Igor Tudor appointment 'strange', club legends Glenn Hoddle, Harry Redknapp or Robbie Keane would have made more sense - Joe Cole and Peter Crouch
By Tom Masters
Published 06/03/2026 at 09:07 GMT
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TNT Sports pundits Joe Cole and Peter Crouch feel that the appointment of Igor Tudor as interim Tottenham Hotspur manager was a "strange" appointment after Spurs fell to another home defeat to Crystal Palace. The defeat leaves them just a point ahead of West Ham in 18th, who are level with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, just behind Tottenham as the race to avoid relegation intensifies.
Why Redknapp, Keane were better fit for Spurs after ‘strange’ Tudor appointment
Video credit: TNT Sports
TNT Sports pundits Peter Crouch and Joe Cole have called Tottenham Hotspur’s appointment of Igor Tudor as interim manager "strange" and suggested club legends Glenn Hoddle, Harry Redknapp or Robbie Keane would have been better fits.
The Croatian was hired in February following the sacking of Thomas Frank with results spiralling and the threat of relegation becoming a distinct possibility.
But Tudor coming in has failed to provide the instant spark Spurs were looking for and following a dismal 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace, he has now lost all three of his Premier League matches.
That leaves Spurs just one point above the relegation zone after West Ham defeated Fulham and Nottingham Forest picked up a point against Manchester City.
With just nine matches left of the season, Spurs must now make a big decision on whether to proceed with Tudor or to bring in someone with Premier League experience.
For Cole however, the appointment of Tudor in the first place was deemed odd, with the former Juventus manager having no Premier League experience or any link to Tottenham.
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‘I will not speak anymore’ – Tudor rejects talk of 'pressure' in abrupt interview
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Cole said: "It is a tough one, because as a person, he has come into an impossible situation.
"I think it was a strange appointment at the start because, in the interim, all the things we listed - Premier League experience, knows the club, can lift the crowd, he hasn’t got them, he just hasn’t got them.
"He is a proven manager, he has managed Juventus, managed big clubs, but I think looking at the fact that they brought him in, they would have known that was a gamble, then maybe they’ll look at it and go 'I don’t know' again."
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Should they chop the head off their Tudor plans, who they opt for next would be a hugely important appointment for the history of the club.
Cole and Crouch feel the right manager needs to be someone who understands the club or has Premier League experience, with the likes of Keane, Hoddle or Redknapp more naturally suited to the role.
Redknapp guided Tottenham to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in his four-year spell at the club - as well as the League Cup final.
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Hoddle, meanwhile, took the reins from 2001-2003 after a 12-year playing career in north London and saw his side beaten in the 2002 League Cup final.
Keane was a Spurs stalwart, making over 300 appearances in a nine-year spell and is making a name for himself in the managerial world with league titles in Israel and most recently Hungary, where he is in charge of Ferencvaros.
It is those connections to the club that make sense for Cole and Crouch, at the very least, to get the crowd back on side.
"I said at the start, this is absolutely nailed on for someone like a Robbie Keane. Someone who has gone and proven himself - a club legend, or Glenn Hoddle, Harry Redknapp, someone with a bit of experience," Cole said.
Crouch added: "At least with that, the crowd are buzzing, what you have done, you’ve galvanised it, everyone is behind you.
"They are willing you to do well, and even if it ultimately doesn’t work, at least the crowd have been lifted, and you feel like you have got that 12th man when trying to get out of it."
Spurs are not in FA Cup action but return to the Champions League against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, before a daunting trip to Anfield as they desperately scramble for the remaining points of the season.
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