Hotspur HQ

Are Tottenham Hotspur supporters now simply resigned to their fate? On Sunday, fans lined the streets for what many were calling the club's biggest league match in a generation. The support was fantastic but, once again, fans were let down by the team on the pitch. Igor Jesus broke the deadlock for Nottingham Forest, heading home a corner on the cusp of half time, and Spurs simply capitulated from there, ultimately ignominiously beaten 3-0.

As a result, Tottenham's wait for a first Premier League win of 2026 goes on, losing eight of 13 fixtures since their most-recent win, this coming at Selhurst Park on 28 December. Only three clubs in Premier League history have ever endured a longer start to a calendar year without winning.

Longest streaks without a Premier League win to start a year

The three clubs with longer winless sequences to commence a calendar year, unsurprisingly, were all relegated. Derby County hold the record in this regard, as they do for being the worst Premier League ever, ending up with only 11 points in total in 2007/08. Sunderland similarly did not win a single match during the second half of the 2002/03 campaign, astonishingly losing 16 of 17 outings.

Well, both the aforementioned Derby and then Middlesbrough nine years later are yet to return to the top-flight, albeit Kim Hellberg's Boro could be about to change that. Nevertheless, history suggests that, despite having been a top division outfit for 48 years, there's no guarantee that Spurs will bounce straight back up, if the worst was to happen in May.

There is though still hope. With seven fixtures remaining, Spurs aren't even actually in the bottom three, one point clear of West Ham. However, if you are an optimistic supporter, perhaps analysing their remaining matches, specifically how they fared in the corresponding fixture under Ange Postecoglou last season, might not be what you want to see.

Tottenham's remaining fixtures: scorelines from last season

Note: Southampton substituted in for Sunderland; Leicester substituted in for Leeds.

If Tottenham match last season's results, they will accumulated only six more points, losing five games in a row before beating Everton on the final day. This though is not even a fair comparison, given that Spurs' 5-0 win at Southampton, the night Russell Martin was sacked, was certainly an easier fixture than their upcoming trip to the Stadium of Light promises to be.

Their visits to Villa Park and Stamford Bridge in May look especially challenging, especially given that the Blues will be ultra-motivated to send Spurs down. Nevertheless, given Tottenham's current form, every game is particularly daunting.

Tottenham Hotspur have a whopping three weeks to sit and recollect themselves after an emabarrassing 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in a relegation six pointer, and while they may have a new manager at the helm if Igor Tudor and the club decide to part ways, which looks increasingly likely, it does not matter who coaches the team if the players do not step up.

Everyone has to do their part for Spurs, but with Sunderland on the horizon and three more weeks of rest awaiting most of the players, one name in particular stands out as someone worth the fans circling in permanent marker as a man to watch going forward.

That player is Mohammed Kudus, who, overall, has been Spurs best player this season. It is easy to forget, but Kudus was carrying the team for months, pulling an anemic attack on his back during the worst of the Thomas Frank days.

Mohammed Kudus's return is very welcome

The fact that Kudus was statistically the best one on one dribbler in the Premier League over the first half of the season despite working under Frank in his first season with Spurs speaks volumes to his quality, and he seemed to be an even better player for Tottenham than he was for West Ham United - and he was pretty good for an abjectly poor Hammers side, too.

Kudus, thus, unsurprisingly got completely run into the ground and injured for multiple months, and the only shock is that it wasn't his back that smashed into smithereens after the carry job he was pulling for the likes of Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison.

Having Kudus back in the saddle for the final weeks of the season is massive for Tottenham. Not only does he have experience elevating two terrible teams now in both West Ham and Tottenham, but he is also one of the best pure wingers in the Premier League. Kudus can create chances and take guys on, and the only other player who has been doing that is Mathys Tel.

Fabrizio Romano and transfer journalists in the United Kingdom are increasingly linking Tottenham Hotspur with former Marseille and Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi, who despite having not accomplished anything major in European football is one of the biggest names on the managerial market and apparently seen by Spurs as the top option to replace Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.

Whether or not De Zerbi is open to replacing Tudor immediately remains to be seen, but you have to think that after his latest falling out with Marseille, he would be very much open to moving up in the world footballing ranks to Tottenham, one of the top 10 clubs in the world in terms of revenue last season. Spurs would need to stay up in the Premier League, but even in this dark hour, they are still an attractive option to managers like De Zerbi who are aiming to make a name for themselves.

On the surface and to the average fan, Roberto De Zerbi sounds like a great hire for Tottenham Hotspur. He is much stronger tactically than Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor, and he's had success fending for himself in multiple leagues and multiple settings, including shining in the Premier League with Brighton not too long ago.

Roberto De Zerbi is too volatile

But Tottenham fans are not average fans. Unlike a lot of the big clubs in the world, the people who support Spurs are diehard lovers of this game and very plugged in to what's happening elsewhere. They know that De Zerbi is a ticking time bomb. He does not last at clubs for very long, and Spurs fans are already sharing footage on Reddit and other social media channels of him berating players in training for no reason.

And with De Zerbi, the character concerns are entirely valid. He has signed players like Mason Greenwood and Elye Wahi with serious allegations of criminal conduct against them, and there is real reason to believe that De Zerbi clashes with the kind of culture Tottenham fans want at their club. They are already upset with the lack of effort and the egos in the locker room from some high profile players, and the last thing they want is to add actual miscreants and a manager who seems more interested in "winning" (even though he barely does that) at all costs and would turn the other way at real issues.

Tottenham Hotspur have made a lot of poor judgment calls under the current leadership. What they fail to realize is that not only will De Zerbi alienate fans further because of the people he brought to Marseille - and still failed to succeed there, getting fired pretty quickly - but he will also likely alienate the front office and locker room. He has lost teams within a few years at every spot he has been at, and if Tottenham hire him, they cannot build a long term project. They will almost 100 percent be cycling through a manager again within one or two years with De Zerbi appointed.

No matter what happens to Tottenham Hotspur over the next couple of months, whether they stay up or not, there's an expectation that captain Cristian Romero will leave the club this summer.

Despite penning a contract extension last year amid rife transfer speculation, the extent of Spurs' woes this season means the Lilywhites would do well to hang on to their skipper.

The newfound leadership responsibility undoubtedly aided the World Cup winner last season, who donned the armband with pride in Son Heung-min's absence and was the natural pick to succeed the South Korean icon as captain for 2025/26.

However, Romero has reverted to his old ways, contributing to Spurs' demise. Lapses in focus and an inability to rein in his aggression have led to concessions and suspensions, respectively, and he simply hasn't developed into the leader the Lilywhites require.

An outstanding centre-back on his day, one of the best, Romero will undoubtedly thrive were he to move on this summer. Given what we've endured this term, Spurs may be right to cash in and completely rebuild their backline, with Micky van de Ven also linked with a move away.

Atlético Madrid unsure whether to pursue Romero again

Romero's imperious apex means Europe's elite are bound to take a look, and Atlético Madrid have been strongly linked in the past.

The Argentine has previously talked up the possibility of playing in Spain, and playing under Diego Simeone in the Spanish football just feels absolutely right.

The Atléti boss is an admirer; he hasn't hidden that, but Sky Sports reports that other decision-makers at the Metropolitano aren't completely sold on Romero.

Thus, the transfer plenty of us expect to happen this summer seemingly isn't a foregone conclusion. Atléti have been spooked by a chaotic Romero campaign.

If the La Liga outfit opt against a pursuit, that'd leave the Argentine defender in a rather awkward position, with alternative options yet to come to the table. He'll surely have suitors, though, especially if Spurs are forced into parting ways at a discounted price.

Importantly, Romero's sole focus right now is keeping the Lilywhites in the Premier League, and having him available for the final seven games of the season will be key to boosting our chances, even if he didn't cover himself glory during Nottingham Forest's second goal sequence on Sunday.

What's become evident is that Spurs should look at rebuilding their defence around teenage sensation Luka Vušković under a new manager next season. Wiping the slate clean is very much a necessity.

Tottenham Hotspur are already drafting a list of managers who can take over from Igor Tudor, and though the interim coach could leave before the season ends by a mutual parting of ways, there is no ambiguity about the fact that Spurs will be hiring a new, permanent manager when the 2025/26 Premier League season concludes.

Spurs got the hiring of Thomas Frank horribly wrong, and the inability of Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange to appropriately contingency plan forced Spurs into keeping Frank around for longer than they should have. Hence Spurs are now fighting for their lives in a relegation battle with Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.

Tottenham appear to be focused on Roberto De Zerbi with a reunion with Mauricio Pochettino also being a 1a and 1b type of option. But Spurs have also been linked to a number of mid table option in the Permier League dating back to their Frank choice last year, including Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola.

Crystal Palace may try to hire Andoni Iraola

The former Athletic Club right back is in demand already, even though he has not decided yet if he willl stay at Bournemouth for the 2026/27 season or elect not to renew. A reunion with Athletic Club and a return to La Liga coaching, where he once managed Rayo Vallecano, is on the cards, but so is another Premier League option now.

According to a report from Mike McGrath and Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, Crystal Palace could actually swoop in and replace one potential Tottenham Hotspur managerial target, Oliver Glasner, with another. They are eyeing Andoni Iraola as an option to replace a disgruntled Glasner, who has been hokey pokeying himself in and out the door all season long with various press conference tirades, especially after high profile transfer sales out of Palace like Marc Guehi.

Glasner and Iraola have both been linked to Tottenham in the past, though the links have cooled in recent months with fans focusing on Pochettino and the transfer rumor mill itself seemingly circling increasingly around the unpopular De Zerbi.

Like De Zerbi, Glasner is a volatile coach with a temper and quick falling outs, but he is actually more successful despite a lesser reputation. He recently won the FA Cup with Crystal Palace and is a former Europa League winner with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Iraola going to Palace would take a very interesting, more grounded manager off the Tottenham list but then make Glasner a wide open candidate. Spurs would probably prefer Iraola to Glasner, but if Glasner is available and both De Zerbi and Pochettino reject them, Glasner would then be first on the list almost by default.

Tottenham Hotspur star winger Dejan Kuluseveski has been sorely missed over what is now nearly a year of actoin missed with a knee injury of unspecified identity and potentially grave severity. With so few updates emanating from Tottenham and Igor Tudor - let alone Thomas Frank, who never said much of anything of consequence anyway - Spurs supporters have been left to fear the worst for their beloved Swedish star.

Even though Tudor gave positive injury updates on Mohammed Kudus (back after the March international break), James Maddison (will likely play before the season ends), and Rodrigo Bentancur (making good progress) of the lingering long term absences, he did not have any real news to share about the perpetually rehabbing Kulusevski.

However, Kulu's Swedish national team manager Graham Potter did give an update, albeit a brief one, to start the March international break. He said, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, "Dejan is making progress but not as quickly as we would have liked."

Dejan Kulusevski is making slow progress

The quote was specifically in reference to the fact that Dejan Kulusevski did not make the Swedish national team squad, though that was pretty much a given. On the one hand, it is troubling that Kulu continues to make slow progress. On the other hand, at least it is a positive that Potter is saying that Kulu is making any sort of positive progress at all.

Because any small silver lining is something Spurs supporters will take. Tottenham Hotspur are the most snake bitten team in all of sports at this point, and that probably made Spurs fans even more worried about Kulu suffering a worst case scenario, career threatening knee injury with so few updates. It looks like Kulu's not dealing with anything catastrophic that we know of yet, but rather that he is just making very slow, albeit forward, progress on the knee injury he suffered at the end of the 2024/25 season.

That said, Kulusevski remains without a time table for a return. He is currently out in Spain - and Gold notes that his knee specialist is based in Barcelona - and will be meeting up with his national teammates soon. He won't be playing or practicing, but at least Potter says he will be there, out and about and socializing in some capacity.

It must be awful being in Kulu's shoes right now, not knowing when you are going to come back or what you will be capable of when you do return. Spurs supporters can only think positive thoughts and keep Kulusevski in their hearts.

There cannot possible be a single franchise in professional sports that has had worse luck with injuries over the past two seasons, and it feels like every other week, Tottenham Hotspur are suffering another major injury.

Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, and Rodrigo Bentancur have all been out for months, and Lucas Bergvall only just returned from an injury of his own. Spurs continue to reel with some of their biggest stars missing significant chunks of time, and many of them just don't quite look right for several games after coming back, including Bergvall and Destiny Udogie this past week.

Now, Tottenham have to worry about an injury to their biggest current attacking player and one of the only two players consistently showing up at a high level this past few weeks, Mathys Tel (the other is Archie Gray, in case you were wondering).

Mathys Tel is hurt

Tel, as relayed by Football.London's Alasdair Gold, was forced to withdraw from international duty with the French national team this week just days after starting the break due to a thigh injury. It appeared he initially tweaked his thigh over the weekend in the loss to Nottingham Forest, as he was hooked off in the 3-0 draw with an apparent injury. At least, that can be the only real explanation for him coming off, as he was the only real bright spot in a horrendous attack, especially with how badly striker Dominic Solanke was playing.

The injury to Tel does not seem to be a serious one, and since he was already questionably hurt against Nottingham Forest, it would have been akin to malpractice for the French national team to let a young man in the middle of a relegation crisis potentially get reps in with an injured muscle in his thigh.

Tottenham Hotspur can only hope Mathys Tel is back and at 100 percent after the March international break concludes, because they cannot afford to have him missing a single second of time. He is the one guy in this attack who is reliably creating chances, beating defenders, and showing real effort every week, because Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani sure as heck are not doing that - and Xavi Simons and Richarlison aren't even playing every minute. Tel's injury is the latest potential blow for Spurs to worry about at the worst possible time they even want to think about any new injuries.

It is impossible not to feel for Igor Tudor and the situation he is in at Tottenham Hotspur. Hired off the cuff, Tudor had to step in and face the unenviable task of righting a sinking ship, taking over from arguably the worst manager in the club's history in Thomas Frank after the failing executive partnership of Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange delivered the club an all time bad transfer window.

Tudor gave Spurs some bright spots with a draw against Liverpool and a win over Atletico Madrid, but after a crushing 3-0 defeat in the relegation six pointer against Nottingham Forest, it is obvious that Tudor can't be the emergency hand break Spurs were hoping for.

On a personal level, Tudor suddenly received the news that his father passed away and will understandably take some time to step away during this March international break. And all Spurs supporters can do is feel the utmost empathy for a man who has owned his mistakes and done his best to help the team in an impossible task during their biggest moment of crisis.

Tottenham and Igor Tudor are closer to parting ways

Igor Tudor's days as Tottenham Hotspur manager, though, appear to be numbered. Spurs are already making contacts for their No. 1 target, Roberto De Zerbi, much to the chagrin of Spurs supporters who see him as a rather unsavory character.

And now, Football.London's Alasdair Gold reports that there is a growing sense inside the walls of the N17 that the most likely scenario during this March international break is for Tudor and Spurs to mutually agree to go their separate ways.

It's unclear how much new, personal circumstances will figure into the decision, but nobody could blame Tudor for stepping away from coaching for a bit after personal tragedy. In fact, most human beings would actively want another person to step away from work for a period after experiencing personal loss if they found that to be important to be around friends and family.

Tudor has only obtained a point out of 15 since taking over for Spurs, but it's not like Thomas Frank was doing gangbusters before him. Spurs are no better or worse with Tudor in charge, though that, from the club's perspective, may be all the more reason to want a switch. Tottenham are in a desperate situation, and a desperate measure would be to find a new manager. Tudor hasn't given Spurs the shock to the system they need, and that may be the impetus behind a maneuver this March.

Tottenham Hotspur may finally start to get some key players back in the coming weeks after the March international break, and the returns of Mohammed Kudus and James Maddison, in particular, are the two main storylines this attacking starved Spurs side are most looking forward to before the end of this nightmare 2025/26 season.

Because there is so much left to play for after Spurs lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest, falling just one point ahead of West Ham United as the only team standing between themselves and relegation to the EFL Championship.

As Spurs anticipate Kudus's return for another must win matchup against a stingy Sunderland defense after the international fixtures, they may also get word of the return of center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

Rodrigo Bentancur is no savior for Tottenham

They say that absence makes the heart go fonder, and whlie that is 100 percent true for stars like Kudus, Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski, it is also, apparently, the case for Bentancur, who has even received adulations on social media by Spurs fans missing the Uruguayan international.

Bentancur has been out for a couple of months after a supposedly minor injury was revealed to be hamstring tear - such has been the luck of Tottenham Hotspur in 2025/26. And while having veteran depth and someone capable of stringing passes together will be an upgrade to a Spurs side that has been forced to watch Conor Gallagher flounder as the only signing made following the winter injuries to Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall, Spurs supporters have to be careful not to revise history here.

Whlie Bentancur is a decent rotational player, he was part of the problem for Tottenham before his injury. He lacked bravery on the ball, often shielded himself behind defenders in the build up play, lacked any sort of robustness or progression on the ball, and scarcely made defensive interventions. Benta is a smart player with decent technique, but Archie Gray quickly usurped him as a starter because he was more courageous and effective on the ball.

Although Tottenham Hotspur fans overwhelmingly want the club to go back to iconic manager Mauricio Pochettino, who once had Spurs competing for Champions League and Premier League titles a decade ago, the entire list of candidates can't just be one man.

Spurs are going to have to broaden their horizons. For now, it actually looks like Roberto De Zerbi of Marseille - and formerly of Brighton and Sassuolo - is their top option to replace Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank, but there are a number of other coaches whom Spurs are currently or have once looked at last year after the Ange Postecoglou firing.

Premier League managers Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva, and Oliver Glasner are going to be linked. German and/or Bundesliga managers Adi Hutter, Niko Kovac, and Edin Terzic are going to be on the radar, too.

Edin Terzic could join Athletic Club

To that end, a new report from Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany states that Terzic, who once coached Borussia Dortmund, is "currently the top favorite" to become the next manager of historic Basque club Athletic Club next season. Ernesto Valverde, an icon in Bilbao, has already made it clear that he will be stepping down at the end of this difficult season for the Lions. Per Plettenberg, Terzic is "very open" to coaching Athletic, and there are "already advanced" talks between club and coach.

Interestingly enough, former Athletic Club star right back Andoni Iraola has been closely linked to the job, too. Iraola has a stronger managerial track record than Terzic. While Terzic won a cup title in Dortmund, he flamed out by the end, going from hero of the club to something of a villain, making terrible lineup selections, feuding with club legends Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, and causing issues behind the scenes with members of the front office in an ugly power struggle before he was ultimately fired.

Meanwhile, Iraola has consistently overperformed with Bournemouth and turned Antoine Semenyo and even Dominic Solanke, partially thanks to Tottenham's transfer woes, high priced signings. And now, he is doing the same with real stars of the future like Junior Eli Kroupi and Rayan already in 2026.

Terzic joining Bilbao would take away arguably the worst possible manager option for Tottenham who has been linked in the past, though Scott Parker is right there in the discussion, and thus make Iraola more open. Iraola is still deciding on his Bournemouth future, and actually, for those who want Pochettino at Tottenham, Terzic joining Bilbao might make Iraola more wililng to stay with the Cherries. Thus, that would take two managers off the table and potentially increase the chances of a Poch reunion. Iraola is the less awful option, but Poch is likely the best option.