Tudor Lashing Out as Tottenham's Troubles Deepen Following Fulham Capitulation

The cracks are already showing for Igor Tudor at Tottenham Hotspur, with the interim boss rounding on his players following Sunday's disastrous 2-1 loss at Craven Cottage. The Croatian has wasted little time in venting his spleen, and it's clear the message isn't landing where it needs to.

Spurs remain rooted in 16th place, still searching for their first top-flight victory of the year. While defeats for Nottingham Forest and West Ham provided a modicum of comfort, there was precious little else to salvage from a deeply unconvincing afternoon in West London.

Tudor initially unleashed his frustration on the match officials and Raul Jimenez, suggesting the home side's opening goal should never have stood. "Their first goal changes the situation on the pitch. It's a big refereeing mistake," he fumed. "There's no consistency last week, what happened today was incredible. The referee was incredible today – not giving a goal there is madness."

He pressed his argument further: "It's about consistency of the decision, they need to understand even if it is a soft touch but he is not watching the ball, it is a foul. He gained an advantage and they scored. You need to give these fouls."

Yet having spent his ammunition on the officials, Tudor then turned his cannons on his own squad. With a week's preparation behind him following the north London derby humbling by Arsenal—which at least offered the excuse of getting to know his new charges—another seven days should have yielded better results. Instead, Spurs looked as disjointed as ever.

"I cannot tell you anything new," Tudor lamented, his frustration evident. "We need to find the forces inside each of us. I said to the players: 'It's always what you're going to do, what you want to do with yourself.' More personality, more wish to do before reacting, plenty of things… We are lacking when we attack, we lack the quality to score the goal. We are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal. So, an amazing situation. Amazing."

The switch to a 4-4-2 formation—a departure from his customary 3-4-2-1—has drawn scrutiny, but Tudor wasn't having it. Instead, he took aim at his players' football intelligence, suggesting they simply cannot process the tactical adjustments being asked of them.

"It's not about systems at the moment," he insisted. "They arrive at the ball before us. They predict and we are always late on everything. That's the problem." The implication was clear: his players lack the "brain" to execute his instructions properly.

Tottenham will have another opportunity to break their domestic duck on Thursday evening when Crystal Palace visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. At this rate, Tudor might need to conduct another post-match inquest before the week is out.