Disillusionment and disbelief - thousands leave early as Spurs in freefall

Tottenham Hotspur’s crisis deepened on Thursday night as thousands of supporters abandoned the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at half-time, their team already 3-1 down to Crystal Palace and reduced to ten men after Micky van de Ven’s red card. The exodus underlined the mood of a fanbase confronting an unthinkable prospect: Premier League relegation.

Ange Postecoglou’s side had taken an early lead, but three Palace goals in 12 first-half minutes – triggered by Van de Ven’s penalty concession and dismissal – left interim head coach Igor Tudor winless in three attempts and Spurs without a league victory in 2026. The 11-match winless streak is the club’s longest since 1935, when they went 15 games without success.

With nine fixtures remaining, Tottenham sit one point above the drop zone, their survival odds shrinking from 8% to 14% according to Opta. The final whistle was greeted by jeers from the sparse crowd still inside the £1 billion arena; outside, supporters spoke of “the worst moment in the club’s history” and a squad “sleep-walking to relegation”.

Joe Cole, on TNT Sports, described the performance as “tepid… no bite, no anger”, adding that fans “have given up”. Tudor, appointed on 13 February after Thomas Frank’s sacking, conceded he “understands” the walk-outs but insisted: “I saw the guys gave everything. We need to stay together.”

The statistics are stark. Spurs have led for only 13 minutes in league games since 7 January, have conceded at least twice in nine consecutive matches for the first time ever, and have the fewest home points (31) of any ever-present side since the start of the 2024-25 campaign. Since Tudor’s arrival, they prop up every major defensive metric and have taken zero points.

Fan anger is aimed at multiple targets: an injury-ravaged squad, a lack of transfer-market goals, repeated disciplinary failures – Cristian Romero completed a four-match ban this week – and a revolving door of managers. Chris Cowlin, a lifelong supporter, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We’ve gone through six permanent managers and four interims since 2019. We’ve gone round in circles.”

Next up is a trip to Liverpool on 15 March, followed by relegation six-pointers against Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Wolves. Tudor, who declared Spurs “100%” safe upon taking charge, now faces questions over his own future, though Glenn Murray warned that sacking a third coach in a season would merely “paper over the cracks”.

For a club that lifted the Europa League only ten months ago and has spent just one season outside the top flight since 1950, the abyss is suddenly in view. The thousands of empty seats on Thursday told their own story: belief is draining faster than points, and time is running out.