Running players daft won’t change a thing Igor.

Brilliant Igor. I wonder what Spurs are paying their interim manager (in truth all managers at Tottenham are interim) to tell us what we’ve all known for some time now - Spurs aren’t very good.

After their defeat at Fulham Tudor announced ‘when we attack, we are lacking quality to score. We are lacking in the midfield to run. And we are lacking behind to stay there and suffer’. Genius. We know. I wonder how his players react when they see that? He’s supposed to be there to protect them, not expose them.

And It is, of course Tudors job to sort these things out. He had the squad out for dinner in his first few days in charge before proceeding to run the bollocks off them in training, suggesting his new charges ‘aren’t fit enough’.

This is the sanctuary every limited coach turns to when he/she takes over a new club. ‘They’re not fit enough’ you’ll hear them say. Really? A Thomas Frank team not fit enough ten games from the end of the season? I don’t think so.

Spurs are poor. I said last week I hadn’t really considered they could go down until that defeat at home to Arsenal. It’s 10 now since they won - their worst run since Ossie Ardiles was in charge. They stayed up that year by the skin of their teeth, but it was scary.

It’ll be the same if they stay this time round and there are no guarantees. They’re toe to toe now with Forest.

I just don’t get Tudor. I don’t know him but Slaven Bilic does and he gave him rave reviews when he was appointed. I love Bilic so I’ll believe him when he says Tudor knows what he’s doing. But have a word Slav - tell him to put his arm round people in his squad. Give them a few days off. Make friends of them.

Running them daft isn’t going to work. It never does. Erik ten Months found that out at United. So did Alan Shearer. He needed to make friends when he took over at Newcastle, but instead he went for the big stick and we all know what the outcome was.

I could go further back - Howard Wilkinson at Sunderland when he took over from Reidy. It never works. There are so many other examples.

I noticed Guardiola complaining about kick-off times again after City’s win at Leeds. Give it a rest.

Guardiola is unhappy his team next play at Newcastle in the FA Cup 8.00pm Saturday. He’s whining he won’t have time to prepare for the CL game v Madrid the Wednesday after that. That they’ll get home late. Ahhhhh.

Let’s wait and see how many of his squad play v Newcastle and then Madrid. My guess is it’ll be three - maybe four. No more. Tired my arse. Those who play at Newcastle will fly before mid-night and be in Manchester 40 mins later.

Leeds fans should be ashamed of themselves booing because of the break to allow Muslim players at Elland Road the right to break their Ramadan fast.

Sadly we live in such a divisive Trumpian world now these things happen too often. Can’t we be a little more understanding? Embracing?

Look where division has got us. I won’t dwell too long on this, but I’m sitting in the middle of a war zone right now as a consequence. And thanks to all of you who’ve messaged asking if we’re ok. The answer is ‘yes’. I trust my Qatari friends to help the world find a way out of this mess. Negotiation is one of the things they do best.

Who knows what the fall out will be though. All of a sudden I’ve got serious reservations about the upcoming WC. I hope and pray I’ll be wrong, but we could be heading for trouble in the tournament, the likes of which we haven’t seen at a major sports event since the Munich Olympics. Recent developments in Mexico haven’t helped either.

If you haven’t seen it, dig out a piece by Andy Dean in today’s (Monday) Mirror. It’s a fans eye view from Burnley entitled ‘Gone Too Var’. It’s a very good piece. What a shame the tech ruined what could’ve been one of the great comebacks in PL history. If you get to see this Andy let me say I agree totally with you. I haven’t forgotten the FA Cup semi-final we had stolen off us at Coventry.

VAR operators (not necessarily the tech) have ruined our game at the highest levels. I’ve said so many times the lack of tech is what makes the C’ship such a good watch.

But rather than choke back the law makers have gone again, adding to VAR’s influence. They want a say in second yellows and corners that are given mistakenly.

At the recent IFAB meeting it was also decided to give refs more say in time wasting. Haven’t they worked out yet the biggest time wasters (and waste of time) sit in VAR bunkers?

Finally, good luck to everybody taking part at the Women’s Asian Cup which kicks off in Australia Sunday. North Korea are there. That’s quite something.