Tudor's Time Up as Spurs Crumble to Forest in Relegation Six-Pointer

In the space of 335 days, Spurs and Nottingham Forest have locked horns thrice under the watch of six different managers, each encounter descending further into theatrical absurdity. Ange Postecoglou's Europa League semi-finalists faced a Forest side perched third in the table. Then came Sean Dyche and Thomas Frank, both managing teams punching above their weight in Europe whilst treading water domestically. Now we had Igor Tudor and Vitor Pereira presiding over the third act of this increasingly farcical saga.

The damning truth for Tottenham: they've lost all three. Two of those defeats came at home. Two finished 3-0. Each time, the desperation ratcheted up another notch.

Neither side came here plotting for caution. The reward justified the risk, even if the execution screamed chaos – misplaced passes, snatched chances, and Igor Jesus coming closest for both teams before the interval. The Brazilian's header from Kevin Danso's long throw clipped his own crossbar early on, before some sharp improvisation forced a save from Guglielmo Vicario.

Forest's second corner proved more fruitful than Spurs' eight, and Jesus made sense of the scramble to give the visitors the lead. Harsh on Tottenham, who'd arguably dominated and nearly equalized through a crisp Mathys Tel strike that Mats Selz tipped onto the bar. But crueller still on supporters who lined the High Road in their thousands, leaving Tudor "emotional" and banging on about "good motivation."

By half-time, this Survival Sunday double-header was effectively settled. Spurs haven't won from behind at the break in 28 attempts, while Forest have surrendered just eight points from winning positions all season. Aston Villa, one of three teams with a better record alongside Burnley and Wolves, were doing both north London sides a favour by beating West Ham 1-0 at Villa Park.

Tudor's response was to watch Spurs edge a close first half despite the deficit, then shuffle the pack by introducing Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall for Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence. The result was tactical befuddlement.

"We are sleeping less on the pitch," Tudor had declared this week. "That's the main thing. We react before, so for me this is crucial. Now we react earlier. We are not always, 'what happened?' And then we react after. Now we react before things happen."

Five Spurs players gawping at a completely unmarked Morgan Gibbs-White hovering just in front of the penalty spot on the hour suggested otherwise. Among them stood Pedro Porro, brushed aside by Callum Hudson-Odell before the Forest forward's cutback, and the ambling captain Cristian Romero – so often discovered at the scene of the latest defensive catastrophe, looking bewildered as if he'd stumbled into the wrong film set.

In virtually the identical spot 25 minutes later, Romero offered the same vacant stare as Taiwo Awoniyi swept in Neco Williams' cross to seal a pivot moment in this wretched relegation battle.

Forest sit three points clear of the drop, but momentum from this victory could prove priceless. Vitor Pereira appears to have found a more effective formula at the City Ground, with two draws and a win in their last three league games matching Spurs' return for the entire calendar year.

As for Tudor, the new manager bounce was neither only delayed but brutally fleeting – most of it arriving in a meaningless Champions League second leg anyway. Both goalscorers from what should have been a transformative win were axed for this encounter, a crushing reverse that sent Spurs plummeting back to earth.