Football.London

It's matchday minus one for Tottenham in Europe and given it's an away trip that means we get to see the players in the squad boarding a plane. The Spurs stars are on their way to Hungary for Thursday night's Europa League clash with Ferencvaros.

Tottenham got their Europa League campaign off to the best possible start last week with a 3-0 win over Qarabag. And Ange Postecoglou will be looking to make it back-to-back wins against the Hungarian champions.

Ferencvaros, however, are yet to drop a point in the Hungarian League, winning all six of their matches so far and will be no pushovers.

Releasing a video on social media, Tottenham often deliver a hint as to who will be in the squad Postecoglou has chosen to go on an away day in Europe.

And this week is no different. The video of the players boarding the plane has dropped, and while it will not show exactly who is in the squad and who isn't, because not everyone will be videoed, it does offer us a little insight.

We spotted 18 players in the video, as well as three more in still photographs uploaded to the Spurs official Instagram page.

There was one player though who was unexpected to say the least. Sergio Reguilon, who has been told he has no future at the club under Postecoglou, was in high spirits, smiling saying "morning" to the camera as he got on the plane.

Reguilon was not named in Tottenham's Europa League squad for the league phase of the competition and therefore cannot play against Ferencvaros on Thursday night. His inclusion in the travelling party, therefore, is somewhat bizarre.

It may be a case of the Spaniard going on the trip as part of a team bonding exercise, or even to keep up with training with the squad while they are out of the country, keeping in with Postecoglou's philosophy just in case he is needed. But to be with the squad when he cannot be in the squad remains a strange decision.

Academy stars Alfie Dorrington, Dante Cassanova and Damola Ajayi have travelled with Tottenham's first-team squad ahead of Thursday evening's Europa League tie against Ferencvaros. Travelling to Budapest on Wednesday morning for their second European match of the season, the trio could be seen boarding the plane with Spurs' first-team regulars.

Ange Postecoglou made a handful of changes for last week's Europa League opener against Qarabag and he is likely do the same in Hungary on Thursday. However, the head coach will have to make some big decisions in certain areas of the pitch with Spurs a bit light in one or two positions.

Having to name a 25-man squad for the Europa League league phase at the beginning of September, clubs taking part in UEFA competition also have a separate B list which they can submit no later than midnight (CET) on the day before a game.

Club-trained players who were born on or after January 1, 2003 are allowed to be considered for selection but they must have been with Tottenham for an uninterrupted period of a minimum of two years to be eligible. Ahead of the Qarabag game, Spurs included Luca Gunter, Tyrese Hall, Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear on their B list, with only Moore and Lankshear named in the matchday squad to face the team from Azerbaijan.

Dorrington, Cassanova and Ajayi now look set to join the B list for the Ferencvaros match, with confirmation likely to arrive on UEFA's official website on Thursday morning. Dorrington will provide cover in defence as Radu Dragusin is not available for selection due to his red card in last week's Europa League opener.

Cassanova will add to the options at centre-back after starting in the position in six games for the club's Under-21 side so far this term, with the 20-year-old also having experience of playing as a right-back and in the holding role in midfield. Ajayi, who was photographed on the club's Instagram account, will then boost Postecoglou's attacking choices as he can play on the right-wing, as a striker and also centrally in midfield.

Other players spotted boarding the plane to Hungary included the likes of James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven, Lucas Bergvall, Dominic Solanke, Lankshear and Moore. Sergio Reguilon was another player who could be seen taking his place on the plane even though he is not part of Tottenham's European squad and is now not eligible to play for the team in Europe.

There appeared to be no sign of Son Heung-min or Destiny Udogie in the video posted by the club, although it must be stressed that not every single player boarding the plane is recorded and subsequently part of the video produced by Tottenham. Postecoglou will provide an update on the injury front when he speaks to the media in Budapest at 4.15pm on Wednesday afternoon.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham on Spurs' emphatic Man Utd victory! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

David Dein, the former Arsenal co-owner, is currently in discussions with football's governing bodies about introducing a 'timekeeper' and changing the traditional 45-minute halves to 30-minute periods.

Dein has reportedly secured support from PGMOL chief Howard Webb for his contentious plan to shorten matches to 60 minutes. However, the 81-year-old's innovative proposal includes having a timekeeper halt the clock to prevent 'wasted time', which could actually extend the amount of active play by eliminating delays due to injuries, VAR reviews, and other interruptions.

Last month, the issue of 'wasted time' came under the spotlight following Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, where Arsenal players were criticised for employing 'dark arts' by halting play for cramp treatments. Dein's suggestion would neutralise such tactics by stopping the timer whenever a player is receiving medical attention on the pitch.

On talkSPORT's Sunday Edition, Dein shared insights into his idea's origins, attributing it to the infamous 'Fergie time'. "This is nothing new. This dates back, I think, to Fergie time, when Fergie would always be haranguing the fourth official and tapping his watch, wanting to know how much time was left," Dein remarked, referencing Sir Alex Ferguson's notorious sideline antics.

"I've asked all the referees in the Premier League, several years ago, when the fourth official puts up two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, are you accurate to the last 10 seconds? The answer is no. No chance.

"Well, in this day and age, don't forget America put a man on the moon in 1969. I think we should be able to know how long a game of football lasts.

"So my campaign is very simple. The average length of time a ball is in play in the Premier League and most Western European games is around about 55 to 57 minutes.

"I would like to see a real time, two halves of 30 minutes, where the ball is actually in play for 30 minutes each. Let the fans know how long they've got to go.

"Why should a fan at home have a better experience than the fan in the stadium? Let's have a clock where we can all see how much time is being lost."

On taking his proposal to the next level, Dein added: "I put it forward to IFAB (International Football Association Board) to have a look at it. All I know, what I want is always a trial. In fact, I'm talking to the Dutch league. They're always the first. They're very progressive.

"It won't be a 60-minute game. It will be a 100-minute game. They'll be in the stadium for 100 minutes.

"They'll get value for money. They will get an extra 10 minutes of football."

When questioned about the role of referees with the new rule, Dein was clear: "Let them worry about the game itself. It's got to be the fourth official or a timekeeper.

"There's enough money being spent in the game. It's rather like boxing or basketball - a professional timekeeper.

"Howard Webb in particular, I'm glad to say, he's supporting it. The next thing is for IFAB to allow it to have a trial somewhere so that we can see it."

Tottenham are on the road for the first time in Europe this season as they travel to Hungary for their second Europa League league phase fixture. Fresh from beating Qarabag 3-0 one week ago, Ange Postecoglou's team this time take on Ferencvaros at the Groupama Arena.

Spurs are the outright favourites to prevail in Budapest as they look to make the best possible start to their Europa League campaign. Ferencvaros did taste defeat last Thursday after going down 2-1 at Anderlecht following goals from Yari Verschaeren and Kasper Dolberg.

Postecoglou will very likely use this week's European game as another opportunity to rotate his team with a tricky game at Brighton & Hove Albion on the agenda this weekend. So how exactly will Spurs line up against Ferencvaros? Our Tottenham writers at football.london have made their team selections below.

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent

Postecoglou is going to have to get creative with his Tottenham team to face Ferencvaros due to the number of players who are unavailable to him.

The Australian could potentially be without captain Son Heung-min, Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and the suspended Radu Dragusin. He could also hand Destiny Udogie a night off after the left-back suffered a sore quad muscle and came off at half-time at Old Trafford.

Postecoglou also told football.london that Micky van de Ven had played more than he wanted him to in recent games. That could lead to the versatile Archie Gray getting a turn in central defence, where he played in pre-season, while Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero, who got the night off against Qarabag, could start in Budapest.

Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma could all come into the midfield and Timo Werner could get another start while 17-year-old Mikey Moore might get a chance to make his full debut for Spurs if Postecoglou wants to hand Brennan Johnson a rest. Will Lankshear could also get some minutes at some stage to allow Dominic Solanke some time off.

Postecoglou also needs to hand Fraser Forster another opportunity at some point to get him sharper in case he needs him in the weeks ahead.

Gold's team: Forster; Porro, Romero, Gray, Davies; Sarr, Bissouma, Bergvall; Moore, Solanke, Werner.

Rob Guest - Football writer

Ange Postecoglou once again has the opportunity to rotate his team in Europe but Tottenham are rather light in a couple of positions. Starting with Guglielmo Vicario in goal rather than opting for Fraser Forster, the Spurs boss must then decide whether Micky van de Ven is given a breather after playing a lot of football recently.

It makes sense for the Dutchman to drop out as Cristian Romero is back from his European suspension and it could open up the door for Archie Gray to start as a centre-back. Ben Davies should come in for Destiny Udogie at left-back, with Pedro Porro fine to start on the right due to his recent rests against Coventry City and Qarabag.

The same midfield trio of Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall start again after doing likewise against Qarabag last Thursday. Hopefully this time Bergvall gets more than 12 minutes of action to his name as a result of Radu Dragusin's red card against the team from Azerbaijan last week.

Brennan Johnson is another player who would benefit from a rest, thus seeing Mikey Moore come in for his full Tottenham debut on the right as Timo Werner continues on the left. Due to the lack of options up front, Dominic Solanke starts again but it would be nice to replace him early in the second half if Tottenham are in a good position in Hungary.

Guest's team: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Gray, Davies; Bissouma, Sarr, Bergvall; Moore, Solanke, Werner.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham on Spurs' emphatic Man Utd victory! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Harry Kane has praised Tottenham Hotspur for their 'dominant' display in Sunday's 3-0 Premier League win at Manchester United.

Ange Postecoglou's men stormed to their first victory at Old Trafford since 2020 in style with goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke.

United were poor throughout and were up against it early on when Bruno Fernandes was sent off in the first-half. The win has led to Spurs being heavily praised for their best performance of the season yet.

In the aftermath of the game, plenty of pundits and former players have credited Tottenham and Postecoglou. One of them is former striker Harry Kane. The now-Bayern Munich star left the club in 2022 after scoring 280 goals in 435 games.

A favourite among supporters, Kane has recently commented on Spurs' emphatic display at Old Trafford. Speaking ahead of Bayern's UEFA Champions League clash with Aston Villa, he said: "Yeah I did watch the game yesterday, I thought it was a really great game from Spurs, probably one of the best I've seen in a while, I really enjoyed that one.

"Even before the sending off, I thought Spurs were really dominant, it was great to watch them get a really good victory."

The win has left the Tottenham changing room in a good place. On social media, Maddison jokingly compared Johnston to Brazil legend Ronaldo. The Wales international continued his impressive recent form in front of goal with the opener from Micky van de Ven's cross.

European football is back on the calendar for Tottenham this week as they travel to Hungary to take on Ferencvaros. Victorious in their Europa League opener with a 3-0 win over Qarabag despite playing with ten men for 83 minutes due to Radu Dragusin's red card, Spurs will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins in UEFA's second club competition to put themselves in a strong position in the newly-formed league phase.

As was the case last Thursday at home to Qarabag, head coach Ange Postecoglou will likely rotate some of his team with a tough away game at Brighton & Hove Albion coming up on Sunday. The Spurs boss does look like he will have limited options in certain positions on the pitch, with defence certainly one of them.

As a result of his dismissal against Qarabag, Dragusin will miss out in Budapest as he serves a one-match. Cristian Romero will return to Tottenham's Europa League squad this week after completing the final game of his European ban last Thursday.

The World Cup winner will very likely take his place in the starting XI due to the lack of defensive cover available to Postecoglou for the game. Question marks remain over whether Micky van de Ven will be named in the team as he played the full 90 minutes against Qarabag before getting a further 81 minutes in the tank in Sunday's 3-0 win at Manchester United.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Postecoglou did indicate that a reason for taking the Dutchman off at Old Trafford was because he "played probably more than we wanted him to" against Qarabag. This week's game away at Ferencvaros could be the ideal opportunity to give Van de Ven a breather as Spurs do not want to push him too much and see him pick up an injury as a result.

A possible rest for Van de Ven could open the door up for Ben Davies to come in at centre-back after starting in the position in Tottenham's first European game. The Welshman was left out of the matchday squad at Old Trafford on Sunday but looks a certainty to come back into the team and get some much-needed minutes with limited game time coming his way so far this season.

However, there is the possibility that Davies switches across to his natural left-back role following Destiny Udogie's half-time exit in the Manchester United fixture. The Italian international felt something in his quad and was hooked at the break with Spurs not wanting him to do any further damage.

Djed Spence did replace his teammate for the second half but the versatile full-back is not available for European selection after missing out on Tottenham's Europa League squad. One other possible option if Udogie is given the rest he needs would be to play Archie Gray as a left-back.

The 18-year-old has a plenty of experience of operating as a right-back and Tottenham could be in a position where they need the youngster to instead take on a new role altogether on Thursday. Alternatively, Postecoglou and his coaching team could choose to play Gray as a centre-back alongside Romero and move Davies to left-back.

Gray did feature as a centre-back in Tottenham's first three friendlies during the summer and Spurs may possibly opt to repeat the experiment once more. Playing as a centre-back is definitely not the England Under-21 international's natural role, yet Postecoglou did namecheck him when discussing centre-back options currently at the club after Spurs did not look to sign another defender in what remained of the transfer window.

If that is indeed to be the case on Thursday night in Budapest it will only add to Gray's game and help him as a player as he looks to become a Tottenham regular in the months ahead. The Durham-born ace did play as a right-back last time out against Qarabag but that position could be taken up by Pedro Porro.

At a time when others need time on the sidelines, the Spaniard should be relatively fresh after not coming off the bench in the recent Coventry and Qarabag fixtures, meaning he starts away at Ferencvaros. Another important game in Tottenham's European schedule, all eyes will be on the teamsheet on Thursday evening to see Postecoglou's defence of choice.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham on Spurs' emphatic Man Utd victory! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Tottenham full-back Pedro Porro has 'forgiven' teammate Dominic Solanke for missing a chance against Manchester United, with the striker making up for it with a goal.

Solanke scored his second goal in as many Premier League games to put the result at Old Trafford beyond doubt on Sunday afternoon. He turned in the ball from a corner to make it 3-0 in the 77th minute and prompt United fans to make their way to the exit.

It could have gotten better for Spurs and Solanke in added time when Porro played a brilliant ball to pick out Solanke and put him one-on-one with Andre Onana. But the United goalkeeper saved Solanke’s effort with his foot.

It’s that chance that Porro has looked back on with a message to the Spurs striker. Sharing a clip on X (formerly Twitter), Porro wrote: “You are forgiven because you scored a goal my bro,” along with a laughing and handshake emoji.

The assist would have been Porro’s first of the season. He does, however, have a goal, with the full-back scoring the opener in the 1-1 draw against Leicester City in the first game of the season.

The result against United leaves Spurs in eighth place in the Premier League table, having picked up 10 points from their opening six games. They take on ninth-placed Brighton in their next league game on Sunday, where Porro will be hoping to assist Solanke.

Here we go again. Another Manchester United manager looking set for the sack as the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era continues to disappoint - although not for fans of rival clubs.

The loss to Tottenham was the latest galling defeat for the club that piled the pressure on to Erik ten Hag following a summer which seemed to promise much change. However, back-to-back 3-0 defeats at home to Spurs and Liverpool mean the only thing looking likely to change in the coming weeks is the manager.

United sit 12th in the Premier League table after six games - and could sink to 13th if Bournemouth beat Southampton in the final game of the matchweek. With two wins, one draw and three defeats from their opening six league games - plus a draw at home to FC Twente in the Europa League and a 7-0 win over Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, it's not been the start the manager needed after a shaky season last year.

Despite beating Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to lift the FA Cup in May, United were well below par in the Premier League, finishing eighth in the table. The likes of Aston Villa with Unai Emery have only heightened the pressure with better results than United on a smaller budget.

But if Manchester United are to remove Ten Hag from his post, what would it mean for other clubs in the Premier League. Arsenal have been flying high for a while in the league - their lack of progress in terms of trophies is one of the only sour notes of the last few years. Chelsea have had well-publicised issues on and off the pitch, but finally look to be making tangible progress. And Spurs may well have planted the final nail in Ten Hag's coffin at United - and will be looking to move onwards and upwards from here. How would a change at United affect them? football.london writers give their opinions below...

Lee Wilmot

Erik ten Hag should remain the Manchester United manager, if what I saw on Sunday is anything to go by.

As a Tottenham fan there is absolutely no danger from United when it comes to finishing in the top four this season if Ten Hag remains in charge. It's as simple as that.

There is no direction, no desire, no fight, no philosophy. In plain terms he really has to go, but in Spurs terms, he really needs to stay.

There is some real quality at Old Trafford; Ten Hag is not seeing it. Someone new could come in and turn things around dramatically. That's not going to happen while the Dutchman is in charge, in my opinion.

The two trophies have papered over the cracks for a long time and there is no fear factor in going to Old Trafford any more. Champions League is off the table while Ten Hag is at the wheel and that is only good news for Tottenham and the other top four chasers.

Joe Doyle

As a Manchester United fan, I think the writing is on the wall. I wanted it to work out with Ten Hag, and I could take the defeats and bad performances if there seemed to be a semblance of a plan involved with how the team play.

Ten Hag has been in charge for over two years now, has had big investment every summer and has so far been unable to implement his desired style. Compare it to other managers - Jurgen Klopp didn't get the best results when he took over at Liverpool, but there was a clear change in how the team played; Unai Emery brought Aston Villa from 18th place into the Champions League and are playing a clear style - and he took three months after Ten Hag did; United are going backwards, and are arguably worse now than they were under Ralf Rangnick, let alone Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Any small signs of improvement have not been enough; for every decent result, there are a number of games where the team fall to pieces: they've conceded three goals 25 times under Ten Hag. It's simply not good enough.

The only thing in his favour is the lack of a clear and obvious replacement - and that really says everything that has to be said.

Rivals have clearly got United's number under Ten Hag - it would be tough to see United being any worse if they sacked him, and so for the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham it would clearly be a negative if they did.

Rob Guest

Amid plenty of question marks heading into the new season following Enzo Maresca's arrival and Mauricio Pochettino's departure, Chelsea are making big strides in the opening weeks of the Premier League season. That cannot be said about Manchester United and Erik ten Hag, however.

The Blues do look to be far ahead of United at present and that gap may only increase as there's still plenty more to come from the west London club and the Red Devils aren't exactly making progress under the Dutchman.

A managerial change at Old Trafford, however, and that could potentially spark United back into life. Whether it would be enough to see them overhaul Chelsea remains to be seen as the current six-point gap could be extended to nine by the time this weekend is over given the respective form of both sides.

As Maresca has a clear plan in place in west London and with the Blues having some excellent attacking options at their disposal, you would fancy Chelsea to finish ahead of Manchester United this season regardless of which way the Ten Hag decision goes.

Tom Coley

At least Pochettino won't be there to take over, because he would be instilling some much-needed togetherness at United that would make them challenge quicker than anything Ten Hag has done. With the talent they have. someone of that ethos-building calibre could be dangerous.

The more pressing thing for Chelsea is that they visit Old Trafford in just over one month. By that time there is a genuine case that United might have a new manager. It would be that way.

Maresca has his side playing a seriously threatening and fluid style of football that would surely carve apart anything Ten Hag can put out this season. The imminent possibility of having that taken away from Chelsea is frustrating. However, seeing United in turmoil is never a bad thing.

Chelsea know just how a mid-season sacking can change things for the better and worse though. Making one at this stage is never a good side but United will struggle to be any worse than they have been of late either way.

Maresca had better get researching Ruud van Nistelrooy's PSV side though, because if there is to be a change of direction then he is the obvious alternative. Outside of that, surely it won't be one of the two extremes: Thomas Tuchel or Graham Potter.

Tottenham demolished Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday in the Premier League and their leaders played their part in the absence of captain Son Heung-min.

The South Korean star missed out on the big game with a hamstring injury and his vice-captains Cristian Romero and James Maddison had to step up in his place, as did goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who football.london reported this month was added to Tottenham's leadership group in the summer by Ange Postecoglou.

It's no coincidence therefore that Romero and Maddison spoke in the team huddle just before kick-off and within three minutes Spurs had opened the scoring through Brennan Johnson. Then just before the kick-off for the second half, Vicario could be seen speaking passionately in another huddle and lo and behold Dejan Kulusevski scored within three minutes of the whistle that time.

Tottenham's inspirational leaders, Postecoglou's tactical set-up, the sparkling performances of various individuals like Johnson, Kulusevski, Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke and the team as well as the red card for Bruno Fernandes were all covered in depth during the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham as our Spurs correspondents Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest delved deep into the huge win for Spurs at Old Trafford.

You can listen to the latest episode of their podcast by heading right here or you can watch the show on YouTube by going right here.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham on Spurs' emphatic Man Utd victory! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

James Maddison sent a funny message to Micky van de Ven on social media after Tottenham Hotspur's victory over Manchester United - which has left Erik ten Hag under mounting pressure.

Sunday afternoon saw Spurs record a 3-0 victory over United in their Premier League showdown at Old Trafford. Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke were all on-target Tottenham to secure three points on their latest trip to Manchester.

Ange Postecoglou's team found themselves 1-0 up inside three minutes with Johnson finishing from close range. Wales international, Johnson, was given the freedom of the six-yard box to open the scoring after his teammate, van de Ven, performed a remarkable run from inside his own half to get the assist with a cross at the byline.

Hours later, Maddison posted a video on his Instagram story of van de Ven alongside Timo Werner on the team aeroplane as they jetted back to north London from Manchester. The Spurs centre-back could be seen watching something video on his phone - before realising that he was being filmed by Maddison and then starting to laugh.

Maddison accompanied the video with a caption. It read: "Caught him! Just keeps watching his assist back."

Van de Ven's assist left Gary Neville stunned on commentary duty for Sky Sports. The ex-United captain labelled the run from the Tottenham defender as among the best he has seen for a player in that position.

"Absolutely brilliant from van de Ven," said Neville while he was on co-commentary with Peter Drury. "One of the best runs I've ever seen from a centre-back.

"He drives through four Manchester United players. It's amazing. Brilliant."