Dereliction of duty at Tottenham as star players enter self-preservation mode

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Evening Standard

·6 March 2026

Dereliction of duty at Tottenham as star players enter self-preservation mode

Spurs players passing the buck as they hope for summer exits

On a mutinous night in north London, the knives were out, with everyone looking for someone to blame as Tottenham slumped to a miserable 3-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace.

Supporters streamed out in their thousands, while others turned their anger towards the directors’ box as Spurs made it 11 league games without a win for the first time since 1935.

On the pitch, there was a collective rejection of responsibility, Archie Gray standing apart, single-handedly fighting to piece together a performance that had disintegrated in 12 abject first-half minutes.

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Spurs had led 1-0 just past the half-hour mark and yet by half-time, no one was doubting that Igor Tudor’s side were staring at a one-point gap to the relegation zone.

Spurs are in crisis and Tudor’s job is already under serious pressure after only three games, yet the players must take accountability.

Many of the squad are in self-preservation mode and few look up for the fight as relegation fears have become impossible to ignore.

Furious: Pedro Porro vents his frustration after being substituted

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Micky van de Ven’s hapless red card, pulling back Ismaila Sarr inside the box when he should have let him run free, was the latest dereliction of duty from one of Spurs’ supposed leaders.

Spurs have now lost their captain and vice-captain to suspensions since the new year, and Tudor has raised serious concerns about the conduct of some of his players.

He dealt privately with Van de Ven’s dismissal, undoubtedly delivering some home truths, while Pedro Porro’s angry reaction to being substituted will not have gone down well with the Croat.

“I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can bow down, or how do you say that, leave the boat,” the Spurs boss said post-match.

It is unclear who Tudor believes he can trust, but by dropping Xavi Simons to the bench against Palace, he appeared to make his feelings clear about the Dutch midfielder.

Simons, a La Masia graduate with European Cup winners Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and PSV on his CV, will surely have no desire to play Championship football next season.

Flummoxed: Igor Tudor watches Spurs slump to defeat

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Yet his performances this season will not have encouraged potential suitors, and there are some within Spurs’ squad who are doing themselves no favours at all.

Van de Ven is another of those candidates, a player who seems to believe he is above the situation that Spurs find themselves in.

His performances in the absence of Romero have lacked proper leadership, and it came as no surprise when he made a huge misjudgment in pulling back Sarr.

Spurs’ younger players have no one to look to, as those who are supposed to lead by example have lost their heads.

It is every man for themselves at Spurs from top to bottom. Tudor is looking to his players to take ownership, while some players are looking to the board for answers, and others are retreating mentally and physically, seeming to believe they will fail upwards.

This is not the time for hiding, though, and with all eyes on Spurs ahead of a potentially historic relegation, those who believe they are assured of a move away in the summer would do well to remember that going down would not only damage the club but also leave a permanent stain on their career.