Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that they and Igor Tudor have “mutually agreed” on the Croatian’s departure from the club.
Tudor leaves after just 44 days with the Lilywhites.
Spurs are now on the hunt for their third manager of the season, having dismissed Thomas Frank in February.
CLUB STATEMENT
“We can confirm that it has been mutually agreed for Head Coach Igor Tudor to leave the Club with immediate effect.
“Tomislav Rogic and Riccardo Ragnacci have also left their respective roles of Goalkeeping Coach and Physical Coach.
“We thank Igor, Tomislav and Riccardo 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.
“An update on a new Head Coach will be provided in due course.”
NEXT SPURS MANAGER: BOOKIES’ ODDS
Roberto De Zerbi and Sean Dyche, two wildly different head coaches, are names you’ll no doubt have seen bandied about in recent weeks.
True enough, those two are at the top of the early bookmakers’ odds list for the next permanent Spurs manager:
| Manager | Odds |
|---|---|
| Sean Dyche | 6/4 |
| Roberto De Zerbi | 6/4 |
| Marco Silva | 7/2 |
| Adi Hutter | 6/1 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | 10/1 |
| Ryan Mason | 12/1 |
| Robbie Keane | 14/1 |
Source: BetVictor
De Zerbi is reportedly fancied by Spurs but, if the rumours are true, he ideally wants to wait until the summer.
Either way, there is a media consensus that the north London outfit is going to appoint someone in the next few days, to give the new boss as much time as possible to work with his players before Gameweek 32. The club’s internationals should be returning to the capital in midweek, too.
For the time being, coach Bruno Saltor is leading training for those who remain at Hotspur Way.
SPURS: REMAINING FIXTURES
It’s a mixed bag of fixtures for whoever comes in.
Sunderland are up next, and while they’ve generally been excellent on home soil, they have lost their last three matches at the Stadium of Light. They’d previously gone unbeaten on Wearside.
The Lilywhites will be hoping that the international break has disrupted Brighton and Hove Albion’s momentum. The Seagulls have won four of their last five league matches.
Only three of Spurs’ remaining games, and one of the next four, are at home. Perhaps that’s a good thing: they are ranked 20th for home results and 9th for their away record.
Unless there are some freak (e.g. weather-related) postponements, Spurs won’t have a Blank Gameweek or Double Gameweek.
NEW MANAGER BOUNCE FAILS TO MATERIALISE
| TUDOR’S RECORD AT SPURS | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| All matches | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 20 |
Despite the emergency ‘fixer’ reputation, Tudor never got to grips with his latest job.
Losing the north London derby 4-1 in his first game, the Croatian didn’t seem to settle on a tactical set-up, employing a host of different formations during his time. There were some questionable man-management decisions, too, such as withdrawing Antonin Kinsky (£3.9m) in Madrid.
He wasn’t helped by the chronic injury situation at the club, of course, something that plagued Frank.
There were glimmers of hope, such as the battling draw at Anfield and the stirring win over Atletico. Alas, that positivity was extinguished in Gameweek 31, when Nottingham Forest thumped Spurs 3-0.
Tudor’s short stint was a reminder that the ‘new manager bounce’ isn’t always a given, even with a short-term specialist.
