And now, three games in, Tudor has suffered three defeats. First it was 4-1 to Arsenal. Then 2-1 to Fulham. And most recently, 3-1 to Crystal Palace as their dismal home record continued. Spurs are just one point above the relegation zone with nine games left.
Spurs finished fourth in the league phase, defying their domestic form by winning five of their eight Champions League games under the Dane, drawing two and losing one. Spurs also boasted the joint-second best defence and were only outscored by six teams in the 36-club league phase, putting actual smiles on actual Spurs faces.
When waters are choppy, you do not need some ambitious captain with notions of heading out on an adventure. All you really want is someone who can get you safely to shore. Igor Tudor is not keen on the word. Hearing it applied to him when he arrived at Juventus last season, he observed that every manager, everywhere, is living from game to game. You can have a contract for five years and get sent home after three matches, he said.
"His style is intense," George Boxall, a football journalist based in Marseille, where Tudor managed between 2022 and 2023, tells BBC Sport. "The players do a hell of a lot of running. There's lots of intensity, lots of pressing. "He is a really strong personality and he could be a good appointment for Tottenham if they feel they need an electroshock."