KINSKY BOOTED<\/p>\n
If any single moment sums up Igor Tudor\u2019s thus far short but ignominious reign as Tottenham\u2019s interim head coach, it was the sight of the Croatian pointing to his temples as he urged his players to maintain their composure against Atl\u00e9tico Madrid in Madrid on Tuesday. Composure? What composure? Spurs were 3-0 down after 17 minutes and the players in question were watching their goalkeeper trudge disconsolately from the pitch after suffering the public humiliation of being replaced for being rubbish. Studiously ignored by his manager, the crestfallen 22-year-old was followed down the tunnel by a trio of more senior players eager to console their mate. Only Tudor knows why Jo\u00e3o Palhinha, Conor Gallagher and Dom Solanke weren\u2019t making themselves useful out on the pitch but his decision to leave all three seasoned professionals on the bench for a Bigger Cup tie that always had the potential to become the stuff of nightmares is just one of many inexplicable calls the Croatian has made since replacing Thomas Frank.<\/p>\n
Billed far and wide across the media as \u201ca fire-fighter\u201d upon his arrival, Tudor has proved quite the opposite, taking no time at all to torch his own reputation as a coach and leader, along with whatever sort of positive relationship he might have fostered with Tottenham\u2019s players and fans. Rather than extinguish the bin-fire that is Spurs\u2019 season, this agent of chaos has doused it with gallons of petrol, masterminding four defeats in a row while reducing an already maligned rabble of highly paid professionals to the status of international laughing stock. And while that\u2019s all well and good for neutrals who enjoy a spot of rubbernecking, his ice-cold treatment of Antonin Kinsky seemed a step too far. Whether it was those baffled by Tudor\u2019s decision to throw an inexperienced goalkeeper into the Wanda bearpit for his first start since October, or those riled up by his decision to embarrass Kinsky inside 18 minutes, criticism of the Spurs head coach has been widespread and almost unanimous.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor two [or] three minutes, I feel we were in the game,\u201d he opined, keeping a commendably straight face in a post-match sift through the wreckage of his side\u2019s 5-2 defeat<\/a>. Doggedly determined to sidestep Tudor\u2019s upbeat delusion of adequacy in favour of focusing on the minutes in which Tottenham emphatically weren\u2019t in the game, the pesky press badgered him on his decision to remove Kinsky from the fray with less than a fifth of it played. \u201cIt was a very rare thing,\u201d he parped<\/a>. \u201cI have never done this in 15 years of coaching. I did it to preserve the guy and to preserve the team. It was an incredible situation.\u201d Considering Tudor felt the heartlessly abrupt removal of an underperforming interim appointment was necessary for the greater short-term good of Spurs, he can have no complaints if his higher-ups follow his lead and boot him towards the door marked Do One before he can inflict any more harm. Unlike the hapless and unfortunate Kinsky, he is likely to find sympathy in short supply.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED SUBSCRIBING<\/p>\n Prefer pictures to words? Well, Big Website has a great weekly newsletter for that, highlighting the very best sport photographs around. You can subscribe here<\/a>. But please do still stick with your faithful Football Daily too.<\/p>\n LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE<\/p>\n Join Rob Smyth at 5.45pm (all times GMT) for Bigger Cup updates on Leverkusen 0-1 Arsenal in the first leg of their last-16 tie, while Scott Murray will be on hand at 8pm for Real Madrid 2-2 Manchester City and Xaymaca Awoyungbo will have clockwatch updates on PSG 2-1 Chelsea and FK Bod\u00f8\/Glimt 2-0 Sporting at the same time.<\/p>\n Manchester City fans taking in the Madrid sunshine, earlier. Photograph: Maria Aguilella Pardo\/EPAQUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n \u201cConsidering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under \u200cno circumstances \u200ccan we \u2060participate in the World Cup. Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist\u201d \u2013 Iran\u2019s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, says the national team will not be at the World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n double quotation markAre we looking at the shortest Tudor reign since Lady Jane Grey?\u201d \u2013 James Vortkamp-Tong.<\/p>\n double quotation markI watched Tottenham\u2019s dire game and noticed their current interim manager has the initials \u2018IT\u2019 on his jacket. Taking other Stephen King novels into account, wouldn\u2019t MISERY be more appropriate?\u201d \u2013 Nigel Sanders.<\/p>\n double quotation markImagine a bearded leader who callously throws a young person to the wolves because of their foolhardy desire to radiate power on a Europe-wide stage. This could only be a Tudor regime\u201d \u2013 Mark McFadden.<\/p>\n double quotation markI was shocked on my way to work this morning to see a huge poster for an upcoming London theatrical comedy extravaganza, featuring a tall man in completely inappropriate footwear splayed on the floor while a balding manager type looks on helpless. Apparently it\u2019s called Kinsky Boots<\/a>?\u201d \u2013 James Maltby.<\/p>\n If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com<\/a>. Today\u2019s prizeless letter o\u2019 the day winner is \u2026 Nigel Sanders. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED LISTENING<\/p>\n Join Max, Barry and the pod squad for the latest edition of Football Weekly<\/a>, featuring Spurs\u2019 woes and another missed Panenka.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED VIEWING<\/p>\n