Igor Tudor sent one Arsenal star home at half-time and fined another in chaotic season

Igor Tudor is the Tottenham interim boss until the end of the season, and fans will enjoy the ride judging by his past.

The Croatian has developed a reputation for being a good interim head coach, but he doesn’t often stick around for long.

But he has been handed the reins at Spurs until the end of the season with one clear objective: don’t get relegated.

And judging by his time at Marseille, it is going to be fiery.

Tudor guided the French giants to a place in the Champions League while playing fast and energetic football before leaving at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

From there, he took charge of Lazio and Juventus, but wasn’t at either for very long.

And while at Marseille, Tudor had a run-in with two ex-Arsenal stars.

One player was Matteo Guendouzi, who Tudor clashed with less than a month into his time on the south coast.

That is largely down to Tudor being strict with his players and managing a group that was full of mavericks.

So, it was no surprise that Tudor clashed with Guendouzi, though it was probably more of a surprise that it happened before the season started.

During a friendly against AC Milan, the duo clashed at half time, and Guendouzi didn’t emerge for the second 45 minutes.

Instead, he packed up his things and went home.

This led to the club’s president Pablo Longoria stepping in and reminding the players that any disrespect towards Tudor wouldn’t be tolerated.

The clash with Guendouzi followed from Tudor banishing Jordan Amavi and Kevin Strootman from the first team.

But another ex-Arsenal player didn’t get the memo.

Later that year, Nuno Tavares was sent off against Montpellier while on loan from Arsenal for lashing out and winding the home fans up with a 2-0 gesture.

This infuriated Tudor, who tore into the left-back after the game.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, he said: “He’s lost his mind, he’s going to get a nice fine.

“It can happen, but he’s going to be fined, because it will penalise us in the future. We are lucky that it went well at the end of the match.”

And after just one year at the Stade Velodrome, Tudor resigned.

He informed the press ahead of the last game of the season that he was moving on, bringing an end to a chaotic but good managerial spell.

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Big responsibility

Tottenham are one of a few teams in danger of going down this season following a dreadful run of form under Thomas Frank.

In the end, a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United was too much, and the Spurs board decided that the Dane should be relieved of his role.

In his place, Tudor has been drafted in and his first match in charge will be the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The 47-year-old has signed a deal until the end of the season with no option to make it permanent, and he can’t wait to get going.

Speaking to the club’s website, he said: “It is an honour to join this Club at an important moment.

“I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match.

“There is strong quality in this playing squad, and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly.”

And things couldn’t be tougher first up.

Spurs have only won two home games all season in the Premier League and Tudor’s first experience of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be Arsenal.

Yes, that’s right, it’s the second north London derby of the season for Tudor, and given the rivalry, it is a chance for him to become an instant hero.

If Spurs take any points off Arsenal, not only would it help them in their bid to avoid relegation, but it would also derail the Gunners’ bid for the Premier League title, and that would be something Tottenham fans can get behind.

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Got to back him

No one connected to Tottenham envisaged this happening to the team this year.

But they are where they are, and to get out of it, everyone needs to be united.

Certainly, that is the view of Harry Redknapp.

Writing for The Sun, he said: “There is a huge disconnect between the fanbase and the club at the moment — which is why everyone in the stands is calling for Mauricio Pochettino to come back.

“But give the players some belief they can compete and the tide will start to turn with the fans.

“If supporters see that effort, spirit and fight, they will back Tudor all the way.

“One thing the Croatian cannot do is go into this dressing room throwing tea cups and screaming at the players to sort their act out.

“They will already be desperately low as a group and I always believed players responded to a pat on the back.

“Even if this is a difficult group of players to deal with, they are the ones Tudor has to use between now and the end of the season.

“He is stuck with them, so you have to work with them and not against them.”