Crystal Palace (Home) 05.03.2026

On another night when Spurs needed a win to try to pull themselves up the table, they connived to make sure that everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  It lead to many fans walking out at half-time.  The rare bright moments were created by teenagers in the side when we need senior professionals to step up as Archie Gray and Mathys Tel did their best to spark something out of their team-mates.

Starting with a ne formation and players in unaccustomed positions, a long throw bounced around the Spurs box before Wharton unleashed a shot form inside the box which fortunately was straight at Guglielmo Vicario.  Tel got his foot trod on by Wharton in the centre-circle, which wasn’t a foul, but the ref let play continue as Palace had the ball and then stopped it to allow Mathys treatment.  He didn’t need it, but when Souza took the throw, he didn’t return it to Palace and went up the line to Tel, who then had a free-kick given against him for a shirt-pull.  Probably the right outcome, as Spurs should have given them back the ball.   

Loose passes led to the visitors giving Spurs a throw-in inside their half, which Archie Gray took quickly, which is most unusual for us.  Then Randal Kolo Muani won another further up the line and Danso’s delivery into the box dropped for Pap Matar Sarr to flick at goal, but it went a yard wide.  Souza had already won a couple of strong tackles, but when Munoz went for a ball on their right wing, the young Brazilian got there late and picked up a booking.  Even though most of Munoz was off the pitch, the match was held up while he received extensive attention from the physio and then managed to walk away after the stretcher was lined up to carry him off.  He was replaced eventually after going down as soon as he came back on.  The game was stopped again, when we had possession, but not before VAR looked at Munoz’s shot that hit Kolo Muani in the stomach.

Spurs won a corner through good work between Gray and Kolo Muani and in the aftermath of Souza’s cross, Randal and Mathys tackled each other, but Porro’s header wide left to Tel saw him come inside past two players to put in a low shot that Henderson could only grab at the second attempt.  Referee Madley was always in the wrong place and got in the way as Archie looked to get onto a ball that had got away from Kamada, giving a drop ball to Palace as he got a foot on it.  Pape picked up a yellow card for wanting a yellow card when substitute Clyne dived in on Souza from behind in a challenge not any better than Souza’s on Munoz, which he got a booking for.  Consistency across a season or even a game is something that will never happen, but you might expect it within the space of 20 minutes.  Wharton again hit Tel, this time throwing himself into the Frenchman’s chest. 

In the 29th minute, Strand Larssen held off a challenge by Danso just inside the Spurs half to lay the ball off to Guessand on the right.  His first-time pass inside to Ismaila Sarr, beyond the Spurs back line pushed him to the left side of the goal and as is Tottenham’s luck at the moment, his shot looped up off Porro’s challenge and dropped over Vicario into the net.  The Spurs players looked resigned to going behind and the ball was set up for the kick off to restart the match.  From in the East Stand, it looked to me that Sarr had been a good yard offside, with the only query being if he was behind the ball when it was played.  The usual long delay followed before VAR wiped the goal out because Sar’s face was offside.  Even though it was a goal against Spurs, I fail to see how such marginal decisions are actually adding to the game.  Yes, it is a matter of fact, but then so are the yellow cards that referees don’t hand out.  So is the place where free-kicks and throw-ins are taken from.  So is the dissent shown to officials because they are unable to make decisions without the aid of VAR micro-management.  In the past, there was disgruntlement with refereeing decisions and you might not have liked it, but accepted it as they were human.  Now that they are nothing more than on-field puppets to implement machine generated directions, people get frustrated and angry because they are technically correct.

Spurs responded by a long ball forward being won by Tel and Souza picked up on the loose ball to return to Mathys, whose shot was blocked by Richards for a corner.  Played long to the far post, being Tottenham’s favoured corner tactic, Archie headed the ball up in the air and when it came down, he controlled it with Wharton right behind him and Richards closing in.  He cleverly turned away from them towards the dead-ball line to find some space and his ball pulled back to Dominic Solanke allowed the striker to side-foot a volley past the keeper at the near post from three yards out.  Palace whinged that the ball had gone out before Archie crossed it, but the ball wasn’t even halfway over the line, so that argument was never going to wash.

Kevin had to awkwardly head the ball away on the edge of our penalty area when Strand Larssen was pulling him, but the referee allowed play to go on. Palace got a free kick that they worked through a few players and Guessand played it low into Strand Larssen’s feet.  His flick intended for Sarr was cut out by Micky, with the ball flying into the air.  Again, Danso had two hands in his back from the Norwegian striker, preventing him from challenging only for the Palace man to head the ball forward into the box, to Sarr, who had got beyond van de Ven, who pulled him back and conceded a penalty and got a red card.  Just when we were in the unusual position of being ahead, it wasn’t to last for long and left us a man down with just under an hour of normal playing time to see out.   Sarr took the kick and put it to Vicario’s right while the keeper went left.

Tudor reacted by taking off Souza (probably sensible as he was on a booking and the way the referee was conducting himself, another would have been likely) and Kolo Muani, who hadn’t done much, but to replace them with Gallagher (who looks unable to last 90 minutes) and Bissouma meant even more players in midfield, when the defence was needed strengthening, only we didn’t have many defenders with experience on the bench.

To show how ridiculous the game has got, Palhinha thundered a ball away on the edge of the Spurs box with Ismaila Sarr in front of him.  The referee gave a free kick for handball, presumably because the winger’s arm was raised, but he was about two feet away and couldn’t do much about it.  Nobody understands what handball is these days and most referees are unable to determine what a foul is.  As it turned out, it benefited Palace as they won the long ball forward and won a free-kick off their own that was played left, then right having the extra man and plenty of space to do so.  Tel’s pass inside 25 yards form goal to Pape under pressure saw the ball turned over and Wharton slipped a pass inside the box to Strand Larssen, who drilled a low shot through Vicario’s legs to put Spurs behind.   

A few minutes (of the eight added) later, the exodus started as Spurs conceded a third.  Another straight ball into the middle of our defence from Wharton  to the right of centre and Sarr was running through on Vicario to poke the ball past him.  The keeper may have been a little slow off his line but Palhinha and Porro both let the Palace player run between them while they looking for offside, which in this case he wasn’t. 

Within a minute of the restart of the second half, Spurs had achieved what they had failed to do in the first 45, winning a long Tel corner at the far post, Danso forced Henderson onto beating out the header.  This brought another corner and from the second phase Sarr and Gray had shots blocked and then VAR went back to look at a potential handball when a header in the area hit Riad on the arm, with the defender having his back to the ball.  Correct decision, but you have seen penalties given for less.  I’ve also seen penalties given for less than Palhinha being hauled to the floor by Richards as a long-throw came in, but we’re Tottenham Hotspur – we haven’t had a penalty all season and the referees are making sure that doesn’t change.  Give these decisions where it doesn’t matter, but in the box they don’t want to know.

Archie was trying to spark the team into life with some good one-twos with Porro and a run past two Palace defenders in the box before Riad shouldered him over and Henderson put the ball away for a throw.  Palace were sitting deep allowing Tottenham to push up the pitch, obviously hoping to hit us on the break.  Danso made a great block to a Wharton shot on the hour and when Spurs moved the ball to the other end, Kamada jumped into Porro with no eyes on the ball and no intention of going for it.  Premier League Referees don’t see things the way of normal people and are unable to read the game and players actions.  That sort of challenge would be a free-kick given by Sunday morning football refs all day long.

Glasner then took the piss by bringing on Brennan Johnson, who got a good round of applause as an opposing player and a chorus of “Johnson Again”, but it was Tottenham’s current striker who drew a save from Henderson.  Taking a quick throw in, Dom weaved his way between Clyne and Richards to hit a low shot to the near post that the keeper kept out with his foot.  in the 73rd minute, a ball into Strand Larssen saw him try to flick it around Danso, but Kevin blocked it and then got the Palace player’s studs stuck into his shin.  Possibly not a red card, but a dangerous challenge and worthy of another yellow judged against what he had dished out before, but no.  Decisions don’t go our way and the striker stayed on the pitch because the ref would rather give yellow cards for waving an imaginary card or dissent rather than something that could injure a player.  Then Wharton gets pulled up for his fourth late foul of the game.  No booking.  

Then with 13 minutes to go the ref ran off down the tunnel.  About the best thing that he did really, as the game could well have continued better without him.  But no, we are all left wondering what is going on, so that’s another three minutes of our lives we will never get back while he apparently sorted out his communication problem (no not the one between his eyes and his brain).  In the 81st minute, Danso’s long throw was punched back to him and Mitchell ran straight into him.  Decision ?  Free kick to Palace and a booking for Bissouma for daring to question the referee’s ineptitude.  Much easier to book someone for that than a painful challenge that was a foul.  Kamada trips Simons.  Free kick.  No booking.  Simons puts the free-kick into the wall.  Later Clyne trips Simons.  Free-kick.  Booking.  Why ?

Pape did well to get to a cross that was heading to Mitchell to volley at goal, then, while waiting for the corner to come in, Canvot elbows Simons in the ribs for no apparent reason.  Outcome – a talking to for both players – one guilty and one innocent.  Spurs went close when Simons dinked in a free-kick from the left and Tel flicked it on at the near post with the ball going wide at the far post.  In the fifth minute of added time for the ref leaving the pitch, a long ball made Vicario race out of his box to fly-kick the ball away before Sarr could get there.

And at the end, there were a few boos but then there weren’t that many Spurs supporters left in the ground.  The Palace end was making a lot of noise but they won’t be so happy next season when Thomas Frank manages them.

Once again, we are too open and allow opposing teams to score soft goals, but when we do start to play it is a) after going behind and b) only in the second half.  The Eagles might have taken their foot off the gas in the second half, but why couldn’t we play like that while we had 11 men on the pitch.  Sadly, it is difficult to see where enough points let alone a win is coming from.  

Those who wanted Levy out got their wish, but as people say, ‘be careful what you wish for’.  And this is what those protesters have landed us with.

• Spurs conceded two or more goals in nine consecutive matches for the first time in the club’s history.
• It is the first time since 1975 that Spurs have failed to win in 11 successive league matches.