Tudor ‘kills’ another Spurs career besides his own as Kinsky becomes humiliated collateral damage | OneFootball

In ordinary circumstances, it might seem bizarre to start a post-mortem of the latest Spurs defeat with a Mikel Arteta quote about Arsenal goalkeepers from September 2023.

But a) ordinary circumstances and Spurs are entirely incongruous, and b) in this of all seasons, there is every chance that an ongoing obsession with the superior half of north London inspired one of the most remarkable turns of events in modern football history from an entirely unserious institution that honestly must be stopped at this point and protected from itself.

“I’m a really young manager,” said Arteta two and a half years ago. “I have few regrets, but one of them is that on two occasions, I felt after 60 minutes and 85 minutes of two games in this period to change the goalkeeper in that moment.

‘Hold Thomas Frank’s Arsenal-branded coffee cup,’ said Igor Tudor, who flogged that absurd notion to within a millimetre of its already flimsy pretence in a season-immolating 90 minutes which equally underlined why Spurs will probably simply double or quits last campaign’s combination of a European trophy and 17th by winning the Champions League while finishing 20th.

It was an evening which, as Ally McCoist had it, likely rendered Antonin Kinsky’s time at Spurs “finished” – and a game which emphasised how fortunate the 22-year-old would be if that is indeed the case.

Not since Loris Karius in the 2018 final has such seemingly irreversible damage been done to a single player’s career. The hope is that Kinsky can recover from this in a way his Liverpool counterpart never really could, but it will be a long road, and one which absolutely must not involve Tudor in any way.

“You’ve got to stick with him at least until half-time,” said Peter Schmeichel afterwards. “He’s absolutely killed his career.

Tudor’s decision to drop Guglielmo Vicario for Kinsky in a Champions League game away at Atletico was curious in the first place. His call to remove the Czech after 17 of the most chastening minutes imaginable was ruthless. But Tudor’s choice to completely ignore Kinsky as he was consoled by players and staff all the way from the pitch to the tunnel was despicable.

Steve McManaman dubbed it “man management at its very, very worst”. A “heartbroken” Joe Hart was “flabbergasted” at the lack of any semblance of care or empathy. McCoist and Darren Fletcher were speaking like they had just witnessed a live death, they really were.

And in a way they had: of Tudor at Spurs; of Kinsky at Spurs; of whatever Spurs’ Champions League hopes were. It was uncomfortable viewing but impossible to look away. A complete and utter car crash in every sense.

Kinsky, on his third appearance of the season – and first outside the opening rounds of the League Cup – miskicked for the first goal and slipped for the third, as did Micky van de Ven for the second.

The perennial head-loss at Spurs was matched only by a forfeiture of balance at what was apparently the Metropolitano ice rink. The sheer amount of slips suffered by members of the visiting team was farcical, to the point it was assumed by many that it must have been the result of a deliberate #darkarts ploy from Diego Simeone to drench the playing surface but advise his squad to wear quadruple-length studs.

By the time Atletico scored their fourth in the 22nd minute, Tudor had already blanked Kinsky on the touchline and pointed to his head, imploring his players to calm down in a game during which he had literally substituted the goalkeeper he had randomly recalled to play for the first time in five months.

Tudor did not acknowledge any of the five players he brought off in fairness/a damning indictment of his tough guy act in which he’s actually just being a bit of a kn*b. If there is any footage of what Fletcher described on commentary – Djed Spence coming off, sitting on the bench, getting up again, tapping Tudor on the shoulder and making a point to shake his hand in a lesson on basic manners – it should be released in conjunction with the news of the manager’s demise.

There was a fifth goal for the hosts, expertly converted by Julian Alvarez on a quick break triggered by one of a great many ludicrously brilliant Antoine Griezmann touches.

But that goal was itself born from an excellent Jan Oblak save from a Richarlison header as Spurs, even while tripping over their own shoelaces, lurched in the general direction of the finish line.

Pedro Porro scored a wonderful team goal before setting up Dominic Solanke to close the deficit somewhat with a fine finish. Both sides had 11 shots in a game which ended 5-2. Spurs are honestly just so f**king stupid.

And they do appear to have accidentally called a pyromaniac instead of a firefighter to this unrelenting dumpster blaze.

It is the worst start for a manager in Spurs history. It is the first time they have ever lost six consecutive games in all competitions. And now Tudor, not quite content with torching an already doomed club’s season and his own hopes of managing at a relevant level again, has resorted to taking players’ careers down with him.