Igor Tudor's father dying. and we found out the news immediately after the game against Nottingham Forest last week. So while that decision effectively had been made, it's taken, and I think rightly so, I think it was a right decision. I think they've let some time pass between the bereavement and actually making the decision official with an announcement. But obviously we're a week on now. players will start to filter back from international duty over the next coming days.

5:07So they've basically clarified that situation today. Igor Tudor is no longer the Tottenham head coach and they will now move on to who will be their third head coach of the current season. Yeah, and we're going to get into that, of course. The understanding is that assistant coach Bruno Sautor is going to take training with the few players that are still at the training ground at the moment. and of course we're on international break. The plan is to appoint a new head coach in the coming days, as you say, Sammy. The club say that they expect to have someone new in place when the players return from their respective nations.

5:44That gives them then approximately 10 days to prepare for Sunderland away. That's the next Premier League game on the 12th of April. What this can't hide is just what a catastrophic mess the club are in right now. Look, it's not ideal. The season, particularly off the back of last season, winning the Europa League in those sort of heady scenes in Bilbao last May, in comparison to where they are now in the Premier League, facing relegation, 17th place, one point adrift of the bottom three. No one could ever have foreseen this happening. and it's just a situation that, you know, it beggars belief really.

6:33Tottenham are a global brand. They're a club that are synonymous with, you know, potentially not in terms of winning silverware on a regular basis, but they are a club and a brand that are known all over the world. So for them to be in this situation, as you say, it's a total mess. And I wonder, John, then how far we need to try and travel back here to find the heart of this crisis, because I think it seems this toxic environment at the club was definitely here before Ego Tudor walked through the doors. Yes, they've tried to be as respectful as they can after the death of his father. And they do acknowledge that in the statement today.

7:18But I think the word was just inevitable that it would come to this point. and it does feel like it is just another desperate act by Tottenham in a season that has turned into a proper crisis for them. You know, it feels a little bit, doesn't it, like they're thrashing around in the deep water, desperately trying to cling on to some part of the wreckage that's going to keep them afloat. It was not, it was patently not Igor Tudor. But, you know, there is that, as you say, Katie, there is that, it's not just what's happened this season, You always have to underline the fact that they finished 17th last season as well, just above the relegation zone, even though the three who went down last season, there was a big gap between them.

8:04But last season, under Postacoglu, it felt very often like a runaway train, didn't it? It was like boom and bust. And they hoped for stability this season. I think that was the idea, really, with Thomas Frank, to try and build something. As it's turned out, they're going to be on to their third manager of this season. And you still have that boom and bust. And they have got seven matches to save their Premier League lives. It is a desperate situation. We're going to get the fans' perspective, Sammy, but the negativity at the club just feels overwhelming. I mean, as John said, through the Thomas Frank phase of the season, if you like, but long before that with Poster Coglu.

8:49it's toxic at the moment particularly at home certainly through Thomas Frank's reign the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was not a happy place they appointed Igor Tudor with a view to changing that narrative because he's got this as we all know now he's got this reputation of making an instant impact at clubs when he arrives and obviously Vinay Venkatesham, the CEO at Tottenham and the sporting director in Johan Lang identified him and given the situation that Tottenham were in with regards to slumping down the table, they identified him and saw his track record of helping clubs in that kind of situation.

9:37They saw him as almost a perfect candidate. He just hasn't turned out that way. and I think what this appointment certainly does, it does shine a spotlight on Vinay Venkatesham and Johan Lang and it wouldn't surprise me if the owners of Tottenham Hotspur are looking at certainly the appointment of Igor Tudor and asking, well, why did that go so horribly wrong? But in terms of the supporters, I think, you know, I don't think any of them believe that they would be in this situation this season. I think a lot of Tottenham fans are realistic and they probably knew they weren't going to be fighting for a top four, top five place this season.

10:27But they would have thought they'd have been at least comfortably mid-table. So for them, you feel for the supporters, certainly the match-going supporters. And now, as we've already said, they are facing up to trying to support their third manager of a season. And for a club the size of Tottenham and with the resources of Tottenham, it's poor, really. And also, Katie, there is churn, not just in the manager's job. You know, they're trying to... Daniel Levy, obviously, it's not such a long time since he left the club. They've got a new structure at the top of the club trying to put together a leadership team.

11:11They appointed a new director of football operations in January, Rafi Mawson. When they did that, in the club statement, it said, this is part of an approach to build a modern, high-performance football structure to drive long-term success. Now, where they are now feels like a massive counter to that, doesn't it? And that's why I think that, you know, people, Tottenham fans, football fans, will have read what the talk is of who it might be, who will be brought in. And I mean, you are looking at the widest possible range of possibilities in terms of whether it's someone from abroad, people who've been already managing in the Premier League, people with former Tottenham connections.

11:58And, you know, I can tell you that I've heard that it is almost a case of all possibilities are being considered, including some really radical options. And to go back to the crisis analogy, it is almost that they're thinking of any port in a storm. You know, they're looking for whatever it is, short term, never mind the long term. They're looking for the short term that will just keep them up. That's it. In one point above the relegation zone, I think they're going to have to. Let's bring in former Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who's with us as well. And Brad, before we get into who might be potentially replacing Igor Tudor, just your reaction to the news?

12:38Brad Friedel:I think after the Forest game, although I hate seeing this merry-go-round of managers, especially at Tottenham, I thought it was inevitable. But this is, how do I put it? It's someone I respect the most in football. I can't say his name. He actually said something. It takes over a decade, maybe longer, to build something up at a football club. And it takes less than two years of bad decisions to break it all down. And he's absolutely correct. And I think Daniel Levy was starting to get power taken away from him even previous to last season. I think it's the Lewis family that has the money. Daniel Levy's job was to try to create revenue sources to then be able to spend the money.

13:26Brad Friedel:If the money isn't there from the actual owner's pocket, You have to spend the money that is there based on revenues coming in. And you have, albeit a manageable debt on the stadium, but it's still a debt that has to be serviced. You saw Arsenal's troubles when they were, you know, their downturn in form and the players that they could purchase when they were going through their stadium. But I've said this many, many times now. Be careful what you wish for. I'm pushing somebody out like Daniel Levy. In my, whatever it was, 23-year career, I think the two best boards that I ever played for and chairman, Daniel Levy was one of them, and then John Williams and Tom Finn performing on behalf of the Walker Trust at Blackburn when I was there.

14:08Brad Friedel:I thought they were outstanding. So I don't think there's any possible way that they would be in this situation if Daniel Levy was still pulling on the purse strings. Now, with that, we can talk about that. That's in the past. That's in hindsight. that's in hindsight and now we have to we have to talk about what's best going forward and um it it is a mismatch it is any nobody's right nobody's wrong right now do you bring in a uh a ryan mason do you bring in a harry redknapp do you bring in a tim sherwood do you bring in a glenn hoddle or if you could get deserve he would he take over the club right now but if you bring in deserve he you're gonna have to put them on a long-term contract what happens if they relegate Do you get someone just to the end of the season?

14:52Brad Friedel:If you do relegate, well, then I would probably go for Scott Parker and I'd probably go for Sean Dyche because they're proven track records of getting back into the Premier League. It's just crazy that a club that brings in 560 plus million in revenue, we're talking about relegation. Well, OK, so a lot to get stuck into there, Brad. I mean, it's interesting your take then on Daniel Levy. So you're suggesting, I mean, there'll be a lot of Tottenham fans who will vehemently disagree with you there about where the club might be if he's still there. No problem. Yeah, well, no problem. I was at the club.

15:23Brad Friedel:I negotiated my own contracts with Daniel. I know how he operates. I think the criticism, if you want, of Daniel was maybe he wouldn't take the risks associated or fight for the risks with the Lewis family associated to getting to first in the Premier League or second in the Premier League. But that's tough. That is really difficult to do, to break into the wage structures of Liverpool and Man United and Arsenal and Man City. And he had one foot in the door in that. He got the revenue that he brings in, the stadium he built, the training facility that he built is incredible. So if you want to be critical of that, I would say looking back on it, maybe he should have kept Mauricio at the time because they had a really good relationship working together.

16:16Brad Friedel:But it's really hard to run a football club and get every single decision right. My point is that they wouldn't be a point above relegation right now. And if they were mid-table, Daniel Levy would be getting screamed at. Don't get me wrong. The fans would be livid even with mid-table. But they would not be fighting off relegation. That's my point. Yeah, and Sammy, actually, that's key, isn't it? That relative stability and growth that they had under Daniel Levy. The problem that they're having to stab in the dark now is that that has all been ripped away and it just feels like there is no sense of structure and stability is probably the key word.

16:52That feels like it's gone right now. Right, and the message emanating out of the club for the past, really for the past six months, maybe longer following the departure of Daniel Levy has been we're building structure, we're building for the future. But I think when you're building for the future, certainly from this perspective and Tottenham's perspective, Trying to do that when you're at the centre of a wild, wild storm is far easier said than done, virtually impossible. So they're now faced with this situation of trying to build structures and a squad internally for the future, but doing so whilst in the midst of a relegation fight, that's virtually impossible.

17:39because one, you don't know what league you're going to be playing in next season. And with that comes so many difficulties. For example, my understanding is they would like to appoint Roberto Di Zerbi as permanent head coach and he would be at the very top of their list. And I think over the course of the past two or three weeks, they've tried to make that happen and engage and try to find out and ascertain whether he would be prepared to do that immediately. I think what they've come back or what they've heard of what they've found is he would be open to replacing Igor Tudor as Tottenham head coach, but only at the end of the season, i.e.

18:27when he knows what league they're going to be playing in. Which is understandable, right, Brad?

18:34Brad Friedel:Absolutely. That's the predicament is the most important thing is staying in the league. The long term solution and the long term building of the club, it can't really take place until you know whether you're building from the championship or you're or you're going to try to rebuild from the Premier League. And there's not a lot of top quality, real long-term visionary head coaches that would jump into this job right now unless they had a break clause if they relegated in the summer. And then is that good for the club to bring in another manager and have to release them after seven games? So you're almost stuck into a position where you need to bring in a short-term replacement.

19:17Brad Friedel:replacement. And now if you're talking about someone like Sean Dice, who I have an incredible amount of respect for, I'm not so sure. I think Tottenham fans would welcome him right now with open arms to try to save the club from relegation. But I'm not so sure that they would welcome Sean Dice on a long-term basis because they would fear that they're not going to play attacking free-flowing football. And by the way, I think if you gave Sean Dice a bigger budget, his football would be a little bit different on the field. But I think the stigma is that he would be more of a negative head coach. So I'm not sure if the fans would accept Sean Dyche other than on a short-term basis.

19:56Brad Friedel:So then someone as good as he is, would he come in for seven games knowing that it's over in the summer? That would be a trick as well. So now you're going down to, I'm sure Glenn Hoddle would help out the club. I'm sure Tim Sherwood would help out the club. And I know Harry Redknapp has openly said that he would help out the club. So is that going to get you over the line to get the points needed to stay up? It is a crazy situation. The boardroom will have all these permutations, and it's really difficult to have the answers, really difficult at this stage. And of course, one of the long-term, if you put it in inverted commas, popular choices would be to go back to Mauricio Pochettino.

20:35There is still a clamor for that among Tottenham supporters. And if you remember a couple of weeks ago, when we went to Madrid, There was the story at the time of Mauricio Pochettino traveling in his role as the USA coach to watch one of the Real Madrid, one of the Atletico Madrid players. He was on the plane with the Tottenham fans who were making it very clear to him that they wanted him to come back. But again, that poses problems because it depends how far the USA go at the World Cup. And, you know, are you really going to wait until that point in order to get the structure together? And again, where will Tottenham be?

21:14They will have to be in the Premier League for Mauricio Pochettino to even consider that. And don't forget towards the end of his time, when they did have that stability over five years in charge, that all unraveled towards the end because he didn't get the investment and the club he felt were unwilling to take the next step to see a Tottenham team challenge for the Premier League title. And Brad, I mean, you've mentioned names like Harry Radknapp, like Glenn Hoddle, Tim Sherwood. Yes, they could. And maybe they would be, you know, nostalgic, popular choices. But should and could, I mean, can they literally do it?

21:54Is that not just the biggest sign of desperation from the club that they would turn to someone like Harry Radknapp, who has been almost 10 years out of managerial work?

22:02Brad Friedel:Well, it is desperate and they are in a desperate situation. as we sit here today. I think somebody like Harry, I played for Harry at Tottenham. I think someone like him could do very similar what Martin O 'Neill did up at Celtic on the short-term basis, especially to stabilize the club. I think long-term is not the solution, but to go in and try to instill some confidence in the players, because something that Harry would do, Harry gives responsibility to the players, There's not a lot of meetings. There's not a lot of off-field mentality days. You know, it's very much this is your role. This is your job on the field.

22:49Brad Friedel:We need to pick up the points. Give the players that can express themselves in the attacking part of the field, please express yourself. The other players do all the dirty work. I mean, it's very simplified. And I think these players right now are so low on confidence that they could do with a little bit of sarcasm, a little bit of uplifting, but also someone that has no problem if someone doesn't shake their hand, like letting them, you know, giving them some discipline as well. But we are in desperate times right now. You know, and it's hard with seven games from the end of the season, not knowing if you're going to stay in the league to sign somebody who's going to go on a four and a half year contract or a three and a half year contract, thinking I'm going to be the guy that's going to get this club back up into the Champions League places.

23:34Brad Friedel:That's a tough place for someone to see. So I could understand fully if they've had these discussions with Deserby why he would want to take over in the summer and not take over right now. We should just say as well, we did get in touch with Harry Redknapp to see if he wants to be involved with this. He responded he didn't want to get involved with the programme. I just wonder, John, though, if we sort of take it back to Igor Tudor, then we've talked about the wider problems and the far-ranging problems at the club. But him himself, I mean, there was a lot said about the character of him, particularly, I think, in contrast to Thomas Frank.

24:08And actually, interestingly, what Brad's saying there about what a Harry Redknapp character might have been like, particularly, you know, when you try and fire up a group of players with a minimal amount of time to get the job done. How much blame can we lay at the door of Igor Tudor then in terms of the decisions he made and his man management through his 44 days? Well, frankly, I wouldn't blame him because if you get the opportunity to come and manage in the Premier League and to manage Tottenham, you're not going to turn it down, are you? And anyone at that level will back themselves. And he's been in a position at big clubs.

24:41And as we know, he has pulled off rescue operations. But right from the very outset, I commentated on the North London derby, when it seemed to... I saw him doing things in the warm-up. I don't think I've ever seen any other manager do in the Premier League. And I know Jurgen Klopp used to stand in the middle of the pitch. But Igor Tudor was right involved in the warm-up. And I remember watching them. They were going through set pieces, defending, attacking set pieces. He was in the penalty area as they were doing that. And I think also the way that he spoke pre-match, post-match, it didn't along with the results all of that just did not really send out the message of confidence that he was the man who was going to be able to turn this around but let's not forget that was a panic button and now they're reaching for the bat phone aren't they?

25:40Well I do wonder Brad just a final thought from you on this and particularly perhaps from a goalkeeper's perspective how he handled the Kinski moment against Atletico Madrid, brought him off after 17 minutes. I mean, it was tough viewing. And I just wonder, confidence-wise, in a group that are already struggling to have moments like that with a manager who is dealing with you like that and sort of publicly as well. I can only imagine it's pretty tough.

26:04Brad Friedel:I think that shows the pressure of the job and the chaos that's surrounding Tottenham right now. It was a really strange decision to take out your number one, who has been struggling this season in a Champions League match away from home and make the change. So that's decision number one that's really difficult. And then one of the goals was the goalkeeper's mistake. One was a genuine slip. The other one wasn't his fault. And then you take him off after 17 minutes, but you have a discussion with Romero on the sidelines. Everything was, for me, bizarre, because you've not only upset the number one by putting him out, that you've now upset the number two is going to be low on confidence.