Tudor Tumbled: Spurs Sack Croatian and Dive into Manager Madness Amid Relegation Scrap

Tottenham Hotspur have parted ways with Igor Tudor by mutual consent after a nightmare six-week spell that somehow made their relegation fight even messier. The Croatian gaffer, plucked from left field with zero Premier League experience, lasted just seven games following Thomas Frank's earlier exit. Spurs are now winless in the top flight this year, their woes capped by a 3-0 hammering at Nottingham Forest last week.

With seven games left and the Lilywhites just one point above the drop zone, the board's scrambling for a new head coach. An announcement's promised "in due course," but punters aren't betting on an immediate fix – they're eyeing who'll be barking orders come next season. Relegation's looming large, mind, so this list comes with a massive asterisk: some of these names might balk at trekking to Preston.

Desperate Times, Desperate Odds

The betting markets are a right laugh, packed with a motley crew of has-beens, never-weres and wildcard picks. Joint ninth are the likes of Oliver Glasner, Harry Redknapp, Andoni Iraola, Marco Rose, Ryan Mason, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Michael Carrick – a proper ragtag bunch that screams "Spurs chaos."

Climbing to eighth is Scott Parker, the Championship promotion king who knows Tottenham inside out from his playing days. If the unthinkable happens and it's the second tier next year, he wouldn't be a daft shout. Then sixth is shared by Sean Dyche and Marco Silva. Dyche, the survival specialist, feels peak Spurs – still jobless in April despite being tailor-made for this mess. Silva? Fulham will rue the day he jumps ship.

Robbie Keane sneaks into fifth, with fans muttering he's "earned it" like Keith Andrews at Brentford. Never mind that Andrews was already there – Keano's the dark horse if relegation bites.

Poch, De Zerbi and the Big Guns

The real fireworks are up top. Joint second go Thiago Motta (fresh off Juventus), Mauricio Pochettino (the fans' eternal flame) and – brace yourselves – Adi Hutter. Yeah, Adolf. English footy's not ready, but here we are. Poch, currently steering the USMNT towards the World Cup, was Spurs' top pick back in February, per reports from Graeme Bailey at TEAMtalk. The World Cup prep scuppered it then, especially after a 5-2 tonking by Belgium, but could crisis call him back?

Roberto De Zerbi tops the pile at odds-on favourite with bookies. The ex-Brighton and Marseille man’s got that Spurs DNA: tactical genius one minute, total nutter the next. Whispers of "talks" already, as Steve Pearson notes at TEAMtalk, make him the smart punt. Sean Dyche quashed his own links with a cheeky pub yarn – spotted supping Guinness in north London, he laughed off takeover talk to Evening Standard.

Spurs don't kick off again until Sunday 12 April away at Sunderland, then home to Brighton. Whoever steps in needs to spark a miracle. Pochettino would rally the troops – fans still belt out his name years later – but De Zerbi's the hot ticket. Relegation roulette or Premier League salvation? Pour another pint; this saga's just warming up.